Occitania – Sieradz. A journey in three.

When we look at the map it’s hard not to consider the distance between Occitania in southern France and Sieradz region in Central Poland, but when we focus on the sound of music that have survived in the tradition of these two pleces the distance seems much shorter than 2,000 kilometers.
The very first encounter of those two musical traditions at La Fête des Violons Populaires festival manifested striking similarity between bourrée trois temps and owijoki. These melodies, although danced in a different manner, share the same pulsation. Further music making, talks, exploring and analysing the archives have led to subsequent discoveries of similarities in the structure and musical scale. The result was a joint music venture called Trancexpress back in 2018. As it turns out, we have found in our mutual traditions a common rhythm and can speak the same musical language albeit with slightly different accents.
When Józef Tomczyk, a violinist from Mroczki Małe, first heard the bourrée in three he reportedly said: “Those Frenchmen can play pretty nice owijoki”.
At the concert we will have the opportunity to hear the music from both regions. Józef Tomczyk’s Band and Przoki band will play Sieradz tunes. Pelós Baug is going to present occitanian bourrées. We will also hear violinist Jean-Marc Delaunay.
The key part of the concert will be Trancexpress – a testament to the mysterious closeness of two different musical cultures.

Trancexpress is a music project created from two living traditions: the French bourrée and Polish oberek. The triple time, once omnipresent in traditional music of many European regions, has now been overtaken by double time in pop music and gives off an old school vibe. There are however people who still preserve the old. Such musicians from France and Poland have found with a common rhythm and realized they can speak the same language with different accents. The main objective of this intercultural fusion is creative dance music and reviving the community of traditional musicians. Trancexpress is faithful to the style and crudeness of folk music and combines two geographically remote musical traditions.

PELOS BAUG QUARTET

The four musicians gather around a common passion for traditional dance music, colorful melodic modes and rhythmic subtleties. They highlight the repertoire of the Massif Central region with their powerful performance and communicative energy. In this program they will also present a panorama of the mazurka in the french tradition, through history and different regional aesthetics.

Sam Bouchet – singing
Jean-Marc Delaunay – fiddle
Nicolas Roche – fiddle
Dani Detammaecker – harmonica and tuntun

Jean-Marc Delaunay – musician and teacher with a state degree in traditional violin.He is a recognized specialist of the fiddle music from Auvergne and Limousin (two regions of the center of France) and one of his best performers. He draws from a wide range of sounds and aesthetics his own powerful and colorful style.
Among many things, he recorded a double cd “Les violons de l’Artense” (1998) and publishes repertoire and documents on the website http://crmtl.fr/ressources/jean-marc-delaunay/.
Upcoming is a new solo violin CD “Le son de l’Artense” (released autumn 2020, AEPEM productions).

Nicolas Roche studied ethnomusicology and is specialized in the dance repertoire of south France. He plays fiddle, banjo and mandolins with the bands Tornamai, Manja-Pelos, and he is the creator of the fiddle festival “la Fête des Violons Populaires”. He is currently founder and member of the bands: Pelos Baug, La Brèche, Trio Banjo, duo Arverne and la Cola’ophane and Trancexpress.

Daniel Detammaecker is a french musician, singer, multi-percussionist and dancer, graduated of music studies in traditional music with a memoir on the harmonica. He specializes in the south-west repertoire of France, and plays “solo” as Dani PadPé
and with the bands Clica Dròna, Nhac!, Tchintcholhibus, DuoBois e Co., NonStop Project.

Samuel Bouchet is a singer specialised in the traditional occitan repertoire of the Cévennes region.
His powerful voice and strong presence captivates dancers and listeners when he performs with Pelos Baug, or in his solo concert “Cantanha Pagans”.

JEAN-MARC DELAUNAY – soloperformance
Musician and teacher with a state degree in traditional violin. He is a recognized specialist of the fiddle music from Auvergne and Limousin (two regions of the center of France) and one of his best performers. He draws from a wide range of sounds and aesthetics his own powerful and colorful style.
Among many things, he recorded a double cd “Les violons de l’Artense” (1998) and publishes repertoire and documents on the website http://crmtl.fr/ressources/jean-marc-delaunay/.
Upcoming is a new solo violin CD “Le son de l’Artense” (released autumn 2020, AEPEM productions).