Bellows & Bows

BELLOWS & BOWS: HISTORIC RECORDINGS OF TRADITIONAL FIDDLE & ACCORDION MUSIC FROM ACROSS CANADA BACK ON TRACK SERIES Guest Producer: Sherry Johnson, York University Producers: Beverley Diamond, C. K. Szego Sound Engineer: Spencer Crewe Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media & Place (MMaP) School of Music, Memorial University of Newfoundland Contents Author Key Introduction 1 History of Accordion in Canada| History of Fiddling in Canada | Commercial & Field Recordings | Radio & Television | Relationship with Dance | Contests | Festivals | Transmission | Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media & Place Tune Composition | Accompaniment School of Music Newfoundland and Labrador 27 Memorial University of Newfoundland The Maritimes 38 St. John’s, NL Acadian | Downeast | Scottish Canada A1C 5S7 Nova Scotia 48 56 © 2012 by Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media & Place Prince Edward Island New Brunswick 60 International Standard Book Number: 978-8-88901-438-1 Quebec 65 Ontario 76 No part of this book or CD set may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in The Prairies 87 any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, not now or hereafter invented, Manitoba 91 including photocopying, microfilming and recording, or in any information store or retrieval 96 system, without written permission from the publishers. Saskatchewan Alberta 101 Book printed by: Printing Services, Memorial University of Newfoundland British Columbia 109 CDs pressed by: MMS Atlantic, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1C 1M8 The North 116 Graphic Design & Layout: Graham Blair Yukon 121 Northwest Territories 125 Nunavut 127 Endnotes 133 Acknowledgements 150 Author Biographies 152 Selective Glossary 155 Author Key Introduction AH Andy Hillhouse Fiddle and accordion have long thrived in Canada—among early settlers who AI Amanda Ironside introduced them to the continent, in Inuit, Métis and First Nations societies that AL Anne Lederman made them their own, and in recent immigrant communities. Fiddle and ac- BD Beverley Diamond cordion music has served, at times, as a common “language” binding the nation’s DM Dan MacDonald diverse populations; more often, however, subtleties of style and approach have EO Evelyn Osborne been used to mark distinct identities. Differences may be ethnocultural (as in LO Lisa Ornstein the tempo differences of Scottish-derived and Acadian fiddle music in Maritime LW Louise Wrazen Canada) or class-related (as in the debates about the merits of competitions). MFi Mark Finch Fiddle and accordion traditions in Canada have often been represented by the MFo Meghan Forsyth media, show promoters, and even by the musicians themselves either as a kind ML Maija Lutz of nostalgic “barn dance” tradition (stereotyped as rural, uneducated and slightly MO Marcia Ostashewski rough), or else as a virtuosic “show” tradition (in recordings produced by award MV Mila Volpe winners of the dozens of fiddle competitions that take place annually across the PM Paul McDonald nation). The sixty-five tracks on this CD set demonstrate the artistry and social RO Rod Olstad complexity of a number of accordion and fiddle communities and add nuance to SJ Sherry Johnson the historical representations of these evolving traditions. TB Trent Bruner A CD set of this nature could only be realized through the efforts of a team TF Tiber Falzett of scholars, archivists, and musicians. Experts in regional fiddle styles across YLG Yves Le Guével Canada recommended historically significant tracks from archival and personal collections, as well as out-of-print commercial recordings. While we want the tracks to be representative of some aspect of fiddling in a particular region or culture, it is not our intention that the CD set be comprehensive. The listener may be surprised that such well-known musicians as Don Messer, Emile Benoit, Andy DeJarlis, and Philippe Bruneau, among many others, are not included on this CD set. Their exclusion is in no way meant to diminish their im- 2 3 portance; because their music is often the case of Graham and Eleanor, we musical careers. It is nevertheless clear (CD 1, Track 2) from Newfoundland better known and more accessible than have included a performance of “Faded from the number of women musicians and tautirut (CD 1, Track 29) from that of many other Canadian fiddlers Love” from their guest appearance at who are included on this CD set that Nunavik. and accordion players, we have decid- the Canadian Open Fiddle Contest in they did make important contribu- Grouping the musicians according ed instead to present tracks that listen- 1982 (CD 1, Track 34). tions to the musical life of their com- to province provides a somewhat arbi- ers might have more trouble finding. We also tried to include a diverse munities. 