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Le son des Français d'Amérique Series (Ages 15-17)

27 films
Leaving soon

Le son des Français d'Amérique documents the musical and singing heritage of America's French-speaking people, following in the footsteps of the continent's last French-speaking representatives of a vanishing oral tradition. Pour visionnez cette sélection en français, cliquez ici.

Up next: Le son des Français d'Amérique - Je suis fait de musique (English Version)
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Le son des Français d'Amérique Series (Ages 15-17)

Le son des Français d'Amérique documents the musical and singing heritage of America's French-speaking people, following in the footsteps of the continent's last French-speaking representatives of a vanishing oral tradition.

Pour visionnez cette sélection en français, cliquez ici.

Playlist

  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Je suis fait de musique (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Je suis fait de musique (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1978 26 min
    Well-known button-accordion player Philippe Bruneau from Montréal tells of how he became an internationally recognized folk musician. His outstanding compositions dedicated to many of Quebec’s great musicians have become and inspiration for generations of young Trad musicians.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - And a bit of music… (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - And a bit of music… (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1980 27 min
    Fiddler Junior Crehan de Clare tells us how after working in the fields and caring for the animals, there is sometimes a little time left over for music. Farmer James Gleeson, poet Liam O’Muirthliem, and the musicians and dancers of Gleeson’s Pub reveal what they have in common with Ireland: music and the quest for freedom.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le reel des ouvriers (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le reel des ouvriers (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1977 27 min
    Musicians from Quebec’s Portneuf region adopted and adapted Irish fiddle and drum tunes. Road worker and fiddler André Alain; carpenter and accordion player Jean-Claude Petit; and bus driver, frame-drum player, and jig dancer Arthur Tremblay introduce us to their lively music.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le dernier boutte (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le dernier boutte (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1980 28 min
    The French-speaking population of Port au Port was made up of Acadian exiles, fishers from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, and Breton and French deserters. Their descendants preserved a spirit of freedom that can be heard in their music. As the great Newfoundland fiddler Émile Benoît said, Ça vient du tchoeur (It comes from the heart). A touching account!
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Parler breton, c’était un crime ! (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Parler breton, c’était un crime ! (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1980 26 min
    Bretons descend from the Celts, and France once banned their language and culture. An eloquent example for understanding, in reverse, the assimilation of certain French-speaking communities in the Americas. Philippe Durand refutes the mechanics of colonialism, and Emmanuel Kerjean and Lomig Denniou answer with melodies and call-and-response songs (Kan ha diskan).
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les ruine-babines (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les ruine-babines (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1975 24 min
    In Quebec, ruine-babines (literally, lip destroyer) is a common term for the harmonica. It’s also the name of a group of young musicians from the Montréal region. Gilles Garand, Louise De Grosbois, and friends embarked on an exploration of their musical roots, and they talk about their discovery of French-Canadian folk music.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - C’est pu comme ça anymore (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - C’est pu comme ça anymore (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1977 26 min
    Sexton Rosie Pratte, fiddler Charles Pagé, and the last French-speaking families of Old Mines (Vieille Mine), Missouri, talk about life in the old days. They are descendants of French-Canadian voyageur-traders who settled in the Aux-Arcs mountains (Ozarks). A fragile memory that persists…
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - La terre d’amitié (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - La terre d’amitié (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1978 28 min
    "The commune of Gençay, in Haut-Poitou, invites you to an evening of music at the Dognon.” Singer Huguette Compagnon describes the prejudices faced by speakers of the Poitevin dialect. Ethnologist Michel Valière talks about his fieldwork and explains the urgency of preserving cultural diversity in France and around the world.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les gens de plaisir (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les gens de plaisir (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1979 27 min
    In April, at sugaring off time, farmers descended from the 1837 Patriotes in Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu gather in their sugar shacks in a traditional celebration of spring in song. After the last sap is gathered, Josaphat Richer, André Richer and his clan host the families of local singers.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Votre histoire ça va être une chanson (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Votre histoire ça va être une chanson (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1978 24 min
    Florent Lemay, a talented singer and gardener to the Seigneur of Lotbinière, recalls how songs were written back in the day. His neighbour, farmer Joseph Auger, maintained this old tradition of writing songs based on events and happenings in the parish, and Lemay inherited his compositions.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Fred’s Lounge (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Fred’s Lounge (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 26 min
    Every Saturday morning on the KEUN radio station set up at Fred’s Lounge in Mamou, Revon Reed hosts local musicians. He talks about the lives of Cajuns and introduces the Deshôtels brothers, Madam Landreneau, CD Courville, and Nathan Abshire, who perform ballads, waltzes, two-steps, and blues numbers to laisser le Bon Temps rouler…
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le P’tit Canada (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le P’tit Canada (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1979 29 min
    This was the name given to French-Canadian neighbourhoods that sprung up around textile mills in New England. Historian Richard Santerre and the family of Rita Paquin talk about their lives and how song nights have managed to preserve a certain Quebec heritage to this day.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le quêteux Tremblay (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Le quêteux Tremblay (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1977 25 min
