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Music sets Cajuns apart
By Edward Guidry, Daily Comet,
8/8/99
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Ask someone on the street what sets
Cajuns apart from the rest of the world, and the two most likely
answers would probably be food and
music. Like Cajun food, Cajun music was formed by the "ingredients" that
were most readily available: simple instruments, and a tradition that was
handed down over generations, like a good recipe.
The evolution of musical styles by
a people who are defined by their love of having a good time was the
subject of the third annual Cajun/Zydeco
Music and Dance Exhibit at Nicholls State University's Ellender
Memorial Library Thursday.
The exhibit, a symposium held for
the Congres Mondial Acadien celebration, featured a music and dance
exhibit, with couples waltzing along
the first floor of the library, while local Cajun band Cajun Bon Temps
played traditional Cajun instrumentals.
Nicholls State University professor
and musician Dr. Julie Landry gave a lecture about the evolution of
Cajun music from its roots in Canada
and France, and the folk traditions that went with it.
The traditional Cajun music of today,
with its instrumentation and styles, was not present during its early
stages, she said. Early instrumentation
consisted of fiddles, and the percussion consisted of foot-stomping, a
triangle made from broken rakes, or a washboard.
In the early European traditions,
dancing was done in groups, unlike the couples-based dancing of today.
Those dances were played with 4/4
rhythms, which meant that each measure of music had four beats.
Eventually, the music changed to
included 3-4 rhythms, the predominant rhythm of the waltz, which made for
couple dancing, she said.
Much of the early music revolved
around the relationship between men and women, as evidenced in the
songs, sung in the ballad style,
which told a story, often tragic in nature, she said.
"Ballads still exist in Louisiana,
and provide the story tradition to Cajun music," she said.
The lullaby was also popular, in
the a cappella (unaccompanied) tradition, she said. Some forms of early
Cajun music was composed and performed
without instruments, mainly because the Church prohibited
playing music during the Lenten
season, she said.
Landry sang several lullabies, including
Fais Do Do Mon Ti Frere (go to sleep, my little brother) and La Ti
Poule (the little chicken), along
with other traditional European and Cajun songs, accompanied by a fiddle
player and triangle player.
Eventually, the German accordion
made its way to Louisiana, and became popular because of its
unamplified volume, she said. The
accordion of choice was the diatonic accordion, which plays different
notes depending on whether its bellows
are being pushed or pulled.
The accordion caught on much earlier
with Cajuns from the west, or "prairie Cajuns" than it did with the
"bayou Cajuns" along Bayou Lafourche,
she said.
The event's organizer, assistant
professor and librarian Anke Tomm, said the event has grown since its
beginning three years ago.
Last year, Tomm wrote for a grant
from the Louisiana Houma-Terrebonne Arts Council, and received
$2,000 to buy CDs, videos, and books
related to Cajun/zydeco music. A second grant was received to pay for musicians.
Another $2,000 was received from the Louisiana Endowments of the Humanities,
which
paid for advertising and publications,
and Landry's essay.
While the Cajun Bon Temps band played
in the lobby, several couples danced in the Cajun tradition. Those who
didn't dance, however, tapped their feet to the infectious rhythms.
C.G. Atzenhofser, of Victoria, Texas,
came to Nicholls State University with his wife, who has family
down in Lafourche Parish. While
she was interested in the genealogy symposium, Atzenhofser found
himself enjoying the musical aspect.
He said he was afraid he would be bored while she looked up her
family tree, but to his surprise,
found himself having a good time.
"She's had extremely good luck here
at Nicholls State, in both the symposium and archives," he said.
"The rest of the activities I had
no idea what they were going to do here," he said. "I wasn't very
enthusiastic as an outsider, so
I didn't think that much of it at first,"
Atzenhofser said he enjoyed the music,
and the only thing that stopped him from dancing was a recent
knee replacement surgery, he said.
If you like music and rhythm, you
can't help but love the Cajuns," he said. "I catch myself stomping my
feet.
"This has been the highlight of our
whole trip," he said.
Edward Guidry is a staff writer for
the Daily Comet. He can be reached at 448-7646 or by e-mail at
eguidry@dailycomet.com.
Local and visiting musicians get dancers on their feet during
the Third Annual Cajun/Zydeco Music and Dance Exhibit at Nicholls State
University. This year the event was held in conjunction with a Congres
Modial Acadien Louisiane celebration.
Staff photo by Abby Tabor |
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