Jordan Guerette is a guitarist and composer who also founded Forêt Endormie, a French-language classical ensemble. He recently created a new work inspired by Acadian music and history. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Jordan Guerette studied French in college because he wanted to reclaim the language his grandparents spoke. He later taught the language to high schoolers and launched a chamber ensemble called Forêt Endormie, which performs in French.

But not until he read the 2020 book “Mill Town” by Kerri Arsenault about the pulp and paper industry in the state did he first hear about Acadians in Maine.

“It was never a story that was told when I was a kid,” Guerette said.

Now, Guerette is telling that story in his own way.

He composed a new song cycle built on the words of Acadian poets and informed by the musical traditions of the early French settlers in this region. Forêt Endormie will perform the work for the first time on Feb. 9 at Space in Portland. The title is “Acadie: Mot disparu de la carte” (“Acadia: A Word Disappeared from the Map”).

“He’s bringing a bunch of different influences to bear on Acadian music, and I think it’s working really well,” said Robert Sylvain, an Acadian Mainer and musician who will also perform at the upcoming show.

A PLACE CALLED ACADIA

The region that was once called Acadia extends through northern Maine and the Canadian Maritime provinces. French immigrants inhabited the area as early as the 17th century. France and England controlled the land at different times, but England finally took possession in a treaty signed in 1713.

Still, Acadians wanted to stay neutral in conflicts between the two European powers and refused to swear unconditional loyalty to the British crown. In 1755, during the Seven Years’ War, the government began to expel thousands of Acadians from their settlements. This period is called “le grand dérangement” — in English, “the great disturbance.” Some displaced Acadians found new homes along the shore of the upper St. John River in what is now Maine.

In 1994, the National Park Service published a 92-page reported titled “Acadian Culture in Maine,” which was later digitized by the University of Maine. The years after the deportation of Acadians are described by this defiant sentence: “A place called Acadia no longer existed, but it was still possible to be an Acadian in North America.”

Sylvain grew up in Waterville and remembers hearing his paternal grandparents speak French during his visits to Mémé and Pépé. But officials tried to suppress Acadian culture and language, and Sylvain’s father deliberately did not teach him the language. As a child, Sylvain would run outside to play while his relatives sang together in the kitchen.

But in 2001, when his first child was born, Sylvain started to think differently about his heritage and his legacy. His grandmother had died and left a notebook with handwritten French lyrics to Acadian ballads. He connected with fiddler Steve Muise over their shared Acadian heritage. They decided to study French and formed a Franco-American band called Boréal Tordu.

Sylvain also started working through his grandmother’s notebook, translating the words into English and researching the original melodies. He has since published a CD and a book that contains the notations for a dozen or so songs, and he is working on a second volume. He now visits students from elementary school to colleges to talk about Acadian history.

Today, Sylvain sees how Acadian culture has not only survived but shaped Maine’s identity. For example, many ballads reflect what he describes as a “joie de vivre,” an appreciation of simple pleasures even when the winters are cold and life is hard.

“Even though it’s kind of underground, when you’re part of it and you know about it, you see it in everything,” he said. “Acadian culture permeates Maine culture in subtle ways.”

RECLAIMING THE LANGUAGE

Guerette formed the ensemble Forêt Endormie in 2016 to combine two passions.

“This group brings together both musical explorations and explorations of French language,” he said.

Guerette did not know his paternal grandparents well and does not know whether they descended from Acadians. But they both spoke French and grew up in areas where many people have Acadian ancestry. His grandfather was born in New Brunswick and died before Guerette was born. His grandmother came from Frenchville and passed away when he was a young child. His father did not learn French at home.

“It was this era in the ’40s and ’50s of encouraging assimilation and discouraging non-English language,” Guerette said. “That attitude was really successful in Maine. By the time I came around, there was no French speaking at all.”

He decided to change that, even if the French he learned and taught is not the same French his grandparents spoke.

“It’s reclaiming it, but it’s actually a new chapter,” he said.

Guerette has also been interested in music since he first heard the John Williams score for “Star Wars” as a kid. He grew up playing guitar and saxophone, singing in choirs and performing in musicals. He has been playing in a metal band since 2006. He formed the classical ensemble after he earned a master’s degree in composition from the University of Southern Maine. Guerette describes the sound of Forêt Endormie (“Sleeping Forest” in English) as both neoclassical and folk. The instrumentation ranges from violin to clarinet to electric guitar.

