Butin travels around the world with his barrel organ

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.