ReportageThe harmony of Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon, in the Deux-Sèvres, is one of the last musical groups in the Niort region, witness to the crisis of vocations that the brass bands and amateur orchestras are going through: their number has decreased by half since the 1970s, and the average age of musicians continues to rise.
Michel Cathelineau has lost the desire to love. She’s been with him for years, and now he can’t find her tonight. Neither in the mess of his large soft nylon bag nor in his collection of briefcases. But where did this damn score go? The harmony of Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon (Deux-Sèvres) is fidgeting. The desire to love (excerpt from Ten Commandments, by Pascal Obispo, published in 2000), it’s the house tune, the piece that opens Friday rehearsals. The chef, Xavier Caillaud, a picky fifty-year-old, rolls his eyes. Well, too bad, Michel Cathelineau, the drummer, will play “on the sheet” ! In other words, by ear. At 68, fifty-four of whom as bass drummer and twenty-six as president of the orchestra, he has seen others. Heard from others, mostly.
From the top of a curious Formica podium, Xavier Caillaud warns: “One measure for nothing and here we go. » The large hall of the socio-cultural center on rue de la Distillerie resounds with the first notes. Do, si, fa, fa. Michel Cathelineau engages: rolls of cymbals, descents of toms and tutti quanti. So far, so good. Really ? Not that much.
The ties which, since 1870, have united harmony to the Mauzéens are fraying. “People listen to music at home, alonedeplores the stunned percussionist. Those who play it do it in their corner. Life has changed. Meeting, sharing, it becomes rare. » Claude Caillaud, 84, father of Xavier, former chef now in charge of the baritone saxophone, continues: “In the past, we filled the village hall and its courtyard. Today… “
The harmony of Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon suffers. But not in silence. She is one of the last in the Niort region to still perform. In the 1980s, all the municipalities in the area had their training – harmony, drums-band, clique, etc. In 2022, they are only three, with Niort and Saint-Symphorien.
The crisis is national. The Musical Confederation of France has 2,110 amateur orchestras. They were 4,137 in 1970. It is very worrying. Especially since the average age of musicians increases as the numbers decrease. Here she turns 60. And there are only twenty-five left behind the desks. To ward off fate, President Cathelineau’s men have agreed to merge with the fanfare of Vanneau-Irleau, a neighboring town.
Every Friday evening that God makes in concert with Saint Cecilia, patroness of the croque-notes, they turn up. Meet at 8:30 p.m. Late arrivals not recommended. The lights of the nearby Intermarché service station lengthen their silhouettes, hunched over by the transport of worrying cases. You’d swear a procession of hired killers. But these perform only musical works. Not bad, by the way. Often, they invite their colleagues from Saint-Symphorien or Saint-Maixent-l’Ecole, whose Union Musicale has just been shattered. “But we scroll lessregrette Michel Cathelineau. With age, we have back pain and we quickly run out of breath. » A few years ago, for fun, they organized a “ball of the crumbling”. They found it wiser to give it up.
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