Sunday, December 8, the Pompidou residence in Gramat vibrated to the rhythm of the bagpipes. Luc Vaillant, a bagpipe player for nearly forty years, travels across France and Europe, accompanied by around ten instruments whose stories he tells to the public during his concerts. Originally from the North but based in Saint-Céré, he is a regular at the Lorient interceltic festival as well as small traditional balls in our region and elsewhere. Passionate and educational, he offered the residents and twenty guests of this first lively Sunday a unique musical moment. Accompanied by his bagpipes, Luc Vaillant captivated his audience by explaining the fascinating history of this emblematic instrument through the ages and cultures. He alternated between explanations and musical demonstrations, plunging the spectators into a sound journey in Ireland, Scotland, without forgetting classics of French song brilliantly revisited on the bagpipes. The event brought together around fifty people, all delighted by the performance. “I learned why this instrument was called a bagpipe and that a Scottish fighter (Bill Millin, Editor’s note) had galvanized the landing troops in Normandy on June 6, 1944 by sounding his bagpipes,” said a resident of Gramat came for the occasion.
This initiative, both cultural and friendly, brightened the daily lives of Pompidou residents. Yesterday, Francis Tétaud, violinist, was on the program.