1 trary arrangement of fiddle and accor- Where we have included a recording mix of age, ethnicity, geographic lo- Recordings included on this CD dion music in Canada, as stylistic re- by iconic musicians, for example that cation, and gender. Fewer women set are taken from a variety of time gions do not always conform to provin- of Graham and Eleanor Townsend, we musicians are represented on this CD periods and contexts, using a range cial boundaries. For example, Acadian have chosen a track that would other- set than men, reflecting the role of of technology. Sources�� for tracks in- regions exist in New Brunswick, Nova wise be unavailable to the public; in women in the public music-making clude a home recording on one of Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and of these musical the first commercially available tape Newfoundland. Also, fiddlers move traditions in the machines (CD 1, Track 32), acetate around. Freddy Lang (CD 2, Track past. Women (CD 1, Track 30), 78rpm recordings 15), for instance, was born in Carman, were more like- (ex., CD 1, Track 24), radio broad- Manitoba and passed away in Merritt, ly to be singing, casts (ex., CD 1, Tracks 10 and 34), British Columbia, but lived almost playing back-up and television broadcasts (ex., CD 1, twenty years—perhaps his most pro- instruments, or Track 31 and CD 2, Track 6) among ductive musical years—in Alberta. playing in the others. As a consequence, the quality Finally, although regional and stylis- home than tak- of the recordings varies considerably. tic categories themselves are more ing part in a Tracks with a poorer recording qual- or less fixed—through the literature public activity ity are included, however, because of and popular stereotype—the fiddlers such as record- their historic significance. and tunes are more flexible, moving ing. Also, many Along with the fiddle and accor-accor- between categories, or inhabiting sev- women musi- dion selections, we have included eral at once. Even before the advent cians, such as some examples of instruments that of modern mass media and improved Stella Burridge have played an important role in the transportation, tunes were exchanged (CD 1, Track 9), dance music of some regions or have by those crossing the country and stopped play- strongly influenced fiddling and accor- often adapted to local, regional playing music for a dion traditions. Piping, for example, ing styles. Opportunities for fiddlers period of time has had a significant influence on Cape to move between styles or play several Lumbermen in Quebec, 1943: Guillaume Riendeau (Maniwaki, in order to raise Breton fiddling, and therefore we in- at once have only increased. Al Cherny Quebec) hits the strings of Romeo Clement’s (Farley, Quebec) fiddle families; fewer clude the master piper, Alex Currie, of (CD 1, Track 32) and Victor Pasowisty with a pair of sticks, adding rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment to the melody. Jean Claude Clement and Victor Moore (Maniwaki, men cite this Cape Breton (CD 1, Track 13). Other (CD 2, Track 2), for example, were Quebec) look on. (Courtesy of National Film Board of Canada, same reason for examples include tracks of harmon- among many fiddlers equally at home Library and Archives Canada, WRM 5415) breaks in their ica (CD 1, Track 3) and mouth music playing Ukrainian Canadian, Canadian 4 5 old-time, contest, and country and with them. It simply feels too imper- City. The purchase of an acordia for made violins and repaired accordions.5 western styles. sonal to refer to them by the academi- three pounds is noted in November The Lyonnais business was a family af- The length of explanatory notes cally standard last name. And so we 1843,2 only twelve years after the in- fair, and after working with his father for each region and musician varies. invite you, the listener, to get to know vention of the Demian accordion (also Joseph, Roch Lyonnais opened a shop This disparity is not meant to dimin- these musicians too, to learn a little known as the romantic accordion). in Saint-Roch in 1860. Like many in- ish the importance of any musician bit about their lives, the influences on Account books for the following years strument makers of his time, Roch or particular locale. It is simply the their music, the impact they’ve had on show that between 1846 and 1858, Lyonnais was an innovator. In 1855, result of available research. Twenty- others, and to share their music. We the Ursulines purchased five more he invented and made a begarina, an seven years ago, in editing a volume bet you won’t be able to keep your toe accordions as well as two concertinas instrument with free-reeds, a scale of of the Canadian Folk Music Bulletin on from tapping. [SJ] (a free-reed instrument, like a button two octaves and chords in G major and fiddling across Canada (1985), Anne accordion, but with hexagonal ends). C major. Lederman pointed out the lack of re- Another accordion is documented The first accordion made in search on fiddling in several areas and History of at the Trois-Rivières convent of the Quebec came from the Saint-Sauveur challenged Canadian folk music schol- Accordion in Canada Ursulines.

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