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🇺🇸/ 🌎 Order the book from the U.S. and Outside France from University of Louisiana Press.
🇫🇷 Commander le livre depuis la France (via Phonolithe)
About the book
“Jolie Blonde et Aimable Brune stands out as an original, insightful and historical view of the musical heritage of the original Louisiana French Acadian descendants and their neighbors. Mason’s astute annotations in French and English are magnificently complemented by the sensuous illustrations by Yves Gros. This book is sure to provoke a truly must have fever for all history buffs and Cajun music enthusiasts.”
Michael Doucet, Ph.D.
Beausoleil / Cajun Musician, Historian, & Composer
« Dans cette collection riche et élégante, Roger Mason nous rappelle la valeur et l’importance de la poésie orale qui est représentée dans la chanson traditionnelle. Cette collection de ballades et de chansons à boire et à danser proviennent aussi d’un temps avant la chanson de trois minutes engendrée par les disques et la radio, un temps où les gens de la communauté appréciaient encore les chanteurs qui pouvaient remplir les veillées de chansons qui faisaient vivre les tragédies et les comédies de l’expérience humaine. Elle va, je l’espère fort bien, servir de manuel dans la reprise de cette partie importante de notre francité. »
Barry Jean Ancelet/Jean Arceneaux
Poète lauréat de la Louisiane francophone, 2018-2020
“Roger Mason’s long-awaited collection of love songs from French Louisiana is a treasure that should delight anyone with an interest in the lyrical and melodic heritage of this inspired nook of the francophone world—be they folk music scholar, practicing musician, or music educator. Featuring whimsical illustrations by Yves Gros and a posthumous preface by eminent folklorist Alan Lomax, Mason's book brings a light, artful touch to a complex subject, teasing out the beauty and poetry of what might otherwise be forgotten songs.”
Joshua Caffery, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Louisiana Studies / Director, UL Press
“Roger Mason’s collection of these rare Louisiana French love songs is a treasure chest of history, culture, and folklore. The stories they tell are amusing, intriguing, sometimes even unsettling. Most of all, the songs are singable and playable, and invite the reader to take part in this rich musical tradition.”
Tom Sancton
Author of Song for My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White