Arts on the Air Package on Barachois,
An Acadian music group from Prince Edward Island/German concert tour
By Thomas Marzahl, 10.6240, kein HON Bitte fünf Jahre archivieren!


Just off the east coast of Canada lies the country's smallest province, Prince Edward Island. There's a substantial Francophone community in the western part of the island, populated by Acadians, as the descendants of 17th century French settlers are called. One of today's groups representing the Acadian musical heritage is a quartet called Barachois, which first formed in the mid 1990's, and their melodies, singing, and humorous stage act has been sweeping audiences across Canada off their feet since then. Now, concert goers in Europe have caught on to the group. Thomas Marzahl talked with two of the band's members in Aachen at the conclusion of their recent German tour.

TRX What is a Barachois? The group got their name from the pool that forms when tidal waters recede from the beach in eastern Canada. The quartet, which adapts Acadian music, is made up of Chuck, Louise, and Albert Arsenault, and Hélène Arsenault-Bergeron. Hélène Arsenault-Bergeron says much of their music is about marriage and relationships, which back then were a lasting Institution, no matter how bad they turned.

AXX Hélène Arsenault
…People wanted to get married, but once they got married, it was referred to in a lot of songs as a burden, because once you were married, it was for life, and it represented a lot of work, a lot of kids (laughs) … so they had some pretty resourceful and creative ways of solving their problems (laughs again)."

TRX I have a husband, who's in the woods, he's jealous of me, are the opening words to "Le mari jaloux" (The jealous husband). While jealousy may be common in relationships, this woman's solution is not: "Dear neighbour," she asks, "can you teach me how to make him die."

TRX But a Barachois concert is anything but death and despair. Go to one, and you'll be in for a few surprises, especially when the band reaches for some of the more unusual instruments. They might grab a knife and fork, a saw, or, during this song called "Le P'tit Moine" (The Little Monk), they use a makeshift set of drums. Only here, they ask for unsuspecting volunteers from the audience, and the drums are then strapped onto those audience members' heads.

TRX, The ideas for these antics come from everyday life which band members observed while they were growing up, as Albert Arsenault explains.

AXX Albert/Hélène Arsenault
"It's a big big part of what our parents do at parties, like our uncles are really wacky, really funny… we're just trying to be funny, but they're funny. (H laughs)… Hélène: Most of the gags that you see are just a recreation of what you see at a party, at a house party, so it's really easy to get inspired for what to do and how to interpret the party and see what happens…"

TRX On their self-titled debut album, the group tells stories of homesickness, a man trying to choose among three beautiful women, and even religious traditions. "Envoyez d'l'avant" (Go ahead, people) tells about the rituals that fishermen or lumberjacks went, and still do go through before work.

AXX H. Arsenault
"…it was typical to get blessed before you left and to this day when the fishermen leave, on the first morning of setting out their lobster traps, the priest is standing on the end of the wharf with his holy water, and the whole community comes down on the end of the wharf, and as each lobster boat goes by, the priest blesses it with holy water… our priest still blesses us before we leave on a tour!"

TRX The blessing, Hélène says, is important because the men never know if they'll come back from work alive. (pause) And the ever popular theme of love and marriage, of course, crops up again and again. "J'aurais quelque chose à dire" (I have something to tell you) won't disappoint.

AXX H. Arsenault
"…this poor guy comes courting, and he's sitting in the parlor with the girl, and he's thinking to himself, I would have something to say, and I don't know how to say it… he just has all these fantasies of whisking this girl away and marrying her and having a bed up in a tree with birds singing and flying around and… this fantasy's going through his head, and after each verse he says 'I would have something to say, but I'm not going to say it because you're just going to laugh at me,' and he's talking about the parents, because they're just staring at him."

TRX Alas, our romantic hero never develops enough courage, and he doesn't get the girl. But despite the few sad endings, there's a lot of joy that shines in the music of Barachois.

AXX A./H. Arsenault
"…people want to have fun, people want to laugh… that's what our music is all about anyway… Hélène: The reason to have fun is to forget about all the problems of life, the everyday realities of life, so that when you get together, and let everything go, and just drive it with the music in a frenzy, you do forget about everything and it's kind of like a high, a natural high!"

TRX So roll up the carpet, and put on your dancing shoes, Barachois may soon come to your town! As has been said about this band, if this music doesn't make you feel good, you're probably dead!