Trame (Gilles Chabenat & Alain Bonnin)
Bethany Lutheran Church
Seattle, WA
September 24, 2003

A year ago, I didn't even know what a hurdy-gurdy looked like. And now that I have seen hurdy-gurdy players twice in concert (Le Vent du Nord and Trame), I still have a difficult time describing the instrument to readers.

When I first arrived at the church where Trame would be performing, I was shown an acoustic version of a hurdy-gurdy, that in itself would cause any musician to salivate. Although this particular instrument hadn't been broken in yet, its ancestors reach back 1000 years from origins in Central Europe. Today, you will find the instrument being performed in Russia, Scandinavia, France, Spain and other European countries, as well as North America. You can hear its drones and Moog synthesizer like tones emitting from music of various cultures. Most surprising was hearing a hurdy-gurdy on Mohawk vocalist Lawrence Laughing's recording, Now Our Minds Are One. And this just proves the versatility of this keyboard-fiddle-like instrument.

The hurdy-gurdy and its uses have evolved over time. Gilles Chabenat, half of the duo, Trame performed jazz compositions on an electric and fully equipped hurdy-gurdy. However, Gilles and his musical partner pianist Alain Bonnin got off to a bad start, when half way through their first composition, a circuit breaker blew. This problem was remedied as a few light-hearted jokes rallied around a jovial audience (consisting mostly of
hurdy-gurdy players and students of the instrument). Soon Gilles and Alain returned to their jazz repertoire, which in itself defies the usual descriptions. Yet, I could hear elements of contemporary Finnish folk-roots music, American jazz, French traditional and even echoes of French Impressionism (the music, not the paintings).

Gilles and Alain who met eight years ago while performing in the Corsican group, I Muvrini work well off of each other. Both musicians proved mastership over their respective instruments, but also seemed to be communicating telepathically with one another and at times, they broke into wild improvisations such as on a composition that Gilles dubbed "French rock and roll." If Gilles had lit his instrument on fire, he would have drawn comparisons with Jimi Hendrix (after all, this is Seattle). Le Fil/Mab featured a funky piano solo and some delightful jazz interpretations. Couleur par Couleur began as a slow melodic piece then the musicians picked up speed, creating frenzied and dissonant music. This led into the experimental Carmin and then into the mood piece, Argile. Although most of the compositions fell into jazz, a couple of traditional dance songs were performed and Trame ended their performance with the encore, Madranque in which a few of the Over the Water Hurdy-Gurdy Association board members joined in as a vocal choir, complete with polyphonic harmonies.

The overall atmosphere created was one of sheer enjoyment and honoring musicianship. Perhaps the hurdy-gurdy and the Hurdy-Gurdy Association will successfully bridge the gap between France and the US through a passion for music, both ancient and modern. Concerts such as this one uplift audiences while preserving roots and heritage. And that alone is worth the price of admission.

(Compliments of Cranky Crow World Music).