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Don, If you are also interested in things `done to' French trad., then on the rcording front I can recommend Michel Montenaro's many recordings. (He is also one of the founder members of `Keleti Szél' which is Hungarian for `Eastern Wind', which is a massive ad hoc band of between 17-18 and 20+ musaicians, generally representing at least four countries, that fuse away like mad! The recordings by Malicorne are also interesting and intelligent interpretations of French music. And I too have `Songs of the Auv.'! Andy Simon Furey wrote: > > Hi Don, > > Now it's my turn to help you! > > Joseph Canteloube was a very significant collector, and his published music > "Song of the Auvergne" is just a bit of his work. His great publication is > the five-volume "Anthologie des chants populaires français" published by > Durand et cie in Paris in 1951. It is a superb work, and his material is > truly wonderful. Unfortunately it is about as rare as hen's teeth. I have > been looking for a copy for myself for ages, without success. However, any > decent university library should have a copy. I suppose you might draw a > parallel between Canteloube and Vaughan Williams, in that both were avid > collectors and made excellent arrangements of their "finds". One of the > interesting things that you find from reading his book is that "Songs from > the Auvergne" contains songs not from the Auvergne!! But who cares? The > music is fabulous. > > As regards a French Sharp or Child, there's no such luck. There are many > collections, but they tend to be of the type that ignores the music or the > words. Doncieux is a prime example. What you need to be aware of is the > strong regional character of French folk music which is reflected in the > collections. Collectors seem in the main to have specialised in particular > localities. If you want to know about Breton stuff, then talk to Mary Ann > Constantine, who is on this list. My own interest is Catalonia, which spills > over from Spain into France, specifically the Roussillon and the Cerdagne. > The most important collector here is Jean Poueigh (Chansons populaires des > Pyrenées françaises, Paris, Champion, 1926), but others include: > > Cécile Marie, Anthologie de la chanson occitane, Paris, Maissonneuve et > Larose, 1975) > Louis Lambert, Chants et chansons populaires du Languedoc, Paris, 1906 repr. > Marseilles, Laffitte Reprints, 1983 > Jérome Bujeaud, Chants et chansons populaires des provinces de l'ouest, > Niort, 1905, repr. Laffitte Reprints,(nd) > George Doncieux, Le romancéro populaire de la France: choix de chansons > populaires françaises, Paris, Bouillon, 1904 > > There is also the dreaded Histoire de la chanson populaire en France of > Julien Tiersot, but I would respectfully suggest you steer clear of this, > since his musical ideas are (to say the least) odd. More details in my > thesis, when finished. If you want analysis then look at the (several) works > of Patrice Courault. > > This is by no means a complete list, but reflects my interests in the far > south west. Other useful names are Weckerlin, Davenson, Rolland and > Colet/Dumerson. Other subscribers to the list may have some better ideas. > > If you want recordings, then you need to get in touch with AMTA in Riom. > They do loads of CDs of really good traditional French and Occitane music of > all kinds. I can give you more details if you wish. > > Fimally, look for Marc Robine's book "Anthologie de la chanson française". > This covers everything from the troubadours through folk songs of all > descriptions, music hall songs and stuff right up to this century. Apart > from being a monster reference work (with a useful bibliography), it comes > with no fewer than 14 CDs containing 321 songs! It was published by Albin > Michel in Paris in 1994. The ISBN is 2-226-07479-1. I can recommend the sea > shanty "Père Winslow" which rejoices in the chorus "gimme some time to blow > the man down" which in a French accent has to be heard to be believed! > > Cheers > Simon %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%