Eight men from Bizau sing a polyphonic yodel at the 9^th folk song festival in Bludenz, hosted by the RAVAG, the first Austrian national radio broadcaster. Most likely they are wearing traditional costume, as required by the organisers. Perhaps some of them can even be seen in the picture below left ...
 

Fourteen such folk song events took place throughout Austria between 1934 and 1938. Recordings of twelve of them were made on disc for radio broadcast, later forming part of the RAVAG archive. In 1974, Georg Kotek, one of the organisers of the events, handed over eighty such discs to the Phonogrammarchiv, containing a total of 270 performances of songs, yodels and instrumental pieces. Launched to mark the centenary of Austrian radio, the online exhibition “Tonspuren der Heimat” (“Soundtracks of the Homeland”) explains the historical context of the RAVAG folk song festivals, and includes selected audio samples from our collection.

The Phonogrammarchiv team wishes you a relaxing holiday and all the best for 2025!