The third edition of La Nuit du Folklore Noir
was held in the Castle of Grandson on a damp and foggy evening. Around
20H the heavy castle door opened to let in the hundred strong audience
who had travelled from afar to attend this event. These lucky few assembled
in the Banquet Hall for a glass of mets graciously offered by the organisers.
It was time to warm up in front of the crackling fire and to meet the other
guests. It was also the occasion to discover the first Abstract compilation,
“Le Jardin des Supplices” dedicated to Eros and Thanatos.
At 21h30 the audience was invited to rejoin
the Knights Hall for the concert of the Neapolitan band Argine for their
first concert outside Italy. After walking along the ramparts and crossing
the castle’s small museum the audience settled down calmly, surprised by
the splendour of the wooden panel decorated with romantic medieval motifs.
One could not dream of a better setting to discover Argine’s music.
The seven musicians forming Argine entered
the stage to play a set that was to last for nearly two hours. Two marvellous
hours during which they played the quasi-integrality of their two albums.
(tracklist) The band was obviously very inspired by the location and it
could be felt from the first notes of La Corte. The audience was overcome
by the emotion and the warmth emanating from their songs built around the
violin and the male and female voices. After playing majestic versions
of Luctamina In Rebus, Memorie and Corpo Ed Anima, the band ended their
performance on a superb rendition of Dolmen that left the audience hanging
to the last fragile violin notes…
However, the audience didn’t want things to
end this way, and under a thunder of applause the band stepped back on
stage for an encore. Initially the band had planned to play two songs,
one of them a cover of Ain Soph’s Datemi Pace, but encouraged by the enthusiastic
audience, and even if they were short of songs, they generously played
three more songs already played during their set. Unfortuneately, time
didn’t let them play any longer and the audience had to reluctantly leave
the Knights Hall.
Back in the Banquet Hall a snack of regional foods was offered by the Friends of Grandson Castle. A very pleasant occasion for the audience to mingle with the artists who were also present. As the clock struck one, everyone left the castle and the heavy door closed on the third edition of La Nuit du Folklore Noir…
I.C., October 2001
