Contes de la Montagne

A vivid portrait opens the collection, introducing the eccentric yet earnest Bernard Hertzog, a sixty‑year‑old chronicler who roams the Vosges in a flamboyant coat and a iron‑tipped staff. His obsession with every stone and ruin—inspected a hundred times before he will write—drives him through misty passes, old cloisters and forgotten battlefields, while he muses on the fading pride of his Alpine homeland.

Through Hertzog’s wandering, the stories blend natural description, local legend and a gentle satire of modern tourists who forget the region’s rich medieval past. Listeners are carried along winding trails where rustling leaves, distant waterfalls and the dying light of evening create a mood both melancholy and adventurous. The narrator’s humor and heartfelt nostalgia invite you to explore a world where history lives in the very roots of the mountains.