The Hindu : New Delhi News : Celebrating French culture and values

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Saturday, Mar 08, 2008
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Celebrating French culture and values

Parul Sharma

A Qubec artiste to stage special concert during Francophonie Week celebrations

Yann Perreau is a self-educated poet, composer and performer
Canadian High Commission’s participation in “Francophonie Week” celebrations reflects Canada’s linguistic duality

NEW DELHI: The “Francophonie Week” celebrations in the Capital will witness a special performance by an outstanding artiste from Quebec, a province in the eastern part of Canada.

A self-educated poet, composer and performer, Yann Perreau will stage a concert at Alliance Française here on March 13.

The concert has been sponsored by the Governments of Canada and Quebec, Alliance Française and Goethe Institute.

Yann took his first professional steps in music when he was only 18. In the year 2000, he initiated a collaboration with renowned bassist and director Gilles Brisebois that led to his first solo album “Western Romance”.

Three years later, he produced his second album, “Nucléaire”, directed by Eric Goulet. Critics lapped up both his albums and Yann Perreau’s unique place on Quebec’s music scene had now been established.

His show “Perreau et la lune” has been running successfully throughout 2007. His book “Perreau et la plume” hints that there are still many facets of this artiste left to uncover.

The Canadian High Commission’s participation in “Francophonie Week” celebrations around the world reflects Canada’s linguistic duality. French is one of the two official languages of Canada and the first official language of 7.3 million Canadians. Every year Francophones and Francophiles the world over celebrate “Journée Internationale de la Francophonie” on March 20.

The day is an opportunity for Canada to celebrate its attachment not only to the French language and the rich and diverse Francophone culture but also to the values of peace, democracy and respect for human rights.

The vast majority, over 86 per cent, of Francophones in Canada live in Quebec.

Canada will host the upcoming Francophonie Summit in Quebec from October 17 to 19, which will coincide with the 400th anniversary of the founding of that city.

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