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LANGUEDOC..
POPULAR OBOE. 
or AUTBÒI

(pronounced : awboy )



This is the king of the instruments for folk festivals in the eastern Languedoc region. Its use originally covered the area from the east half of the Herault department in France, to the neighbouring Petit Camargue. As with many traditional instruments, it has suffered from a marked decline but was saved by the Languedoc Jousts, practised in particular in Sète. Today, this folk oboe has regained it's original territory in cattle rearing areas where it has again found its place in Carmargue bull competitions. It is traditionally played to take maximum advantage of its lyrical possibilities.

 


 



          

          BODEGA or CRABA

(pronounced : boudégo cràbo)



The first name is from French Aude department and the second, meaning goat in the South of France language, 'Occitan', from the Tarn department. The use of this bagpipe instrument is halfway between four French departments: principally the north of the Aude department, the south of the Tarn department, slightly spilling over into the Hérault department in the east, and the Haute Garonne department in the west; an area centred on the Black Mountain massive and the Sidobre plateau. For tens of years no players of the instrument were left and thus a long period of silence occurred. It again saw the light of day thanks to the initiative of Charles Alexandre and  luthiers such as Claude Romero from Toulouse or Bruno Salensson from Nîmes. The pouch containing the air is made from a whole goat, of which at least three feet are retained. This pouch is called oire or embaissa in the 'Occitan' language (pronounced ooyré or émbàysso respectively). The long cylindric back piece produces a continuous note, called the drone, tuned to the melody's dominant note, or sometimes to the fundamental note. Its main use was largely individual, rarely accompanied by another instrument. The craba, or bodega, was above all the instrument of the rural social classes of non land owners, day labourers, shepherds and farm workers; this social restriction corresponds to the artisanal nature of its workmanship.  This instrument is, along with the zampogna of Southern Italy,  the largest of the bagpipes.

 


 


 MÉLODÉON

 



 

Truly diatonic accordion, very popular in North America, especially amongst Acadians, or Cajuns (the transformation of 'Acadien', in French, with an English accent). It is thus much used in francophone areas of south Louisiana, where it acquired a unique style, accompanied by the violin and the folk guitar (steel strings). In Quebec, it is also very popular, often accompanied by the piano. Thanks to its light weight and its ease of handling, virtuoso musicians such as Philippe Bruneau have stretched its bisonoric (press-draw) musical potential to a maximum. Our group makes use of this cheery-sounded instrument for Quebec contra dances (see the page on 'Concerts, Dances'), which have some rhythms in common with the Irish and Scottish repertoires (reels, hornpipes, etc.), but with a very different spirit.


GUITAR


 
 



...JOUSTS DRUM...
or TAMBORINET
 (pronounced : tamburinet)
 
 

Traditionally, an inseparable partner to the oboe. It is smaller than the clique drum; its sound is well-adapted to that of the oboe. It was therefore also saved by the practise of musical jousts, which has retained this traditional pair of instruments. Its playing of course uses Napoleonic techniques (diane, rigadoon, etc.), but also has great rhythmical flexibility (hitting of the drum sometimes offset from the beat). Originally, the upper and lower skins of the drum were made from baby goat and still-born calf skin, respectively.

Here, Daniel Tournebize plays an instrument he made.


 
 



 

 

CABRETA

(pronounced  cabreto)



Contrary to the bodega, practise of the cabrette (kid goat) has never been interrupted. Its use is centred on the region of Aubrac, covering the Aveyron department, the south of the Cantal department and the area of Gévaudan, i.e. north of the Lozère department. The emigration of the peoples of the Rouergue region (the ' Rouergats') and the Auvergne region (the 'Auvergnats') to Paris at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, lead to the instrument enjoying a golden age in the capital, where it was equipped with bellows to feed the pouch (we find the same system of bellows bagpipe in the Béchonnet musette from central France, the Irish Uilleann pipes, as well as the baroque musette). To the left of the 'leg' which plays the melody, and parallel to it, another leg serves as a drone (continuous note which plays throughout the melody), but it is generally muffled. However we come across examples of cabrette playing with a continuous note. This continuous note is given the name 'drone' when it is produced by a single reed, and the name 'chanterelle' when it is produced by a double reed. In Parisian ball rooms, the cabrette was mixed with the accordion which was introduced by Italian immigrants to make the peoples of the Massif Central dance, along with Parisians. From this was born the style 'musette' – the Parisian name it was given – and had the success we know today, even if the accordion has since had greater success as a sole instrument.


 
 
 
.DIATONIC ACCORDION. 
(fabrication :  Bruno Priez)


 

It would be more accurate to talk about the ' bisonoric' accordion, meaning that each button, in contrary to the chromatic accordion, can produce two notes according to whether we press or draw the instrument. The bellows therefore have a major role since they produce a rhythmical effect that the chromatic accordion cannot produce. The name 'diatonic' accordion is explained by the fact that the first instruments of this type did not have halftones (like the  melodeon, truly diatonic accordion, see below). These days, many bisonoric accordions possess a variable number of halftones, sometimes a whole row, as is the case here, making the playing of chords possible. However the bisonoric principle results in the comfortable melodic playing favouring the natural notes of the instrument (G-C, A-D accordions, etc.).


 
 
 
VIOLIN (for the Quebec dances)