    Gaspé fiddler William Tremblay describes his lifestyle. In times past, Quebec’s quêteux—neither beggars nor homeless—had a social function. They were respected figures who brought news, told tales and stories, cast spells, and were often fine musicians. In exchange, they were welcomed, lodged, and fed.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - C’est toujours à recommencer (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - C’est toujours à recommencer (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1980 27 min
    Northern Ontario was developed by French-Canadian lumberjacks and miners at the turn of the 20th century. Franco-Ontarian activist Michelle Trottier talks about their hopes and struggles to have their rights respected. A forestry worker sings of and condemns his exploitation. Fiddler Olivas Gagnon plays while his neighbours dance.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Johnny à Dennis à Alfred (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Johnny à Dennis à Alfred (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 26 min
    Three generations of Acadian fiddlers from Baie Sainte-Marie relate their experiences and their love of music. The fiddling tradition passed from the grandfather Alfred, a lumberjack, to the father Dennis, a caulker, to the son Johnny, a fisher and professional musician. An admirable legacy in one of the oldest Acadian communities.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Envoyez de l’avant nos gens (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Envoyez de l’avant nos gens (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1975 24 min
    Farmer, singer, and fiddler Antonio Bazinet describes the hard life on rocky-soiled Laurentian farms and in logging camps. Songs and fiddle tunes such as “Envoyez de l’avant nos gens,” written by local forestry workers and based on an older theme, capture the period’s joie de vivre.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Il faut continuer! (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Il faut continuer! (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1978 27 min
    Educator and musician Jany Rouger introduces us to accomplished folk musicians from Bas-Poitou: basket maker and fiddler Paul Micheneau, and square-dance fiddler Maximin Rambaud, who leads the figures of old-style dances, a forerunner of the modern-day caller. Rouger explains why it’s so important to continue this tradition.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - L’en premier (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - L’en premier (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 26 min
    Initially, the Acadians lived peacefully with their ingenious system of dykes and aboiteaux, a technology they brought over from Poitou that allowed them to farm reclaimed tidal marshland without taking anything away from their Mi’kmaq allies. Ethnologist Charlotte Cormier describes what life was like, and Lamèque lumberjack Majorique Duguay expresses it in song.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les Créoles (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les Créoles (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 28 min
    Descended from slaves in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), Creoles faced discrimination in South American society—too black for some, too French for others. They developed their own style of music: Zydeco. Delton Broussard and Calvin Carrière give us a taste of it, and singer Inez Catalon talks and sings about her life in Kaplan.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - La révolution du dansage (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - La révolution du dansage (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 28 min
    Fiddler and mother Georgina Audet made it her mission to preserve the island’s square dances. She relates how, despite the harsh living conditions and opposition from the church, her father passed on a precious repertoire of songs and square dances, which she now shares at dance evenings at the Château Bél-Air.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Faut pas l’dire ! (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Faut pas l’dire ! (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 26 min
    Folklorist Charlotte Cormier relates how Acadians, having been dispossessed during the Expulsion, maintained their social cohesion and culture through oral tradition, including song. The struggle is not over, and many Acadians are concerned about the future of their people, but no one dares say the dirty words…
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Pitou Boudreault, violoneux (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Pitou Boudreault, violoneux (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 26 min
    Chicoutimi carpenter Louis Boudreault epitomized the typical Quebec fiddler. He relates how he learned his trade and his introduction to music by his father, Idas. Having learned the dance music of the Lac Saint-Jean region from his great uncle Thomas Vaillancourt, he explains how good fiddlers learn by connecting with the dancers.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - J’ai chanté, j’ai déchanté et je rechante (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - J’ai chanté, j’ai déchanté et je rechante (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1980 27 min
    A trip to Upper Brittany, whence came the ancestors of many French-Canadians, bringing with them a wealth of songs still sung in the Gaspé region. Philippe Durand and Yann Plunier introduce us to Breton history and culture. Jeannette Maquignon and friends sing work songs, songs to dance to, and laments.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Ma chère terre (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Ma chère terre (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 25 min
    Radio host and writer Revon Reed relates that the Acadians, expelled from their land in the north, dreamed of owning land in Louisiana, and this became a hallmark of the culture. Fiddlers Aedius Naquin and Dennis McGhee talk about the life of a Cajun musician and their unique style of singing while playing, inherited from the troubadours of the Middle Ages.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les gens libres (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Les gens libres (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1980 26 min
    An encounter with Métis ice fishers from Saint-Ambroise on Lake Manitoba. On Saturday night, we are invited to a dance called by fisher Louis Lamirande. Métis historian Antoine Lussier talks about life in his community, while former fisher Paul Lavallée sings of the accomplishments of Louis Riel and the Métis.
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Réveille ! (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Réveille ! (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 27 min
    International star Zachary Richard talks about his journey as a musician, explaining how the American melting-pot ideology tried to eradicate Cajun culture in the U.S. After years of shame, young musicians such as the band Coteau and Michael Doucet are taking up the torch. Richard performs his resistance song “Réveille!”
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  • Le son des Français d'Amérique - Il allont-y disparaître ? (English Version)
    Le son des Français d'Amérique - Il allont-y disparaître ? (English Version)
    Michel Brault  &  André Gladu 1976 27 min
    Founded in 1780 by Acadian refugees, Chéticamp is today the largest Acadian community in Cape Breton (formerly Île Royale). The town’s history is related by well-known educator and Acadian activist Alexandre Boudreau, along with a story from the oral history by fisher Tom Chiasson. They express their concern for the future of the Acadians.
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