Les Chevaliers

RANGELEY - It has been noted that my contrarian attitude could be self-defeating. And once again, the lesson is learned. When everyone else was taking French in high school (dude, the French Club gets to go to Montreal!). I, in my youthful infinite wisdom, chose to learn Latin. Like I was going to be a priest? Visit the Vatican? So now, here I am. Standing in line at Rangeley's Lakeside Theater to listen to a band play Acadian music and it's not like I don't know what I'm in for. The announcement is in Acadian French, and the backdrop to the stage is the flag of Acadia, red, white, blue. And the gold star of St Mary. We're not in Kansas anymore. Cover Art for the new CD by Boreal Tordu quot;Les Chevaliers,quot; to be officially released mid-September. The music is being presented by Boreal Tordu, which very roughly translated comes to quot;northern twist,quot; although even that's not right. More on that later. The group consists of four talented musicians, although that seems as understated as, well, like saying that there are four directions on a compass. It's not quite that straightforward (remember that whole quot;northern twistquot; thing?). The first song out is a brisk run of fiddle from Steve Muise, with Robert Sylvain's dobro coloring outside the lines alongside. Muise's legs bounce and step with marionette playfulness as his feet tap a rapid rhythm. Pip Walter ripples in and out with fluid runs on acoustic guitar while Andy Buckland plucks a bouncing backbone of upright bass. I know enough French to gather that there's a quot;oui oui ouiquot; and a quot;no, no, noquot; discussion going on. It turns out to be the title song for their latest CD quot;Le Chevalier,quot; slated for official release in mid-September. Playful, exuberant, and passionately rich in history, quot;Le Chevalierquot; is as good a definition of Boreal Tordu as you can get. For those fortunate enough to attend the concerts at Skye Theater and Lakeside Theater this past week, the upcoming release of quot;Le Chevalierquot; was available at the show for purchase as a unique quot;pre-releasequot; compact disc. The official release will contain full lyrics and other packaging. The music remains the same. quot;Le Chevalierquot; finds a band paying homage to the music of their forefathers, and then jumping off that structure, writing and singing of contemporary history and current issues. It's an innovative way to show the common threads that hold families together, that split societies apart, the story of humanity that (for good or bad) doesn't seem to change a whole lot. While doing so, Boreal Tordu also presents the missing history of the Acadian people, (the details of which can be read in the well-researched book quot;A Great and Noble Schemequot; by John Mack Faragher). Just one clear example is a song titled quot;J'ai Vu le Loupquot; (I will not attempt to remember the translated title). What is interesting is that the song exists in two forms, one in Acadian, another in quot;Cajunquot; (what Acadians are called in Louisiana). The Acadian version is in a minor key, the Louisiana quot;Cajunquot; in a major key. One sad, one celebratory. How that one song, which originated in the Breton area of France took on two aspects in America, could fill a book. However, the concert and the CD are far more than a historical time machine. The contemporary lyrics of Sylvain and the musical explorations of Muise are all here as well. From quot;Gigue pour Marcelquot; by Muise, to a wonderful song about Kerouac by Sylvain (quot;Ti-Jeanquot;), Boreal Tordu refuses to play the same old jig until you reel