Charmion,

It would be closer with a pipe and tabor but if you want to ear what it sounds like, try Patrick Vaillant on amazon.fr. He plays mandolin (not octave mandolin). Most of the tunes come from the Nice area.

The PDF tunes come mainly from the center of France and some are written for hurdy-gurdy (Kerboeuf is one of the French hurdy-gurdy makers). The fandango comes from the Basque country (Biarritz is a town in the French part.)

BTW, I was many years ago at a folk camp near Souyhampton and the man who led the music workshop proposed foreign tunes. One of them was a 'Bourree 2 temps' (2/4) and he was just playing the score, so one couldn't recognize the dance. When you play, keep in mind that rythm must have a very strong crotchet - quaver - quaver beat (you may shorten the crotchet).

For occitan music Perlimpimpin Folc is a good choice.

If you are fluent with French, I recommend you trad magazine (www.tradmagazine.com) which is a bimonthly magazine with tunes and feature article on French dances.

A bientot