Children who, despite their differences, become heroes of tales: this is the plot of a show written and performed by Dominique Forges, a Nivernais figure in traditional music, which he has just adapted into an album.
Le Petiot, Porcelette and Zoin-Zoin are “three children very different from the others, who are made fun of for their ridiculous size, their repulsive dirt or their slowness in acquiring vocabulary. Are they not destined for a destiny of torment and misfortune? »
This is the framework of Bérot and his storiesan album of musical tales written, performed and produced by Dominique Forges, a figure in traditional Nivernais music, historical professor of artistic education at the Nevers Conservatory from 1992 to 2022.
[Interview décalée] The old town and the Loire anchored to the body of Dominique Forges
The album, intended for 6/10 year olds, is the adaptation of a show created by Dominique Forges “during the Covid period”, and which has been running since 2022. It tells the stories of children who, despite their differences, become storybook heroes. A way to make a contribution to the building of inclusion, while introducing traditional music to children.
If this album is the first intended for children among the eleven recorded by Dominique Forges, it sounds like a return to basics: “Before being a music teacher, I was a musical worker in schools. And then I have always been in contact with children at the Nevers Conservatory, and through school shows.”
“I wanted to do something on my own”
Children who, despite their differences, become storybook heroes
Bérot and his stories is also the first solo adventure for the man who has mainly conducted large ensembles. “I wanted to do something alone” explains Dominique Forges… Not completely alone, however, since his daughter, Alice, participated in the writing. Some accomplices also joined him on the album: the guitarist Alban Bouquette, his friend in the duo Aldo Forgette, and Baptiste Poulet, his successor at the head of the Ensemble de Musique Traditionnelle de Nevers, who accompanies him on the 20-inch bagpipe and the diatonic accordion.
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The album cover is illustrated by Béatrice Rodriguez.
Dominique Forges, for his part, makes his hurdy-gurdy, his violin, his flutes and his drum heard throughout his story. A story where the stories follow one another, and can be listened to together or separately.
Perfect as a Christmas present, the album is on sale (€15) in the Cyprès and Jean de la Lune bookstores as well as at the FNAC in Nevers, at the Leclerc cultural space in Coulanges-lès-Nevers, as well as with the Compagnie Bérot (06.75.20.70.87; [email protected]) and on the website phonolithe.fr.
Alain Gavriloff
