Review: Coup de Quatre by Vielleux de Bourbonnaise

This edition is from our archives, so it is presented as scanned pages rather than text.

Kathryn Tickell’s records are available by mail order from:
Mawson and Wareham (Music) Ltd
Midgy Ha
Sharperton
MORPETH
Northumberland NE65 7AS

Coup de Quatre, Vieilleux du Bourbonnais; Audivis AV 4516
This outstanding record comes from four leading exponents of the bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy tradition of Central France: Jean-Claude Blanc, Fréderic Paris, Patrick Bouffard, and Bernard Blanc.
Perhaps the main success of the record is that Bernard Blanc has made all the pipes used on this recording (Cornemuse du Centre, 14, 20, 26 pouces) and they all blend together perfectly. The music represented includes equal amounts of traditional and self-composed music — and it is hard to see the join between the styles.
Besides the usual bourrées there are also several more lyrical non-dance-orientated tunes which have become my favourite tracks. In particular ‘Conscription’ (F. Paris) and ‘L’Orientale’ (Mick Baudimont) deserve repeated hearing. The pipes speak beautifully in the upper register and there are some fine combinations of different styles of pipe in harmony. This is a most enjoyable recording — a must for all French traditional music enthusiasts.

(Available from Discovery Records, Broad Street, Beechingstoke, Wilts).

Brian Radford

Pass the Hat, Noise of Minstrels; Unicorn-Kanchana DKP 9060
Something of the atmosphere of medieval street bands can be imagined from the first offering on disc of Noise of Minstrels.
The group specialise in the performance of early and traditional music, both as a street band appearing at fairs and festivals and as concert/recital performers. The album features eight musicians playing an impressive range of instruments including bagpipes (English, French and Union), hurdy-gurdy, shawms, clarinet, bassoon, citole and gittern. The pipes are very much to the fore, being put through their paces to fine effect. This is a long record, with music drawn from a wide range of sources and has an overall feel reminiscent of the best of the Munrow output. Particular favourites are the opening set of French tunes, ‘Le Rossignol’, ‘Valse à Cadet’ and ‘J’ai vu le loup’, with a beautiful cascading bagpipe part and some nicely judged tempi; the French chanson ‘En Vraye Amoure’ that features some broad, powerful shawm playing, and another set of French tunes, ‘Morvandelle’, ‘Amusons nous fillettes’, ‘Mat Jeanet’ and ‘Branle du Rat’, which display some fiery hurdy-gurdy playing.

Chanter 39

The Bagpipe Society

Review: Coup de Quatre by Vielleux de Bourbonnaise