November 19th in York, PA, Le Vent du Nord–Quebec’s “Powerhouse” Band!
Le Vent du Nord (literally, the wind from the north) brings the incomparable spirit and roots of traditional Québec music to central Pennsylvania on Sunday, November 19, 2017, for a 7:30 p.m. Susquehanna Folk Music Society concert at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York, 925 S. George St., York.
The award-winning and highly acclaimed band Le Vent du Nord is a leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement. The group’s vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions while enhancing its hard-driving soulful music with a broad range of global influences.
This is Le Vent du Nord’s fifth visit to the area compliments of the Susquehanna Folk Music Society. Three years ago their show was recorded live and later aired on WITF’s Center Stage.
Concert tickets are $25 General Admission, $21 for SFMS members and $10 for students ages 3-22. Advance tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or toll-free (800) 838-3006. This concert is presented with support from Bob and Donna Pullo and the Quebec Government House in New York. For more information, visit the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website at http://www.sfmsfolk.org.
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I had a chance to chat with Rejéan Brunet, Le Vent Du Nord’s fantastic accordion player about the band and what they’ve been up to.
FOLKMAMA: I’m wondering if you could talk a little bit about the Le Vent du Nord experience. What should expect to hear when they come to one of your concerts?
REJÉAN: For the people who have seen us or not seen us it’s always nice. For the people who have not seen us it’s a super good way to experience the old tradition in a new way. We do a lot of traditional stuff and also compose in the style of the tradition. It’s a good mixture of old and new.
Sometimes it sounds quite traditional. We use the traditional instruments: guitar, fiddle, and accordion and we all sing. The group is quite strong on vocals. We do a lot of harmonies so it makes the song really full. So it’s a very unique experience with Québécoise music.
And of course, the Québécoise accent is so nice when we speak English. After the third or fourth word that we say people are getting into it and very receptive.
We have been playing a lot in the states and in many countries where they don’t speak French. We play with words and we always have a lot of fun translating things.
FOLKMAMA: So can you talk a little bit about the unusual instruments that the group plays; the hurdy-gurdy and the jaws harp?
REJÉAN: The hurdy-gurdy is a very unusual instrument. Maybe people won’t know much about it. It’s like a wheeled fiddle with strings. There are traces of that instrument a long time ago in Quebec 200 years ago, but not that much. It was not so easy to travel with the hurdy-gurdy. But traditionally it’s been singing and fiddle when the colony first started. And jaw harp is a very old instrument, easy to carry, so it was more evident early on.
The other instrument that we play that would be interesting to talk about is the bouzoki. It’s quite a new instrument. It’s like the Greek bouzoki except without the rounded back. It looks very much like a big mandolin. Even in Irish music, it came in the end of the 1960s. It was, in fact, a mistake, a guy wanted to have another instrument, and someone brought back a bouzoki instead. He started to play on that and it became quite popular.
FOLKMAMA: I’ve read that about 50% of your music is traditional and 50% is your own compositions. I’ve also read that you like to find old traditional pieces that have never been recorded. Where do you find them?
REJÉAN: It’s always different of course; the story of how we find each one is different for each song. It happens sometimes that we just have found the lyrics and we have to compose a melody for that. Many we go seek people who know a lot about the music or we go to the archives. There is a big University in Quebec City called Université Laval that has a super large amount of archives with old recordings.
FOLKMAMA: So I understand Le Vent du Nord is about to make a big change.
REJÉAN: Yes, the band has been together now for 15 years, and we’re excited at the end of December to officially expand into a quintet. We’ve asked fiddler Andre Brunét (seen on the Susquehanna Folk stage with De Temps Antan and Celtic Fiddlers Festival) to join the band. He’ll be joining the other members, Simon Beaudry (vocals, bouzouki, guitar), Nicolas Boulerice (vocals, hurdy-gurdy, piano), Olivier Demers (fiddle, foot-tapping, vocals, guitar, mandolin), and myself (bass, accordion, jaw’s harp, piano, vocals). A new album will be recorded soon, to be released during FALL 2018.
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