Description
NEW PUBLICATION: One of the major works of the famous French writer George Sand is finally available in German! A novel that provides fascinating insights into the world of French bagpipers and hurdy-gurdy players in the mid-19th century.
World-renowned writer George Sand spent much of her life in Nohant, a small town in Berry, France. Although most of her novels have been translated into German, one of her major works, of all things, the novel “Les Maîtres Sonneurs,” published in 1853, has not been available in German until now.
During research, the editor Christoph Pelgen now found a German translation by Claire von Glümer from 1856, which is extremely successful, knowledgeable and coherent and which we adopt unchanged in this edition. The charming and readable language of Glümers translation perfectly underlines the atmosphere and fascination of the novel.
The setting for the novel about childhood friends Joseph, Steffen, and Brülette is rural Berry in the late 18th century. George Sand tells of everyday rural life in central France, of the code of honor of muleteers and lumberjacks, of rival musicians, and of her protagonists’ difficult search for happiness and their place in this world. The characters in the narrative, the landscape, the description of everyday life, and the detailed descriptions of music, dance festivals, travel, etc., take us back to an era that has been lost forever.
“There, people still believe in all seriousness what is still sometimes believed here,
namely that you have to commit your soul to the devil if you want to become a musician,
and that Satan will come one day and snatch the bagpipe from the musician’s hands,
smashes them on his back and then forces him to harm himself.”
The original title of this book was the inspiration for one of the most important festivals of traditional bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy music in central France in the 20th century: The “Rencontres internationales des luthiers et maîtres sonneurs“, took place since 1976 just a few kilometers from Nohant in St. Chartier and became a mecca for musicians, instrument makers and dancers. There the music and the old instruments were rediscovered and developed, about which George Sand reports so wonderfully in this novel.
A detailed appendix with explanations and notes completes this edition.
Order no.: 09-6
ISBN: 978-3-943060-09-6
Format: 15.6 x 21.9 cm
Number of pages: 344 pages
Binding: Hardcover, sewn binding
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.