Cantorama of Jaun

Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut - In the canton of Fribourg there is almost one organised singer for every 35 inhabitants. This exceptional density can be explained by a centuries-old tradition firmly rooted in the region's history.

Although the choral movement has developed in all the Catholic cantons, it is in fact in Fribourg - in a rural society firmly controlled by the clergy - that it has found its best breeding ground. Created in parallel, this choral movement developed independently of the religious context - and sometimes in reaction to it.

The figure of Abbé Joseph Bovet (1879-1951), a sort of Guisan of Fribourg, helped to unite the different sounds of the canton, and his charisma reigned for a long time over the choral life of the whole region.

The 20th century, however, saw the repertoires diversify and the recruitment areas widen, moving away somewhat from the tradition of a parish civilisation, where one sang above all with one's village, in the shadow of the bell tower and to the rhythm of local

life.