It may not be a family and its members will never be forced to flee Austria, but just like the Von Trapps, an Alpine choir is taking on the growing far-right. Their mission is to foster tolerance and cultural understanding at a time when Austrian voters are expected to endorse two far-right parties at the upcoming European elections. Like the Von Trapps in The Sound of Music, the Oisternig singers are using the power of song. 

The choir is based in Carinthia, a rural region bordering Italy and Slovenia dubbed as "Haiderland" on account of being the heartland of the late Jörg Haider's Future of Austria Party (BZÖ). Despite losing its charismatic leader in October, when Haider was killed in a car crash, the party's popularity soared in spring regional elections and is expected to do well in this week's European votes.

Ancient folksongs
In the tiny border village of Feistritz where the choir rehearses, beautiful ancient folksongs have been brought back to life, sung in Slovenian, Italian and the region's local dialects. As they put down their sheets, and stop for a break, the chatty choir members explain that the significance of their singing in Slovenian is huge, given how the language has been effectively been stigmatised and suppressed from Carinthia since 1945, despite a large community of Slovenians there. They worry that the BZÖ will again fan regional tensions.

"We have decided to sing in Slovenian, Italian and all the local dialects so that we can reach out and try connect people again through song and show how this rich local tradition is part of all of us here,"

says Daniela Assek, a sparkly soprano, adding that the choir tours extensively in the region and even as far as the US. "Our mission is to show that we are one large family with a complex history that binds everyone here together."

There is much anecdotal evidence of the problems. Dominic Egger, a 24-year old choir member explains that his girlfriend is sometimes reprimanded for speaking Slovenian in public and others report similar incidents. He adds:

"German Carinthians are really afraid of the Slovenians. Many don't want to communicate with them. The border with the former Yugoslavia may be gone, but it's still there in people's minds."

Slovenian minority
The rise of the Austrian far-right is also worrying Slovenia, which can be reached by driving a few kilometres over a mountain pass, where the former border posts stand empty.

"I simply do not understand the politicians in Carinthia,"

says Jure Žerjav, the mayor of Kranjska Gora, a neighbouring Slovenian town.

"They are always trying to dig up old problems and trying to talk up how dangerous the Slovenian minority is. The current economic crisis is only making things worse."

It is a concern shared by Pepca Druml, a Carinthian writer and an active supporter of the choir, who says the tensions are historical: the Austria-Slovenian border has shifted back and forth ever since the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Carinthia was invaded twice by Yugoslavia.

Deported
"Just one century ago, this was a mainly Slovenian-speaking region. But the Second World War changed all that, many Slovenians were deported and the language was suppressed. After 1945, it was decided that Slovenians would speak only German and parents were under pressure not to speak Slovenian to their children,"

she says. Ms Druml, who runs a hotel where Oisternig hold rehearsals, adds:

"But what people don't realise is that everyone here shares the same roots. As soon as my customers have one drink too many here, they all start to speak Slovenian!"

Yet the mood among the choir is not one of impeding danger - far from it. There are plenty of other bridge-building initiatives, which include trilingual kindergartens and school exchange programs. The singers say the situation is improving and expect the BZÖ's gains to be short-lived. Dominic Egger says:

"I think the problem that exists now will not exist in 20 years."