Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer are an ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' folk music group formed in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, in 1994.

History

The group is part of a revival in interest in Quebec's folk music. It was formed by five experienced singers who have been part of the regional folk music scene for more than 30 years: Michel Faubert, Normand Miron, Jean-Claude Mirandette, Michel Bordeleau, and André Marchand. Their instrumental accompaniment is limited to the

jaw harp The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or Reed (mouthpiece), reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most like ...

and foot tapping. The musicians also work in other projects and the band's appearances are relatively rare. The group includes two former members of

La Bottine Souriante La Bottine Souriante (LBS) is a folk band from Canada. The band specializes in traditional Québécois music, often with a modern twist. Formed in 1976 by Yves Lambert, Andre Marchand, and Mario Forest, they have toured extensively through Eu ...

(Bordeleau and Marchand). On their 2010 album ''Nouvelles fréquentations'' (New Visits), Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer tackle a contemporary repertoire. This includes, among others, works by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

Félix Leclerc Félix Leclerc (August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posthumously inducted into ...

Noir Désir Noir Désir (, ) was a French rock band from Bordeaux that formed in 1980. Their most consistent lineup featured Bertrand Cantat (vocals, guitar), Serge Teyssot-Gay (guitar), Frédéric Vidalenc (bass guitar) and Denis Barthe (drums). Jean-Pa ...

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...

Plume Latraverse Plume Latraverse (born ''Michel Latraverse'' 11 May 1946) is a prolific singer, musician, songwriter and author from Quebec. At the end of the 1960s he formed a band named La Sainte Trinité with Pierrot le fou (Pierre Léger) and Pierre Landr ...

, Steven "Cassonade" Faulkner,

Daniel Lavoie Daniel Lavoie (; born Daniel Joseph-Hubert-Gérald Lavoie, March 17, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and singer best known for his song " Ils s'aiment" and the role of Frollo in musical ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He releases albums and pe ...

Florent Vollant Florent Vollant (born August 10, 1959 in Labrador) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. An Innu from Maliotenam, Quebec, he was half of the popular folk music duo Kashtin, one of the most significant musical groups in First Nations history. He has sub ...

Dédé Fortin André "Dédé" Fortin (; 17 November 1962 – 8 May 2000) was a founding member, frontman, and guitarist of the Québécois band Les Colocs, formed in 1990. Born in rural Quebec, André "Dédé" Fortin was the tenth of eleven children. After ...

, the McGarrigle sisters, Marcel Martel, and

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

. This album earned them nominations from ADISQ as well as the

Canadian Folk Music Awards The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards pr ...

. In 2017, they released the album ''25 ans de grande noirceur'' (25 Years of Great Darkness), a compilation of 13 songs selected from their complete repertoire. Jean-Claude Mirandette died in 2019.

Band members

Current * Michel Bordeleau * * André Marchand * Normand Miron Past * Jean-Claude Mirandette

Discography

* ''Chansons a cappella'' (1996) * ''Wô'' (2002) * ''En concert à la Tulippe : "En personne"'' (2005) * ''À la grâce de Dieu'' (2007) * ''La Traverse miraculeuse'' with La Nef (2008) * ''Nouvelles fréquentations'' (2010) * ''25 ans de grande noirceur'' (2017)

Collaborations

* ''La sacrée rencontre'' (

Gilles Vigneault Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, Publishing, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist and Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Qu ...

and Les Charbonniers de l'enfer - 2007)

Awards and recognition

* Félix Award – Album of the year – Traditional Music – for ''Wô'' (2003) * Nomination: ADISQ – Best CD cover – for ''Wô'' (2003) * Félix Award – Album of the year – Traditional Music – for ''En concert à la Tulippe : "En personne"'' (2006) * Canadian Folk Music Awards Prize – Best Group of the Year (2007) * Nomination: ADISQ – Album of the year – for ''À la grace de Dieu'' (2008) * Félix Award – Album of the year – Traditional Music – La Nef & Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer (2009) * Nomination: Canadian Folk Music Awards – Album of the Year – Contemporary Vocal Group of the Year – for ''Nouvelles fréquentations'' (2011) * Nomination: ADISQ – Album of the year – Revivals, Performance of the year – for ''Nouvelles fréquentations'' (2011)

References

External links

*
The Canadian Folk Music Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charbonniers de l'enfer Professional a cappella groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Quebec Canadian folk music groups Canadian Celtic music groups