Interview with Francine Desjardins About the Montagnards Laurentiens
![Black and white photograph of the Montagnards Laurentiens in evening dress. Some are wearing bow ties and others are wearing regular ties. A microphone, marked “CHRC,” is in the centre. Lévy Beaulieu is playing the diatonic accordion and Edmond Bélanger is playing the piano accordion.](https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/accordeonistes-montmagny_accordionists/wp-content/uploads/sites/150/2022/07/Montagnards-Laurentiens-2-.png)
Audio: Francine Desjardins interviewed by Camille Brochu. Archives of the Musée de l’accordéon. 1995.
Photograph: The Montagnards Laurentiens. Archives of the Musée de l’accordéon. Collection: Jean-Paul Beaulieu.
Transcript:
Interviewer: The first tunes you played, how did you learn them?
Francine Desjardins: It was hard because we didn’t have tape decks in those days. We couldn’t hit “record” when a song came on. I remember hearing the Montagnards Laurentiens on the radio. That, I remember. I was young then, but I remember. I couldn’t get enough of that music. I may have been young, but I caught the bug right away.
Interviewer: You memorized as you listened?
Francine Desjardins: Yes, and on the radio it was none other than Gérard Lajoie playing. Sometimes, they’d play a few tunes during the day. I had a good enough ear, so I could pick things up in the evening, even if it wasn’t perfect. In other words, I was able to get the gist of it. [Laughter.]