Jean-François Dutertre (31 March 1948 - 10 March 2017) was a French singer-songwriter and player of the

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

épinette des Vosges The ''épinette des Vosges'' () is a traditional plucked-string instrument of the zither family, whose use was confined to two areas in the Vosges mountains of France approximately 50 km apart: around Val-d'Ajol and around Gérardmer. Or ...

, and traditional French music. He also played the bodhran and the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

. He had been a member of the band Mélusine and a house collaborator on the disk ''Le Chant du Monde''. He was a great proponent of

modal music Modal may refer to: * Modal (textile) * Modal (drug) * Modal (company) See also * Mode (disambiguation) Mode ( meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * MO''D''E (magazine), a def ...

and conducted numerous workshops. He was an advocate of the professionalisation of traditional musicians and singers and defended their rights in the CIMT (Centre d’information des musiques traditionnelles et du monde).

Life and career

Born in 1948 to Norman parents, he studied literature and also taught. He worked as a ''phonothécaire'' at the department of ethnomusicology at the

musée de l'homme The Musée de l'Homme (; literally "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moder ...

, and became enamored of traditional music, particularly French. He became involved in the

Folk Revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Early folk music performers include Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Ewan MacColl (UK), Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie ...

of the 1960s, and joined the first French folk-club, ''Le Bourdon'' ("the drone"), and traveled to collect music in Quebec and Ireland in 1969 and 1970, as well as in

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

from 1970-1972.Liner notes to ''L'épinette des Vosges, 1974'' From 1975 to 1983, he was the executive producer and director of the collection of the label Chant du Monde, where he also worked to develop the ''Anthologie de la musique traditionnelle française''. He played in the folk group Melusine from 1975-1990. In 2002, he produced a disc of fifteen songs, coming from those collected in Normandy along with his old colleagues Jean-loup Baly and Yvon Guilcher, as well as other musicians such as

Jean Blanchard Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (; 4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon. Notable for his successful hydrogen balloon ...

. Lately, he had devoted himself primarily to his work in musical institutions.

Discography

* 1974 ''L'épinette des Vosges'', airs traditionnels et compositions, Le chant du Monde LDX 74536. * 1978 ''La rondes des milloraines, compositions pour épinette de Vosges et vielle'', Le Chant du Monde LDX 74664. * 1980 ''Si l'amour prenait racine'', chansons traditionnelles, Polydor 2393275. * 1997 ''Ballades françaises'',

Buda Musique Buda Musique is a French record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1987 by Gilles Fruchaux and Dominique Buscall. After Buscall died in 1990, Fruchaux became the sole owner. The label is especially known for its '' Éthiopiques' ...

, MP7250. * 1999 ''Ballades françaises, volume 2'', Buda Musique, MP7253. * 2002 ''Chansons traditionnelles de Normandie'', Buda Musique/Universal. * 2008 "Le fil des jours" Buda Musique/Universal.

Participating discography

* See the discography of Mélusine (music) * ''Musique populaire d'expression française'', du folk-club ''Le Bourdon'', expression spontanée n° 7, auto-production, 1972. J-F Dutertre y chante et joue de la cuiller. * 1975 ''Le roi renaud / Ballades françaises'', le Chant du Monde LDX 74568. * ''Le galant noyé'' le Chant du Monde LDX 74576. * ''Chants à répondre et à danser'' Le Chant du Monde LDX 74515. * ''Pré-Folk / La préhistoire du Folk'' Pathé-marconi-EMI. * 1994 ''ANTHOLOGIE DE LA CHANSON FRANCAISE / DES TROUVERES A LA PLEIADE'' EPM. * 1997 ''L'épinette des Vosges'', avec Jean Ribouillault et Christophe Toussaint, Radio-France Ocora. * 2002 ''Le Jardin des mystères'' Eric Montbel - Ulysse/Nocturne. * 2008 ''Par un lundi m'y prit envie...'', La Loure

Bibliography

* ''L'Épinette des Vosges, Méthode complète'' Avec Jean-Loup Baly, auto-édition 1982, 82 pages. * ''Ballades et complaintes'' recueil de chants populaires, FAMDT éditions.

Quotes

« La chanson traditionnelle francophone est aussi une forme de poésie. Et comme toute poésie, elle porte l’empreinte du milieu et de la période où elle a été élaborée. Cette empreinte se manifeste dans les formules, les tournures et le vocabulaire. Aurait-on l’idée de reprocher à François Villon d’écrire dans la langue d’un étudiant parisien du XVe siècle ? Au-delà de la forme, la thématique est éternelle, les émois et les tourments demeurent identiques. Et puis, il y a la musique. Connaît-on, dans la chanson française, de plus parfaite adéquation entre langue et mélodie que celle que nous propose la chanson traditionnelle ? » (Jean-François Dutertre)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutertre, Jean-Francois 1948 births 2017 deaths French male musicians French folk music groups Zither players Hurdy-gurdy players French people of Norman descent 20th-century French musicians 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French musicians 21st-century French male musicians