(prog-folk, medieval folk) Mireille Ben Ensemble - Miniatures - 2006, MP3, 320 kbps

Mireille Ben is a singer of French origin based in Italy. With her Italian band, she explores the folk heritage of different parts of France and the Francophonie on this new recording.
From the Vendee to La Louisiane, from Auvergne to Bretagne, the songs on Miniatures are of ancient origin, and found in some form wherever French is spoken and sung. Old songs, but in a new style. The treatment on this CD owes something to jazz, particularly the drumming of Gianbattista Piantoni and Oliviero Bielli's sometimes growling guitar. Alfredo Savoldelli adds electric bass to the mix.
On the other hand, the bagpipes (cornemuse), a variety originating in central France, played by Gabriele Coltri, lend an air of folk authenticity, as do Ben's smoky voice and Claudia Klinzing's musical saw and violin.
These songs - 300, 400, perhaps even 500 years old - have bounced around the old world and the new, and have been heard, like most folksongs, in a variety of shapes, with different verses, different choruses. Here and there I hear something that has come across the ocean and has entered the French Canadian tradition, recognizable despite a different title and slightly different lyric fragments; in other words, true folksongs.
These are fine songs that have stood the test of time, and well presented, with the exception of one or two on which the vocal delivery seems rushed. On "Les douze mois de l'année" Peo Mazza takes the drum kit a little too deep into an energetic jazz shuffle that takes the focus off the song itself.
There is some variety: "Dedans Lullion" is performed simply with guitar and voice, and the guitar is played in a Cajun style fitting for its Louisianan origins. (Another version of this song - sometimes called "Aux Illinois " and several others on this CD, can be found on a classic French Canadian prog-rock album by the group Garolou, circa 1978.)
Another notable track is "L'oiseau mis en cage-Par un beau jour-Anniversaire," a medley that begins with the cornemuse and strings in a baroque style duet, then swings into a waltz with the acoustic guitar providing the rhythm. The story is this: a soldier returns form the war with stories of his conquests and his intended sends him back to drink "a la santé de nos maitresses."
War, a stark reality of life in the centuries these songs come from, figures in a few other songs as well. "Le conseil de guerre" is about a soldier condemned to death who forgives his executioners. And "C'est sur le pont de Lyon" is from the point of view of a woman who wants the king to send her husband back from the front.
Although ten of the songs feature Ben's vocals, the exception is "Mazurka de Lanternaire," the one instrumental track, a real beauty where the cornemuse takes center stage. The heritage of France is in good hands on this sometimes quirky, always surprising and entertaining CD. - David Cox

Mireille Ben: voce
Oliviero Biella: chitarra
Gabriele Coltri: cornamuse del centro Francia, clarinetto
Claudia Klinzing: violino, sega musicale, voce
Gianbattista Piantoni: batteria
Alfredo Savoldelli: contrabbasso, basso elettrico