Day Four (August 9)
Wow! We drove up to Bouchtouche, 30 minutes north of Moncton, and went to Le Pays de la Sagouine, a recreated village on an island that portrays the fictional life of an Acadian character created by renowned author and playwright Antonine Maillet (www.sagouine.com). The heart of the island is comprised of a performing stage, where music happens pretty much all day.
We attended a presentation at the interpretive centre for the island, and learned about the history of the Acadian people... I very vaguely recall this story from my school years, but did not realize the extent of the injustice... more about this in future blogs.
Through a contact given by the well-known Acadian concert pianist Roger Lord, I was introduced to Sylvie Robechaud, the music booking agent for the park. She made the connections so that I could set up my gear and record one of the bands playing that day... a group called Borlico. Here's a clip of what we heard... We've got a couple of blurry pictures as well, we weren't supposed to take photos, but we got the sound!
I made friends with the sound man, Michael Frigault, aka Freedo, and it turned out that he lives in Rogersville, which was our next destination after Bouchtouche, which we got through following another lead from someone at the Steeper's church, a guy named Marcel Barrio. Freedo has his own band, and CD too. Great music, I'll ask if I can post a clip.
So, we followed Freedo to Rogersville (about an hour north of Moncton), ate some of the best fried chicken I've ever had at Decker's and set up my gear in time to catch a jam session at the local gazebo. I forgot to write down the names of the performers, I hope to get that info from the village mayor who I made contact with at the concert, but here are two clips of what we heard. Act 1 Act 2
The population of the town is about 1,000 people, and at least a quarter that turned out to the park to hear the music. This is why the Acadian culture is so alive and vibrant: it is lived and loved by the people. I am a little worried about the future... Freedo's young three year old daughter gets much of her knowledge of the world from television and satelite services which carry very little French (or Acadian) content. Freedo is making sure that she is also getting the Acadian culture, but with the competition from our junk TV...
When I see our own culture compared to what I am witnessing here in the Maritimes, it seems dead and without soul. What do people spend most of their leisure time doing in Ontario? Watching TV, the statistics show.
Tomorrow, we're off to St George down in the south west end of New Brunswick, where we hope to see and hear a man who makes wooden puppets to dance to Acadian folk music!
We attended a presentation at the interpretive centre for the island, and learned about the history of the Acadian people... I very vaguely recall this story from my school years, but did not realize the extent of the injustice... more about this in future blogs.
Through a contact given by the well-known Acadian concert pianist Roger Lord, I was introduced to Sylvie Robechaud, the music booking agent for the park. She made the connections so that I could set up my gear and record one of the bands playing that day... a group called Borlico. Here's a clip of what we heard... We've got a couple of blurry pictures as well, we weren't supposed to take photos, but we got the sound!
I made friends with the sound man, Michael Frigault, aka Freedo, and it turned out that he lives in Rogersville, which was our next destination after Bouchtouche, which we got through following another lead from someone at the Steeper's church, a guy named Marcel Barrio. Freedo has his own band, and CD too. Great music, I'll ask if I can post a clip.
So, we followed Freedo to Rogersville (about an hour north of Moncton), ate some of the best fried chicken I've ever had at Decker's and set up my gear in time to catch a jam session at the local gazebo. I forgot to write down the names of the performers, I hope to get that info from the village mayor who I made contact with at the concert, but here are two clips of what we heard. Act 1 Act 2
The population of the town is about 1,000 people, and at least a quarter that turned out to the park to hear the music. This is why the Acadian culture is so alive and vibrant: it is lived and loved by the people. I am a little worried about the future... Freedo's young three year old daughter gets much of her knowledge of the world from television and satelite services which carry very little French (or Acadian) content. Freedo is making sure that she is also getting the Acadian culture, but with the competition from our junk TV...
When I see our own culture compared to what I am witnessing here in the Maritimes, it seems dead and without soul. What do people spend most of their leisure time doing in Ontario? Watching TV, the statistics show.
Tomorrow, we're off to St George down in the south west end of New Brunswick, where we hope to see and hear a man who makes wooden puppets to dance to Acadian folk music!
posted by Chestnut Hall Music at 9:06 PM
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