February 20, 2001

“captivating

… their music was superb.”—The Boston Globe

“all four members are extremely

talented multi-instrumental musicians, singers, and percussive step

dancers.” —Living Tradition Magazine, U.K.

Barachois of Prince Edward Island,

Canada, to give Acadian music show March 4

Concert is free and open to the

public

MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—Barachois, an

Acadian music and step-dance ensemble from Prince Edward Island,

Canada, will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 4, in the Middlebury

College McCullough Student Center on Old Chapel Road off South Main

Street (Route 30). This family quartet combines dancing and humor

with lively traditional French songs and music on fiddle, piano,

percussion, and guitar. The concert is free and open to the

public.

Acadian traditional music was born on

tiny Prince Edward Island when some of the first settlers in North

America came from France and brought their songs with them. Kept

alive there for two and a half centuries, the music has been infused

with other influences—most recognizably the Scottish and Irish

fiddling styles. The music has been passed down through generation

after generation by way of kitchen parties and community dances and

gatherings.

All four members of Barachois are

multi-instrumentalists, step-dancers, and singers in their mother

tongue―French. Fluently bilingual, they collectively banter in

English as they explain their songs. Driven by the fiddling of Louise

Arsenault, whose feet tap out the lickety- split rhythm that is

characteristic of the Acadian sound, their music relies on the

harmonica, the trumpet, and the pump-organ as well as innovative

percussion of all sorts, including spoons, knives, and

forks.

Along with Louise, Albert Arsenault

also plays fiddle in the group, and is one of the two primary

vocalists. Albert’s sister, Hélène

Arsenault-Bergeron, plays the piano and pump-organ. Chuck Arsenault,

who serves as the second lead vocalist, plays the acoustic guitar and

trumpet.

Critics often mention the

group’s energy and humor. The Boston Herald declared, “The

night’s biggest surprise was Barachois, an Acadian quartet from

Prince Edward Island that combined French lyrics, vivacious drive,

daffy wit and a theatrical flair.”

In 1997 the group’s first

recording, “Barachois,” received three East Coast Music Award

nominations and then went on to win the Francophone Recording of the

Year. The band has also released a second recording titled

“Encore.”

Barachois has performed throughout

Canada and in a number of locations in the United States at such

events and venues as the Vancouver Folk Festival and Lincoln Center

in New York City. Their travels abroad include concerts in Sweden,

Germany, and England.

For more information, contact Anna

Sun, Middlebury College French department coordinator, at

802-443-5527.

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