AIGA LINDA/CANT E MUSICA EN CEVENAS
Singing and music in the Cevennes
no label, 1985, NUM 48067
The Cevennes are a range of mountains on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. The area is known for having still a strong party of Protestants called Huguenots in French who were persecuted by Louis XIV at the beginning of the 18th century. Those people who tried to resist were called the Camisards.
The country is not heavily populated and has few little towns as Alès, St-Jean-du-Gard or Anduze.
The band Aiga Linda was a very good example of what was the revival in Occitania. It started in 1979 as a duet with René Huré and Hervé Robert who sing and play popular oboe, fiddle, flutes etc.. Then Alain Griotto, Claude Pisaneschi joined them for the recording of this album. From the beginning they focused on local culture thanks to works and articles by Jean-Noël Pelen and Daniel Travier. They mentionned the publication Le Temps Cévenol ou la Conscience d'une Terre by Jean-Paul Bonnecaze (3 volumes) in which they found songs and tunes collected over the years. So the repertoire is quite unique and well interpreted. Hurdy-gurdy, mandolin, diatonic accordion, bagpipe, etc.. are used on this LP. They sing in Occitan and the dance tunes are polkas, bourrées, mazurkas etc...
The name of the band means ''clear water''. The lyrics in Occitan are available with French translation and some notes on the tunes. They recorded another LP in 1989.
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