France, famous for its lavender fields, jaw-dropping architecture, and gourmet cuisine is also famous for its timeless traditional music scene – something this group captures well through an updated pan-Mediterranean sound.
Ask any Francophile what they enjoy about French music, and they’re likely to mention accordions, sultry raspy voices and longing melodies as highlights of French musical development since organum in the 10th century, followed by Notre Dame school composers and troubadours with tales of courtly love and chivalry.
Fiddle
The fiddle is the closest-sounding string instrument to its classical violin cousin, often employed for folk music but capable of any style of performance. Distinguished from classical violin by its playing style and set up, a fiddle can often be distinguished from its counterpart by playing style alone.
Fiddlers may use a capo, a tight leather cord tied around their neck near the bridge, to raise the pitch of their strings for easier fingering in different keys – this technique is known as playing un-tempered scales.
Un-tempered playing was common among old French dance musicians; today however, most musicians use artificially-tempered tunings. This is a tremendous loss, as un-tempered tuning gives music its unique rhythms that has inspired American contra dance bands.
Guitar
The guitar has long been used as an accompaniment to French folk music, alongside fiddle. Additionally, tango and jazz musicians often utilize this instrument. Ida Presti is a world-renowned classical guitarist who performed Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for its French premiere performance.
Early 20th-century musicians became enamored of the guitar, particularly tango artists such as Django Reinhardt and jazz musicians. This created a surge in demand for high-quality instruments; most were supplied by cabinetmakers and luthiers from Catania, Sicily who settled in Paris. These makers created large numbers of moderately priced instruments using plywood backs with veneered surfaces – cheaper and faster construction processes than solid wood instruments.
Graile
The graile, similar to an oboe in its woodwind family, is an instrument native to Languedoc used in traditional music. Usually performed as part of ensemble performances or folk dances, this instrument may also be joined by local instruments like the cabrette (French bagpipe) and vielle a roue made of goatskin.
“Grail” is also used as the name of a cup or platter in various chivalric romances, such as Perceval’s and Joseph of Arimathea’s tales, as well as Wagner’s Parsifal, where it stands as an analogy for God’s grace and love towards humanity. The cup itself becomes an image of spiritual grace for humanity.
French musicians strived to express genuine emotion without unnecessary drama or dissonance through music; these traits remain hallmarks of French music today.
Piano
The piano was originally invented in the 1700s by Bartolomeo Cristofori and is today used by musicians of many genres of music. As a keyboard instrument that produces sound by striking strings with hammers to vibrate them and produce sounds, pianos have long been beloved instruments of entertainment and musicians around the world have enjoyed them for their sound production capabilities.
In the 19th century, romantic composers explored all of the expressive capabilities of piano playing through romantic works like those by Liszt and Chopin. Both composers advanced piano playing to new levels of virtuosity ranging from theatrical effects to burning passions.
Traditional ballad singing and dance-song traditions continue in western France, particularly Poitou, Vendee, Anjou and Maine. Now performed by local groups catering to tourists as tourist entertainment, these folk traditions often draw on nationalist movements of Corsica and Breton culture while also including contemporary trends like ska or hardcore styles.
Vocals
French traditional music encompases a range of vocal styles, from folk and world to choral music, which forms an important part of its heritage.
Polyphony flourished during the tenth century as descants began being performed; these are elaborated versions of plainchant melodies called cantus firmus (plainchant). Singers who sang altus were called contratenors while soprani (who sang parts intertwined with altus) were soprani.
This collection of 24 songs represents an integral part of French musical heritage and has remained a classic over the years. Sung by stars such as Andre Claveau from postwar France and Mathe Altery who rose to fame during the 50s and 60s, these tunes depict a lively yet carefree France.