ARCALPINA Conference

The choral revival of folk music in the European Alpine area

Call for papers

University of Trento, Department of Humanities and Philosophy

From the 1st to 3rd of December 2026, the University of Trento will host the international conference ARCALPINA: The choral revival of folk music in the European Alpine area.

Thematic framework

The meeting aims to present and share research experiences concerning choral practices of folk music revival in the European Alpine area and within the broader European context.

Above all, the emergence and affirmation of these forms of expression from the 19th century onwards calls for a historical and music-historical perspective; the relationship with significant phases in the national formation of the countries involved further stimulates socio-cultural and anthropological reflection on this phenomenon; finally, the deeply rooted presence, transformative role, and dynamic spaces of contemporary choral vitality call for a rigorous ethnomusicological analysis, attentive to the specificities of technique, style, and language.

The Italian context and the specific occasion

This academic event coincides with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the SAT and SOSAT choirs. The two choirs were founded in Trento in the early 1900s and were initially united, leading to the development and success of the so-called “Coralità Alpina” (Alpine choral singing), a revolutionary model of polyphonic interpretation of repertoires connected with or inspired by the oral tradition of the past. At the same time, this movement led to the creation of a new category, “Canzoni della Montagna” (Mountain songs), a distinct musical genre developed at the intersection of territorial belonging, the embodiment of an artistic-musical grammar, and the exploration of new spaces in composition, performance, and media, at the gateway to popular music. The movement, which developed in mountaineering circles and in the urban environment of Trento, nevertheless reflects a national story, as it projects crucial phases and aspects of a collective history, becoming in time a recognisable and widely accepted musical flag beyond the region’s borders.

We are certainly dealing with one of the earliest and least known-about examples of folk music revival in Italy, an experimental phenomenon deeply rooted in a specific space-time context and in the cultivation of a particular community heritage. On the other hand, it can be recognised as

an independent manifestation in its genesis, while converging in substance with earlier efforts of rehabilitation and reinterpretation of folk music culture that similarly emerged across Europe.

Call for contribution

The Italian case study of “Alpine choral singing” fits perfectly in a broader international debate on the relationship between musical expression, identity creation, and national representation. For these reasons, we invite researchers who have studied organized movements of choral reinterpretation of traditional vocal repertoires, in order to explore the shared cultural roots and transnational connections that contributed to the emergence of related musical phenomena within the specific Alpine context and neighbouring European regions.

In the following, we outline a set of interpretive frameworks that seek to address the complexity of the choral folk music revival, considering its multifaceted cultural implications and the plurality of scholarly perspectives through which it may be critically examined:

• Documentary sources and historical studies on the origins and development of the choral folk revival
• The development of the choral model and the dialectic between oral practices and written forms
• The analysis of musical repertoire and performance practices
• The processes of enhancement, formalisation and spectacularisation of folklore
• Choral singing and the adoption of new media and means of dissemination
• The use of folk choral music as a means for identity representation and a vehicle for propaganda
• Choral singing and the representation of natural and human landscapes
• The reinterpretation of traditional singing heritage, the emergence of new compositional spaces, and the establishment of a musical genre
• The choral model in contemporary times as the cultivation of a new tradition of music
• The interrelations of choral practices with regional and national programs of cultural policy in terms of heritagisation

Format and Submission Guidelines

We invite colleagues to submit innovative contributions on the topic, drawing on the interpretive frameworks outlined above; proposals approaching the choral revival of folk music from other analytical perspectives will also be considered.

Abstracts of 300 words, together with a brief biography, should be submitted by 17 July 2026 to the following address: guido.raschieri@unitn.it

The contribution format will be individual paper presentations of 30 minutes (20 min. presentation, 10 min. discussion). The main language will be English, but it will also be possible to use your own language; however, handouts and presentations should be translated into English.

At present, the conference organizers are unable to cover transport expenses for speakers, while accommodation and hospitality will be provided.

The publication of a conference proceedings volume is planned for 2027; detailed information regarding the corresponding deadlines will be provided subsequently.

Program Committee

Guido Battista Raschieri – Organizer and Chair of the Committee – University of Trento – Department of Humanities and Philosophy

Jean-Jacques Castéret, Centre International de Recherche et Documentation Occitanes – Ethnopôle / Laboratoire ITEM, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour

Mojca Kovačič, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts – Institute of Ethnomusicology

Thomas Nussbaumer, Mozarteum University Salzburg – Innsbruck

Britta Sweers, University of Bern – Institute of Musicology

Yannick Wey, Bern University of Applied Sciences – Academy of the Arts