Forêt Endormie chamber ensemble formed in 2016. Pictured here are Maria Wagner (clarinet), Emmett Harrity (keyboards), Jordan Guerette (guitar, vocals), Sarah Mueller (violin) and David Yearwood (double bass). Photo by Wohler & Co.

Their most recent album, released in 2023, explored ideas about home, displacement and the choices we have about where we live.

“I’m really interested in how some people stay where they are born and how some people travel,” Guerette said. “I feel very privileged to not have had to move, but other people move because they are privileged.”

‘I LET MYSELF GO’

Those ideas dovetailed with his interest in Acadian history. “Mill Town” contained the first reference Guerette ever read to the expulsion of Acadians in the 18th century. He started learning more about the history. He read poetry anthologies by Acadian writers. He bought “Mémère & Me” by Sylvain.

In 2024, Guerette got a $3,000 grant from the Sonic Visions fund at Space in Portland to develop new music based on historical and modern Acadian texts.

Peter McLaughlin, music and community programmer at Space, said that grant program has seen extremely high demand since the first round of awards in 2021. Last year, the nonprofit received more than 60 applications for five grants. The jury thought Guerette stood out.

“The fact that Jordan is looking back and mining this cultural history as he composes this new song cycle, that is fascinating to us and makes it feel absolutely perfect for Space,” McLaughlin said.

“Acadie: Mot disparu de la carte” is definitely not traditional Acadian music. Still, the lyrics are entirely derived from contemporary Acadian poets. The words will be sung in French during the upcoming performance, but the program will include English translations. Guerette said he read many poems that touched on those ideas of movement and place that have long interested him.

“A lot of the poems seem to deal with focusing on the present and slowing down and appreciating what’s here,” Guerette said. “The past is gone. We’re here.”

Guerette composed the music, which he described as modern classical, dark folk and art rock. Guerette said the sound leans “more Radiohead than Beethoven.” Forêt Endormie will perform the work as a septet.

“I was trying to hold myself to a strict influence by Acadian traditional music, and at some point, I let myself go where I needed to go,” he said.

“It’s sort of hidden in the aesthetic of the music.”

JOY AND SADNESS

Sylvain immediately noticed the influence, however.

Guerette will perform a new work with Forêt Endormie and guest Acadian musicians on Feb. 9 at Space. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Guerette invited Sylvain and Muise to play at the upcoming show and share stories about Acadian history. Sylvain said Guerette’s composition captures a mood, an “ennui” of Acadian music. He was excited by the marriage of Acadian folksongs and classical music. He said even those who do not speak French or know Acadian history will appreciate the music.

“You can still hear the stories, you can feel the mood, you can feel the energy and the ‘joie de vivre’ and the ‘tristesse,’ ” Sylvain said. “You’re going to get a feel for Acadian culture and music, even if you don’t understand the lyrics.”

Guerette said he first wants the music to resonate with people on an emotional level. But he also hopes it piques their curiosity about how Acadians shaped the Maine we know today and, more broadly, hidden histories all around us.

“The dominant group is writing the history books, so what are we missing?” he said. “What’s left out?”

‘CUL-DE-SAC’ BY LORRAINE DIOTTE

J’ai marché jusqu’à vous
Pour vous dire
De ne point vous presser.
Ralentissez le pas,
Plus personne ne nous attend,
La terre est vendue,
La famille est dispersée,
Le puits est asséché,
J’ai marché jusqu’à vous
Pour vous dire
De ne point vous presser
Plus personne ne vous attend!

I walked up to you
To tell you
To not hurry.
Slow down your steps,
No one is waiting for you,
The land is sold,
Your family is broken apart,
The well is dry,
I walked up to you
To tell you
To not hurry
No one is waiting for you!

—Printed with permission by Éditions Perce-Neige

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Acadie: Mot disparu de la carte” (“Acadia: A Word Disappeared from the Map”) presented by Forêt Endormie

WHERE: Space, 538 Congress St., Portland

WHEN: Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.

HOW MUCH: $12 in advance and $15 day of show ($2 off for Space members)

INFO: For more details, visit space.org or call (207) 828-5600.