Search - Ad Vielle Que Pourra :: Musaique

A fascinating collage

Rashed Chowdhury | 08/06/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Looking at France today, it's easy to forget that, as recently as 1789, most Frenchpeople didn't speak French. The Québecois group Ad Vielle que Pourra reminds us of France's one-time multilingualism with "Musaïque", an album that manages to be upbeat and haunting at the same time. My favourite track was "An avel a varo", a Breton lament about fishermen lost at sea. Another interesting piece is "Lou mes de maï vendra", a song in Occitan, the pre-French language of Southern France. The language sounds, to my ears, like a transition between French and Spanish, while the music evokes Spain as well, with a strong Andalusian/Arabic influence. The happiest tune in the album, in my opinion, is "Un Québecois à Caracas", a melody that transmits a sense of hypnotic joie de vivre. If you like traditional World sounds or Cajun music, this is an album for you."