In this house, we listen to this and all our Revels recordings throughout the Christmas season, from around Solstice Night all the way to Candlemas, and music by the Revels is a big part of our annual Yuletide celebration. "Valse de Noel" is one we listen to even beyond Christmastime. It reminds me of the Cajun dance lessons I took with my friends in Birmingham when I lived in Alabama.

The music in this Revels performance comes from the French-speaking Acadian people. In the 18th century, they were deported from the Canadian Maritimes and scattered about the American continent. Many of them landed in Louisiana, where Acadian music evolved into Cajun, while those who eventually returned to Canada rekindled their distinctive Acadian style. Today those genres are vastly different, yet the historical bridges remain: the fiddle has traditionally been the driving force in both Acadian and Cajun dance music, and many songs embody archetypal themes of deep yearning. Most importantly, in spite of the challenges they have faced, both peoples know how to make their own fun, refuse to take themselves too seriously, and love to dance. This collection of vocal and instrumental music from both communities reflects their shared commitment to laissez les bons temps rouler!

This is a compact disc, not a download. Here at Convivio Bookworks, we still enjoy popping a disc into a proper stereo and we especially love reading the accompanying liner notes in the analog booklet that comes with the CD. I know. Very old school and not nearly as cool as vinyl... but then again, perhaps we are on the cutting edge of an upcoming renewed interest in CDs. Stranger things have happened.

Full song list for this CD:

1. Acadian Overture
2. Les Anges dans nos campanges
3. Quadrille de Sainte-Marie-sur_Mer: la premuere barre
4. Melchior et Balthazar
5. Acadian Mouth Music
6. Nouvelle agreable
7. La Disputeuse/Quadrille d’Andre a Toto Savoie
8. Les Cloches du hameau
9. Le Voyageur
10. La Rose au bois
11. D’ou viens-tu bergere?
12. La Petite Rosette
13. Partons, la mer est belle
14. La Poulette grise
15. Reel du diable/Cotillion madelinot/La Gigue a Claude Austin
16. LeDepart du Canada
17. Grain de mil
18. Les Veuves de la coulee
19. La Valse Cadienne de Noel
20. The Rayne Bounce/Acadian Two-Step
21. Daddy Carriere’s Waltz
22. J’ai vu le loup, le renard et la belette
23. La Derniere Valse
24. Ave Maris Stella