Interesting albums from the folk and roots music history, by Marius Roeting. Today: Alfred den Ouden.
An almost forgotten Dutch folk musician who recorded his first LP in 1972, simply titled: ‘Alfred den Ouden’. Den Ouden was born in 1947 in Dordrecht and was infected with the folk music virus in the 1960s, which was common among youngsters then. At first, he mostly played Anglo-Saxon and Celtic songs, but turned to Dutch ones along the way. He recorded a second album, which was also, confusingly, titled ‘Alfred den Oude’. In this album he started playing songs from the area he stayed in at the time. He had met Kristien den Hollander and they settled in the town of Dranouter in the Flemish Westhoek. The rest is history, as we say. However… a new record followed, this time almost entirely with songs and melodies from the Westhoek, French-speaking Flanders, and the French coastal region from Veurne to Dunkirk, where people to this day speak a corrupted kind of Flemish. The album ‘Traditional folk music from French-speaking Flanders’ became Alfred’s and Kristien’s magnum opus. An album maybe a bit dated, but nevertheless listenable. Beside the quite high degree of musicality, it is mostly the spontaneity and frankness that characterizes this album.
It was not just the album with which Alfred and Kristien put the Westhoek on the map. Their folk cafe De Zon in the market place of Dranouter and later De Halve Maan became also famous. Alfred organized a small folk festival there, which in later years developed into one of the largest folk festivals of Western Europe. By that time however, Alfred had dissappeared from the organization of Folkfestival Dranouter and also from the stage. After a short revival with the BRT productions of Dre Peremans (The Island Suite) and contributions to the Peace Concerts of Passendale, silence then fell around Alfred den Oude. As a tribute to an, after all, very influential musician and organizer we again introduce to you: Traditional folk music from French-speaking Flanders.
Alfred den Ouden – Alfred den Ouden (2) – Decca 776-183 019X
01. Jan mijne man 2.49
02 Het haasken 2.04
Alfred & Kristien den Ouden – Traditionele volksmuziek uit Frans-Vlaanderen – Parsifal KLE 4000-121
03. Kermislied-En s’avonds 2.01
04. Lief Bethje 4.04
05. De carrillons van Ekelbeke en Duinkerke 3.20
06. Maritje van Voormezeele 1.56
07. Zoete Mariton 2.02
08. Den Wijn 4.09
09. Boerenkermis 2.10
10. Minnezucht 2.04
11. Den Molder 3.39
12. Kapiteyn Bart 4.07
13. ’t Pintje-Lire Boulire 2.43
14. Belle-Vastenavond 2.08
Various Artists – Island & Zeemansliederen – Wild Boar WBM 21013
15. Het windeke 3.23
16. Groenelandstraatjes 3.06
17. Zondagmorgen 4.04
Various Artists – We died in Hell, They called it Passchendaele – MAP cd93004
18. Klaaglied van de vrouwen 3.03
19. De Rode Heuvel 3.59
All tracks are traditionals, except for tracks 18 (trad. Jan Hardema, Marieke Demeester) and track 19 (Montehus -Krier)
