Philippe Bruneau died on August 8, 2011. His daughter, Joanne Bruneau, wrote an obituary on the Centre Mnemo website. (In French.) (Note that the original date of his death as announced was August 7, which his family has now corrected to August 8, hence the discrepancy in some earlier obituaries.)
There is a Facebook tribute page here. (Mostly in French.)
His rhythmical style of playing dance tunes on the melodeon will always be remembered. I'll never forget the first time I heard a recording of Monsieur Bruneau playing a 3/2 brandy -- it still takes my breath away. Please use the comment feature below to post memories of Philippe Bruneau and his music.
(Video from Youtube.)
Monday, August 8, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Extraordinary three-row playing
For those who are delving into a specific musical tradition from afar, it can be a revelation to find that some of the greatest traditional musicians are not announced to the world with slick websites and major recordings. Denis Pepin is such a living, cultural treasure.
There is very little evidence of Denis outside of Quebec, but he is, in my estimation, to be counted among the greatest accordionists. So it was a joy to have found several newly posted videos of Denis on YouTube. To "Tiroir44," who posted them -- merci milles fois! (P.S., "Tiroir" is a video production firm, so I tip my chapeau to them, and you can visit them here.)
And: even more fantastique:
There is very little evidence of Denis outside of Quebec, but he is, in my estimation, to be counted among the greatest accordionists. So it was a joy to have found several newly posted videos of Denis on YouTube. To "Tiroir44," who posted them -- merci milles fois! (P.S., "Tiroir" is a video production firm, so I tip my chapeau to them, and you can visit them here.)
And: even more fantastique:
Quebecois tunes on the harmonica: where to start?
In response to an inquiry, here is some information that may be helpful to those harmonica players who are seeking in-roads into the traditions of Quebec:
1. A good place to start is to listen to what harmonica players in Quebec have done. There is harmonica playing on the early Bottine Souriante recordings, Les Epousailles and Y a ben du changement. Gabriel Labbe, who passed away in 2008, was the quintessential Quebecois mouth harp player and tune collector, and there is a Smithsonian Folkways recording featuring him. These a just a few places to start listening -- although Quebecois music seems to be dominated first by fiddlers, then by accordionists, there is actually a LOT of harmonica playing. Seek and ye shall find.
2. Which tunes to start with? The tune collection Danse ce Soir contains loads of standards.
Left to right: Gabriel Labbe, Rejean Lizotte, and Denis Pepin at the Ste-Louise gathering, 2002.
1. A good place to start is to listen to what harmonica players in Quebec have done. There is harmonica playing on the early Bottine Souriante recordings, Les Epousailles and Y a ben du changement. Gabriel Labbe, who passed away in 2008, was the quintessential Quebecois mouth harp player and tune collector, and there is a Smithsonian Folkways recording featuring him. These a just a few places to start listening -- although Quebecois music seems to be dominated first by fiddlers, then by accordionists, there is actually a LOT of harmonica playing. Seek and ye shall find.
2. Which tunes to start with? The tune collection Danse ce Soir contains loads of standards.
Left to right: Gabriel Labbe, Rejean Lizotte, and Denis Pepin at the Ste-Louise gathering, 2002.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Kimmel rises again!
Christian Maes and Emmanuel Pariselle playing Kimmel tunes. (Video by Chas Clark on YouTube.)
(P.S. These are apparently boxes that Chas Clark made in two of Monsieur Pariselle's workshops!)
(P.S. These are apparently boxes that Chas Clark made in two of Monsieur Pariselle's workshops!)
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Marche du St-Laurent
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of hearing Raz-de-Maree at the Champlain Valley Folk Festival. Not only was it wonderful to hear Sabin Jacques -- one of the accordionists who inspired me to learn to play the box -- but I also got to bring my son, who patiently listened to the whole set!
Raz-de-Maree are playing a mix of new tunes and classics. They actually played the "Marche du St-Laurent," which was one of the first tunes that I learned on the melodeon. Here's my own medium-tempo rendition:
Raz-de-Maree are playing a mix of new tunes and classics. They actually played the "Marche du St-Laurent," which was one of the first tunes that I learned on the melodeon. Here's my own medium-tempo rendition:
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