Traditional Poitou music is steeped in history. Fans make it live and continue in the countryside of Vienne and Deux-Sèvres
2022 Basque Pelota World Championships
Who said that traditional music in Poito was just a distant memory? Certainly not the members of the UPCP-Métive association who have been working in Parthenay (Deux-Sèvres) for more than fifty years to promote the cultures of orality in Poitou and Saintonge.
“A vast collection was carried out on the territory of Poitou-Charentes and the Vendée” explains Stéphanie Coulais, co-director, “We were able to identify 8,000 hours of sound recording, 1,200 hours of audiovisual and an innumerable amount of paper documents, notes, photos and slides.”
In the premises of this network of associations, the soundtracks therefore rotate constantly to digitize these vestiges of a time not entirely forgotten on the internet.
This unique repertoire of Poitou music and dance allows today’s groups to do so “back to the origins” and fans of perpetuating traditional dances. As in the small village of Nalliers (Vienne) where workshops are organized every fortnight. An accordion, a violin and a few simple steps “for everyone to express themselves”.
In Poitou even the little ones learn to dance, a sign of renewed vitality.
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