The term “Rigodon” refers to a popular dance style of the 18th century and was used interchangeably with the single drag version of La Diane. This probably stems from the lively, 2/4 nature of the drum piece, matching the nature of the dance style.
Le Rigodon d’Honneur translates to ‘The Dance of Honor’ and was essentially a variation of the single drag La Diane used as a fancy salute.
Le Rigodon d’Honneur is a fantastic addition to your French repertoire or just a great drumming challenge for anyone who wants to explore some new stick play.
While the second half of the beating is a variation of sticks clicks (and, in the modern interpretation, some back sticking), the first half of the beating explores a French stick play called Bâton Méle – which is what we’ll focus on in this article.
If you’re specifically interested in learning more about Le Rigodon d’Honneur and how to play it, check out my full page on this French salute.
Bâton Méle
Bâton Méle loosely translates to “mixed sticks” and refers to sticking patterns that are a mix of single and double strokes.
A common variant of the Bâton Méle, seen in both French and Basel performances, consists of a triplet movement – R L L – where the right stroke is embellished with stick play.
Bâton Méle – French Style
The French style is defined by this kind of “pushing out” feature, occasionally interrupted with a brief pulling back towards the body.
Here’s how this plays out in the first variation of Le Rigodon d’Honneur.
The stick notes say the following:
D = Right Stroke; G = Left Stroke.
X-note = “Baguette droite passant sous la baguette gauche” / “The right stick passes under the left stick.”
A full circle arrow = “en tournant” / “while turning”
Right or Left Arrow = “sens de la baguette droite” / “direction of the right stick”
You can watch this stick play here in a performance of Le Rigodon d’Honneur by la Batterie des Grognards de Haute Alsace.
Bâton Méle – Swiss/Basel Style
The Swiss/Basel style is defined by more of a swaying style.
You can read Berger’s description of this ‘crossing-sticks’ from his Méthode Baloise de Tambour (1964).
The main difference between the two is the shorter phrasing of the Swiss performance over the French.
Do you know a good video demonstrating this stick play by a Swiss/Basel group, please let me know!
Bâton Méle – Influence in Scottish Bagpipe Drumming
Just like the French used their Reveille, La Diane, as a salute, the British used The Three Camps as a salute for various purposes.
And, just like the French create variations on their Reveille to create the fancy Le Rigodon d’Honneur, The Three Camps has a history of appearing as a fancy drum solo with variations and embellishments to create increasingly impressive variations.
This is a common practice in modern Scottish Bagpipe groups, with many of these variations showing the Basel influence that people like Fritz Berger introduced in the 1960s.
I’ve seen a few videos of Scottish groups playing these, but now can’t find any! Please comment if you have a Youtube link of this Scotch drum solo!
Conclusion
Bâton Méle are a really form of stick play that have a long history and cross multiple cultures. The style of play can be modified to match certain cultures, or modified for your own corps fun!
Want to incorporate more virtuosic elements into your drumming? Check out:
- French Sauté Rudiments
- Inverted Flam Taps / Coup Anglais
- Le Rigodon d’Honneur
- Creating a Fancy Short Troop
- Performing the Three Camps
- How Many Versions of Three Camps Are There?
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