The Stringed-instrument maker’s House

The Maison du luthier / Museum tells the story of the luthiers of Jenzat, makers of hurdy-gurdies and bagpipes, repairers of accordions, saxophones, flutes, drums, merchants of clarinets, violins and mandolins in the Sioule valley, in the heart of Bourbonnais. The museum presents and preserves the instrumental heritage of traditional French music. It occupies the former house of Jacques Antoine Pajot (1845-1920), located in the quarter of the hurdy-gurdy makers in Jenzat: the world capital of the hurdy-gurdy. Collection of hurdy-gurdies, bagpipes and other instruments; collection of tools used by luthiers; hurdy-gurdy workshop; brass workshop. Study room ; documentary terminals; auditorium with films on the bill and the game of the hurdy-gurdy. Hurdy-gurdies have been made in Jenzat since 1795.

PROGRAMMING 2024

In July and August // Traditional Tuesdays // 5 p.m. :

Two or three musicians rehearsing around collected traditional music.

• Tuesday July 2: Val de Sioule Directory by Jean-Pierre Gournillat (hurdy-gurdy) and Jean-Fr. Chassaing (accordion)
• Tuesday July 9: 17th century repertoire (++) by the Beaucaire duo with Eric Elsener (French muzette with keys and bellows) and Manu Monnet (hurdy-gurdy).
• Tuesday July 16: Auvergne and Bourbonnais directory by Pascal Chambriard and Jean-Fr. Chassaing (old tuning fork Béchonnet bagpipes).
  Tuesday July 23: Auvergne repertoire by Céline Rosnet (accordion) and Fabrice Giori (bagpipes).
• Tuesday July 30: Rouergue and Quercy repertoire by Thierry Heitz (violin), Viviane Cayssials (vocals) and Gilles Rougeyrolles (hurdy-gurdy).
• Tuesday August 6: repertoire of the Auvergne mountains by Eric Cousteix (violin and J-Fr. Chassaing (accordion).
• Tuesday August 13: Montagne Bourbonnaise repertoire by Jean-Pierre Gournillat (hurdy-gurdy), Pascal Chambriard (bagpipes) and J.-Fr Chassaing (accordion).
• Tuesday August 27: Auvergne and Bourbonnais repertoire by Pascal Chambriard (bagpipes) and Jean-Fr. Chassaing (accordion).

In July and August // Conferences // 5 p.m.

• Sunday July 21 by Frédéric Albrieux, “Architectural evolution of the alpine chalets of Savoie”.
  How and why did man settle in these inhospitable mountains? From the hunter-gatherer to the present day, he has adapted the buildings located in the mountains, from the simple enclosure to the current chalets, man has always known how to make the most of nature.

• Sunday August 11 by Pascal Chambriard, “The Marquise de Sévigné and thermal entertainment in Vichy in the 17th century”.
  The first thermal story from Vichy, the letters of the Marquise de Sévigné show how the aristocracy took over the thermal spa. They show the construction of a global medicine where the entertainment of the mind consoles the time of pain of the treatment of the body. The thermal distraction allows the marquise to exercise her natural curiosity, to invest her values ​​and her cultural references, to project her personal representations, conveying to the provinces a modeling Versailles culture.

In September // Conference // 5 p.m.

• Saturday September 21 by Jean-François Chassaing, “The luthiers of Jenzat: an adventure since 1795”. As part of the European Heritage Days.
  Jean-François Chassaing, curator of the Maison du luthier / Museum in Jenzat, runs this establishment founded in 1986 with funding from the Ministry of Culture. The speaker, a doctor in ethnology, studied the astonishing artistic, commercial and technical history of the luthier village. From the instruments, through the constitution of the collection, the collection and the exploration of the archives, he proposes this Saturday, September 21, to restore the living memory of Jenzat and its luthiers, manufacturers of hurdy-gurdies since 1795: a real Bourbonnais treasure.

The Vielle: a European instrument