Butin travels around the world with his barrel organ
By Maria Endah Hulupi
JAKARTA (JP): Clad in a white shirt, black vest and pantaloons, and with a cap on his head and a bandanna around his neck, French singer Gilles Butin had a special way of adding little nuances from his country to the atmosphere.
Gilles is one of a few people in his country who makes a living singing with an antique musical instrument called orgue de barbarie, which is also known as the barrel organ.
He greeted passing guests with a warm gaze and a friendly smile while singing in a corner in front of La Brasserie restaurant at Le Meridien Hotel.
His beautiful voice, accompanied with the music of his bright red mechanical instrument, filled the air.
"I like to sing and I enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds and countries," Gilles told The Jakarta Post during the cheese festival held at the hotel.
It was his fifth visit to Indonesia. During his previous visits, he had performed at Centre Culturel Francais, on private television station RCTI and in other cultural events.
"When I was a little boy, my mother used to call me la Vadrouille or a person who always wander," he recalled.
Now that he has grown up and has a family of his own, the term is still applicable. With around 100 performances annually, Gilles travels around the world to entertain an audience of ambassadors to children and elderly people.
"Music is universal. I sing for the rich and the poor," he said, adding that his trips were financed by the French airline Air France while accommodation is taken care of by Le Meridien Hotel chain.
Gilles has visited some 10 countries with his orgue de barbarie during a decade of his singing career. Most of the time he works alone, but sometimes he is accompanied by a magician or a marionette show.
"It's not the money that I'm after. There is a sentimental satisfaction to see people enjoying the show and appreciating what I do," he said.
One of his memorable moments was at a house in France. He was singing an old tune with his ancient instrument and suddenly noticed that a crippled old man was singing along with him, while his daughter, who was sitting next to him, watched with tears in her eyes.
"Later his daughter approached me and said, 'Papa has not spoken for five years'. I'm not sure whether it was the song had that reminded him of a past memory or the sound of my orgue de barbarie that touched him," he said.
Before embarking on a singing career, Gilles worked as an actor and played several parts in local operas. He grew fond of the orgue de barbarie a decade ago when he received a fake instrument from a friend. He learned more about it from a friend -- now his associate -- who repaired organs in churches for a living.
"In the beginning, we made a new mechanical instrument out of an old one, so the ancient technique of producing the instrument is maintained," he said.
"Now we have a small atelier in D'Avignon, southern France, where we fabricate orgue de barbarie and perforated cards of different tunes. We sell an average of 10 instruments annually. It's not bad," he said, explaining that the costs range from US$5,500.
Orgue de barbarie was popular in the 19th century to enliven fairs or plays. It is a portable decorated box with flutes inside and a handle outside. When the handle is cranked, it will put pressure on the flutes and play a tune that is recorded in a perforated card. The length of a hole in a perforated card defines the length of a specific note.
The instrument enabled people to enjoy music without having to be a musician, or earn a living, because it could draw people when it was played on the streets of France, whether alone or with other performances like magic or marionette shows. It was widely detested by musicians who considered it a threat.
In the past, the instrument had a bad image as it was often used by scoundrels to steal money from audience's pockets. It was also associated with poor street singers.
"My family and friends reacted strongly, but I love it and didn't give it a second thought when I decided to work as a singer with my orgue de barbarie," Gilles said.
"Now the instrument is practically forgotten, but hasn't completely lost its popularity. When people see me playing this instrument, even without saying a word, their surprise kind of say 'Ahh it still exists...'," Gilles said proudly.
When he travels, he carries about 30 perforated cards with songs that are known in the country of destination. He possesses a collections of tunes from the 1500 era to modern French songs, and the ones that he wrote himself. They include Plaisir d'Amour and Le Temps des Cerises, which were famous in 18th and 19th century respectively.
"The next time I come to Indonesia, I will bring along perforated cards with Indonesian songs," Gilles said, adding that he will take cassettes of popular Indonesian songs to France so that he can produce perforated cards of Indonesian music.
He dismissed the suggestion that his instrument was out of date, saying that with his orgue de barbarie he could play the kinds of music that were popular among the young people today.
"I sang rap songs several times with this instrument in front of a group of teenagers. It was easy, I just wore my cap rear side front and did my trick," he said, laughing.