Gulay Berryman - Bal Musette a Montmartre (A Montmartre Ball) - oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. During the 19th Century, Frenchmen from the central province of Auvergne became the principal proprietors of the cafes and brasseries of Paris which remains the case to this day. They concentrated on the 5th (Latin Quarter) , 12th, 18th and 19th Arrondissements of Paris – the latter two districts forming the hill of Montmartre. They brought with them a music and dance from Auvergne known as “la bouree” which was accompanied by music from the “cornemuse” - a variation of the bagpipe. The term “musette” thus came from the “cornemuse.” These musicians were joined by accordion players who originally came from Italy. The musette dances which evolved were based primarily on the tango, waltz or pasodoble. Going to a bal musette became a very popular form of social entertainment and these were attended by the literary and artistic avant-garde of France and immortalized in the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec and Manet among others. Although the music later evolved to include jazz and blues, going to a bal musette remained a hub of popular entertainment until the very end of both World Wars well into the mid-20th Century.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:12:25 +0000