Danses traditionnelles et musique occitane (Traditional Occitane dances and music)
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On Tuesday afternoon, our cultural activity was going to the Centre Occitan des Musiques et Danses Traditionnelles (COMDT) where we learned how to dance two danses occitanes and learned about the instruments used in the traditional local music. (NOTE: L’Occitanie is the name of the region where Toulouse is located.) Our voices were actually the music accompaniment for when we danced. We learned a couple of chants in the Occitan language.
Instruments used in musique occitane are:
L’aboès (hautbois du Couserans) - oboe
La boha (Cornemuse des landes de Gascogne) - bagpipes
La bodega ou craba (cornemuse de la Montagne noire) - bagpipes that are very large
La vielle à roue - hurdy-gurdy (an instrument used in music from the Renaissance)
La flûte à trois trous et le ttun-ttun - flute with three holes and a drum
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