by Bruno Deschênes
Since the end of the '80s, there has been a growing interest in gypsy music, especially due to numerous films made about their life and their music. Bratsch is a French gypsy group that became known in North America when the three groups, along with the Dutch group the Rosenberg Trio and the American guitar duo Strunz and Farah, were invited in 1992 to play at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Bratsch sings and celebrates life as only gypsies know how to do; it is a music that comes from the bottom of their hearts. They sing in Russian, Romanian, Greek, Yugoslavian, Bulgarian, Armenian, and Yiddish, with only a hoarse voice, a guitar, a bouzouki, a violin, an accordion, and a double bass. Music for Bratsch is not to be enjoyed from a distance, as classical music lovers do during a concert, but from one's heart, without compromise. "Sans domicile fixe" means without any fixed home. They show listeners that their music is probably their home.