Cultivate your French : Slow French, at the right pace.

CYF 049 — mercredi 17 novembre 2020 — Claire Gautrot présente la viole de gambe

📋 All the information about the transcripts, notes and photo is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

My daughters Felicia and Lisa take music lessons with Claire Gautrot. They learn how to play Viola da gamba, an old instrument that first appeared in the 15th century and that our king Louis XIV really enjoyed. 

Claire is a musician, she loves to bring happiness to people through music. But she’s also a teacher. She says that it’s very important to share what moves you, to share the language of music and the gesture of playing music. Both my daughters really enjoy Claire’s personality and her way of teaching. Today, it’s our turn to have a moment with her. 

In today’s episode Claire is giving you a presentation of this instrument that she calls an old lady. 

CYF 048 — mercredi 11 novembre 2020 — Une journée à Paris : au restaurant Les marches!

Today, we are going to the restaurant! Before the holidays began, before the second lockdown began, on a sunny day, my friend Anne-Laure and I went to Paris for a day. We first went to the musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris to have a look at a painting from Robert Delaunay, L’équipe de Cardiff. Anne-Laure had chosen this painting because she really enjoys Robert Delaunay’s work. He did that painting in 1912. It’s a large painting, more than 3 metres high, and 2 metres wide. It represents a rugby team playing in front of the Eiffel tower. Robert Delaunay was involved in a research about colour. The colours of this painting are vivid, they give the impression of movement. On this painting there is also an airplane, the grande roue and the Eiffel tower. These are the symbols of modern Paris. As I was standing in front of this painting I could really feel in my eye the colours. There was a physical sensation. Naturally, my eye then moved to the more peaceful part of the painting : the sky!
After watching the painting, Anne-Laure and I went to a restaurant close to the museum. We recorded ourselves inside the restaurant. This is what you are going to hear in today’s episode. 

 

All the information about the notes, transcript and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

CYF 047 — mercredi 4 novembre 2020 — Le reconfinement commence différemment

Today, we are waiting, like the rest of the world to know who the next American President will be… Suspens. In the meantime, here’s your weekly French pause. 
Last week we were on holidays in the Jura region when our President announced that lockdown was back. The announcement was on Wednesday evening and lockdown started the following day, Thursday, at midnight. People on vacation, like us, were allowed to go back home until Sunday. We came back on Saturday morning. I was a little worried because I didn’t want to queue for shopping. But as you will hear today this confinement starts very differently than the latest one. 
You might be on lockdown yourself, I wish all the best for you. 

 

All the information about transcripts, notes and photos is available at www.cultivatyourfrench.com

 

CYF 046 - Promenade botanique avec Eric Wolff, guide naturaliste

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We are on holidays this week, we came back to the Jura region. Micaela, Felicia and Lisa were eagers to go to the Centre Equestre and ride horses. 
On Tuesday afternoon, Pietro and I went to the village of Etival for a botanical walk with the guide Eric Wolff. He’s a nature guide and we know him from last year. They were five of us to follow him to the Mont Paradis, a hill situated just outside the village. On the way, we regurlaly stopped to have a look at different shrubs with fruits.  Eric Wolff gave us some explanation about those fruits, but he also told us about some stories about the village. For example, the famous stay in Etival in 1912 of the painters Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamps and the poet Guillaume Apollinaire. He also told us that the name Etival comes a word in latin that means « Summer » because a Roman legion was staying there every summer. We finally got on the Mont Paradis which used to be a pasture. This is where today’s episode starts.

CYF 045 — Mercredi 21 octobre 2020 — Le parti pris des choses de Francis Ponge (par Micaela)

Today, I won’t be the one speaking. My daughter Micaela, nearly 15, asked me if she could tell you about her French class. She started lycée this year. In French class, as for every class, there is program to follow. The first part of this program is poetry, starting from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. Micaela’s teacher has elected to have them study examples of « Poésie lyrique » (the one written with verses) in class and « Poésie en prose » (in which there are no verses) at home by asking them to read « Le parti pris des choses » from Francis Ponge. She’s going to tell you about discovering this author and reading his « recueil de poèmes » at home. At the end of the reading there’s been a test in class and Micaela is also supposed to write a poem « à la manière de » Francis Ponge. We are on holidays now, she has to give her poem to the teacher when she comes back to the lycée. 

 

All the information about the transcript is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

 

CYF 044 — mercredi 14 octobre 2020 — Antoine Lescombe, luthier

In September, I met Antoine Lescombe. He’s a luthier. He rented me a small viola da gamba for Lisa. I asked him if he would agree to speak about his work for the podcast. He said yes! I was very happy. Antoine Lescombe is the head of a workshop with 3 others luthiers in Caen, Normandy. His « atelier de lutherie » makes violions, restores and takes care of insturments. Antoine Lescombe also adjusts intruments for demanding professionnals.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy his nice way of speaking, so it’s him that you are going to hear in the second part of this podcast. In this episode he tells us about the typical day of an instrument maker. What would you bet his favourite part of the day is? morning afternoon or late evening? You will get the answer. 

All the information about the transcript is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

 

CYF 043 — mercredi 7 octobre 2020 — Qu’y a-t-il dans mon sac?

I hope you are well and happy.
All the information about the transcript is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

The rentrée was so intense that I totally forgot to tell about the things that I brought back from my holidays. They were, all of them in a tote bag, hidden under my desk. I discovered it last week-end when I decided to tidy my work place. What’s in that bag? I asked myself.

I found some paper cords, some paper bags to cook chicken in your oven, maps of the Jura region, my summer note book. Taking this things out of the bag gave me an idea. I could take each thing out of the bag in front of my camera for you my listener. This is how this episode became a video episode on the Cultivate Your French YouTube channel. As it is a slow French podcast, I decided that I could not overwhelm you with too much things. So I concentrate on the things about Paris. 

CYF 042 mercredi 30 septembre 2020 — Premier week-end d’automne : deuxième cours de musique, marche en forêt et peinture

Last week-end, automn really began in France. Saturday morning was rather sunny. Micaela and I went to the Saint-Michel area to run some errands. We walked from Chatelet to Odéon, and back.  Then we quickly went to rue de Rome near Saint-Lazare. Rue de Rome is known for its luthier workshops and music bookshops. We bought the books Felicia will need this year for her music class. We came back home a late. Lisa was expecting my return to ask me a specific question...

All the information about the transcripts and the notes is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

CYF 041 — mercredi 23 septembre 2020 — La rentrée

My three daughters came back to school on September 1st. At last. They were the three of them very happy, sometimes for different reasons. 
In this episode, I tell you about their grade, their first impressions and how they live the fact to wear a mask all day long. 

 

All the information about the transcript is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

CYF 40 — Summer in France : La Tour Eiffel

These few weeks in Paris before going back to school were very intense. I felt an urge to visit as many places as we could. We visited Le Louvre, we went to La Sainte-Chapelle as Claire told us that it was wonderful to see the light through the stained glass windows, we visited the Musée Bourdelle (a very nice place for a calm moment in Paris) and one morning I suggested that we could go to the Tour Eiffel. The girls were a little bit tired of this Paris craziness, but Alice, Lisa’s friend who was we us for the day, was on my side. 
Be ready for an escape, today’s episode takes you to the Tour Eiffel! 

 

All the information about the transcript is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com