Emmanuelle Parrenin -

Emmanuelle Parrenin is a French multi-instrumentalist and composer who played in the Seventies folk bands Gentiane, Mélusine, and La Confrérie des Fous. Between 1974 and 1976, she recorded four collaborative albums, including two with then-husband Phil Fromont. Her singular solo album of the era, Maison Rose, appeared in 1977 on Ballon Noir.

Background

Emmanuelle Parrenin was born in 1949 in Paris. Her father, violinist Jacques Parrenin, founded the Quatuor Parrenin, whose members lived and rehearsed in the same Paris house. Her mother taught harp in Lille and performed with a harp quintet. Parrenin learned melodies by ear on the family piano and took up guitar at fifteen.

At eighteen, Parrenin attended Lionel Rocheman’s Hootenanny at the American Center on Boulevard Raspail, where she met musicians from the emerging Paris folk circuit. She learned dulcimer, épinette des Vosges, and hurdy-gurdy through informal exchange with fellow players. From 1968, Parrenin joined trad-song collection trips through France and Quebec with musicians and researchers associated with Le Bourdon. The collectors recorded singers and instrumentalists in rural communities.

Early Activity

In 1973, Parrenin sang on the seven-performer Le Chant du Monde release Chants à répondre et à danser, recorded by musicians from the Bourdon circle. In May, she formed Mélusine with Jean-Loup Baly, Jean-François Dutertre, and Dominique Regef. The quartet toured through the following year and recorded sessions later issued under the four musicians’ names as the 1975 Le Chant du Monde album Le Galant noyé. Parrenin left during the 1974 reorganization that established Mélusine as the trio of Baly, Dutertre, and Yvon Guilcher.

Meanwhile, Parrenin worked as a duo with violinist Phil Fromont. The pair recorded La Maumariée for Sonopresse, followed by the 1976 Cézame album Château dans les nuages with guitarist Claude Lefebvre. The trio combined traditional material with originals by the three musicians.

In 1977, Parrenin played on albums by Dan Ar Braz (Douar Nevez = Terre Nouvelle) and Benoît Widemann (Stress!). She linked with Normandy engineer Bruno Menny for a solo project on Ballon Noir.

Discography:

La maumariée (1974 • Phil et Emmanuelle Fromont)
Le galant noyé : Ballades et chansons traditionnelles françaises (1975 • Emmanuelle Parrenin, Jean-Loup Baly, Jean-François Dutertre & Dominique Regef)
Chansons à danser : Belle ton amour me mène (1976 • Jean-Loup Baly, Jean-François Dutertre, Emmanuelle Parrenin, Naïk Raviart, Mône Dufour & Dominique Regef)
Château dans les nuages (1976 • Emmanuelle Parrenin, Phil Fromont & Claude Lefebvre)
Maison Rose (1977)
Pérélandra (2017, recorded 1978–82)