A Down-Home Acadian Party
Prince Edward Island’s Barachois brings a party
to the stage with traditional Acadian music
By Deena Waisberg (Canadian Living Online Magazine)

When the members of the Acadian group Barachois (Bara-shwa) put on a show, they’re really hosting a party — and those in the audience are the guests.

Even when the audience members number 2,500, as they did on Sept. 4 at Molson Place at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, the lively fiddle music, step dancing and stage antics make you believe that you are at a house party rather than a concert.

This isn’t entirely surprising given that this music has been evolving at kitchen parties in Acadian communities for two-and-a-half centuries.

Three of the four band members grew up in the Evangeline district of Prince Edward Island. Brother and sister, Albert Arsenault and Hélène Arsenault-Bergeron, and close friend Louise Arsenault are no strangers to Acadian parties. "House parties were regular events for us," says Hélène, whose father is well-known fiddler Eddy Arsenault. "It wasn’t a planned thing. People would just drop in," she continues. The fourth member, Chuck Arsenault, grew up in an English-speaking community in P.E.I. but connected with his Acadian roots when the four decided to start a band in 1995 after performing together in a dinner theatre production. He had learned French in an immersion course. However, he could probably already do a mean Elvis imitation — one to which he treats the audience during the show.

Everyone in the group plays and step dances — individually, together and in pairs. And Louise and Albert are masterful on the fiddle, the main voice of these traditional songs. Louise, in particular, fiddles fast and furious. Hélène plays piano and pump organ, which is often used as the foundation of many songs. A host of other instruments, including the group’s feet, are employed as accompaniment.

In fact the show opens with band members using their feet to establish a rhythm. "A big part of the music is the feet. They are the percussion instrument of the band. In the old days French fiddlers accompanied themselves with their feet," explains Louise.

However, it’s the storytelling that draws you into their world and gives the concert a down-home party feeling. Costumes, mime and humour all help to explain the songs. Hélène explains the French lyrics of "Envoyez d'l’avant", a song about the Acadian lumberjacks going out into the woods for the winter. In the following number, she tells us that when the lumberjacks return home in the spring, they are happy to see the women. During this explanation, Chuck and Albert, who are wearing checkered jackets, strut around each other, vying for the attention of Hélène. "At local gatherings and home parties, there was always clowning around and dressing up," says Albert. The same mischievous spirit is let loose on stage.

At one point during the show, Albert and Hélène ask four unwitting audience members up on stage, get them to don cardboard hats and proceed to play upon their heads. You know you shouldn’t laugh but you just can’t help yourself.

At the core of the songs is the history of a culture. "Some people are moved to tears because they haven’t heard these songs since childhood. The oral tradition is dying out," says Hélène.

When the four musicians started the band, they looked to their collective past for their name and the kind of music they wanted to perform. Barachois is an old Acadian word that refers to the pool of water found between the sandbar and the beach. Their music is part of who they are.

They turned to a collection of songs recorded by Georges Arsenault (no relation) when they were looking for material to use on their self-titled debut CD. In the 1970s, Arsenault taped older women singing these traditional songs at home. The songs were sung a cappella so the group had to interpret them, choosing instruments and creating arrangements. "We grew up with the music and here were the words," explains Hélène.

Everyone in Barachois grew up in a musical family. Louise has been playing fiddle since the age of seven. However, Hélène and Albert’s father didn’t particularly encourage his children to take up music. If they picked up instruments, it would come from their desire alone.

The group’s parents have seen Barachois perform and are all quietly proud. "Acadians believe that to encourage is vain," says Hélène. So when Chuck announced to his father that Barachois won the distinction of Best Francophone Recording of the Year at the 1997 East Coast Music Awards, his father slyly retorted, "You haven’t made it until you’re in the cassette rack at Shoppers Drug Mart."

But the audience at this concert wasn’t holding back. At the end of the evening after sidesplitting laughter, everyone rose to their feet for a standing ovation.

It was a heck of a good party.