Well
they're back at it...Helene Bergeron and Louise Arsenault,
that is, along with some newly acquired musical
friends....from the next generation of young traditionally
inspired musicians...right on their doorstep...right here in
the Evangeline region of Prince Edward Island.
After ten
years of touring the world with the seminal Acadian
traditional band Barachois, the girls felt the need to
reconnect with their home, their families, their other
interests and so decided to leave the road and the touring
life; Barachois ended. Yet through it all, they continued to
pursue their primary passion...music. Not just any music,
but the music of their fathers, Eddy Arsenault and Alyre
Gallant, and the many musical mentors from past generations.
The pursuit of Acadian music from this corner of the small
Island of Prince Edward (the original French settlers, their
forefathers, knew it as Isle Saint- Jean) never ended. On
the contrary, the music lives on and has continued to grow
and flourish.
Three
summers of playing music locally at the Confederation Centre
for the Arts, numerous regional festivals and one or two in
the U.S. with a gifted bunch of 5 young women musicians
(young enough to be their daughters) loosely titled "Les
Girls" has rekindled their passion to take this music once
again to the world stage, this time with two of these young
women, Caroline Bernard and Samantha Gallant. Just as Lousie
and Helene have inherited their understanding of music from
their father's and mother's generation, Caroline and
Samantha have also, but from Louise and Helene's generation.
And so
Gadelle has been born. The two musical friends that Helene
and Louise have made in this union have combined to make
four. Caroline is the daughter of the well-known
singer/songwriter from Evangeline, PEI, Jeannita Bernard.
Caroline's mother has found time to write and perform
throughout her life while raising a family and, in so doing,
passed her knowledge of music on to her daughter. Caroline
sings with full conviction, a conviction that she surely
absorbed from her mother's music. Samantha came to music
through association with her best friends....five young
girls who all took up the fiddle at the same time together
at the ripe old age of 8 under the guidance of local fiddler
Anastasia DesRoches. While growing up, these young girls all
lived and breathed the fiddle; it provided them with a focal
point for their friendship. Samantha also grew up in a
household where traditional music was held in high esteem.
Her great-grandmother, Leah Maddix, was a prolific composer
and singer of traditional songs and a local character of
great renown.
So here is
Gadelle. This unlikely association of youth, vision,
experience and charm has blended into a unique new colour
shade of Acadian music. Gadelle is now ready to share the
music of this tiny place - their music - with the rest of
the world.
