Ute Lemper: Feinmores Lied (3 mins 8 secs) Album: Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weil Decca NL425 204-2
:: Track 2
Jacques Brel: La Fanette (4 mins 4 secs) Album: Les Vieux 2 Barclay BA281 200322
:: Track 3
Popeluc: Reynardine (4 mins 46 secs) Album: Blue Dor Steel Carpet MATS013CD
BACKGROUND
These three pieces are from places where I have lived, that are dear to me. I bought Jacques Brel's LP as a student in the French town of Besancson. I have long been fascinated by the folk culture of Roumania where I am travelling this autumn for the first time, having learned and performed some of their folk dances for the past 13 years. The Popeluc track, a sort of grown up Little Red Riding Hood, like an Angela Carter tale, fuses both English and Roumanian folk music from Mauramures, an area where folk traditions are strong. I think all these tracks have a bittersweet, yearning quality which is appealing. However much I love to travel though, England is my home of choice.
COMMENTS
Folk Spots - Ashford Kent THE POPELUC REUNION FORTNIGHT POPELUC, the Anglo-Romanian band consisting of Ioan Pop, Pete Castle and Lucy Castle (Castle-Hotea, as was) played together to huge acclaim for several years in the mid 1990s. They played all over Britain and in Romania; they did TV and radio, had an article in fRoots and made several very well received albums, some of which are still available. Their last UK tour was in 1997. Although the group never formally broke up it seemed that personal commitments, the difficulty of having a band with members living 1000 miles apart, red tape, and just the passing of time, meant they wouldn’t work together again.
But they are!
Ioan Pop has been invited to contribute to a conference in Wales in November so they are taking that opportunity to get together again for a short UK tour.
Popeluc play a unique mixture of music. Starting with the authentic traditional music from the Maramures region of Romania they then mix in a few items from neighbouring regions and blend in the English tradition as well. Songs are sung in Romanian then translated into English: Romanian and English songs on similar themes are juxtaposed or mixed in a medley. As well as the songs and tunes led by Lucy’s fiddle playing they can include storytelling and play for dancing. They are happy to play at arts centres, folk clubs, village halls, schools, concerts—anywhere! And do workshops or demonstrations.
THE POPELUC REUNION FORTNIGHT is a bit of a last minute idea so the details are not finalised yet but the dates are roughly Mon 14 Nov—Mon 28th Nov. (except for Sat.19th when Pete already has a gig he can’t change.)
For more information or to get involved in the tour please contact:
http://www.folkspots.btinternet.co.uk/ Mon Aug 29 17:28:34 2005
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