Métis Style Fiddle
1.Victor's 39th 2:31
2.Gilbert’s Duck Dance 2:38
3.Jonah's 1st Change 2:14
4.Pete & Lawrence’s Duck Dance 2:24
5.Arcandsaw Traveler (Arkansas Traveler) 2:37
6.Bb Waltz 2:52
7.Red River Jig 2:44
8.Rod's Favorite Reel 2:13
9.Lady Do Si Do 2:48
10.Big John McNeil 2:50
11.Old Reel of 8 2:35
12.Devil's Waltz 2:34
13.Romeo's 1st Change 2:32
14.Zachareel 2:27
15.Whiskey Before Breakfast 2:27
All tunes Traditional, Arranged by Calvin Vollrath
Fiddles, Mandolin, Rhythm, Lead and Bass Guitars, Spoons, Clogging Calvin Vollrath
Recorded at Astromonical Studio, St Paul AB
Produced and Engineered by Calvin Vollrath
Design & Printing by Bridgeport Printing Inc., Edmonton AB
Made in Canada (symbol) Copyright 2005 CVCD-205
The fiddle is the main instrument used in Métis music. In the early days, fiddles were hard to obtain and expensive. The Métis would make their own from maple wood and birch bark.
Traditional Métis fiddle music is not structured like that of traditional music. It is not contained in a bar structure, and only uses the small part of the bow, which is used to create a bounce in the tune. Typically the Métis style of music is handed down orally for many centuries.
The fiddle plays the melody and tells the story. Toe tapping or spoons supply the rhythm. Métis fiddle music is a combination of tunes from the French Canadian and European settlers. This resulted in very different musical structures. The French Canadian roots of the music are obvious, especially in the vigorous bowing and tapping of both feet to spice up the rhythm. Thus, the unequal amount of phrases and the way the tunes are constructed make this style of fiddling unique.
Author Unknown
(Inside Front Cover)
Gilbert Anderson, Richard Calihoo and John Arcand are terrific Métis fiddlers that have become three of my fiddling heroes. I first met Gilbert and Richard in the ‘70’s in Alberta and I met John at the Back to Batoche Métis Festival in Saskatchewan in 1987.
Gilbert was the one who introduced me to this style of fiddle music, he would play tunes that I recognized but he played them differently. He would add or drop out beats or bars in his music. I thought he was playing them incorrect, but it was I that was mistaken. People enjoyed dancing to his music so I soon realized that music didn’t have to have 8 bars to a verse or even 4 beats to a bar. Gilbert also played tunes I had not heard before that he learned from his brothers Pete and Lawrence and other elder fiddlers. These 6 tunes I’ve only heard Gilbert play; ‘Bb Waltz’, ‘Gilbert’s Duck Dance’, ‘Jonah's 1st Change’, ‘Pete & Lawrence’s Duck Dance’, ‘Old Reel of 8’ & ‘Devil's Waltz’. ‘Whiskey Before Breakfast’ is a traditional tune played in many styles and this is Gilbert’s version. Note the added bar in the middle of the 2nd part.
‘Zachareel’ and ‘Rod's Favorite Reel’ are two of many tunes that I have learned from Richard Calihoo.
John Arcand & I have been playing together since we first met in ’87. What a wonderful player he is. The following year, in ’88, we were hired to teach at the Emma Lake Fiddle Camp in Saskatchewan and have been there every year since, 2005 will mark our 18th year. The 2 tunes ‘Arcandsaw Traveler’ (Arkansas Traveler) and ‘Victor's 39th’ are tunes that I learned from John, who learned them from his father Victor, many years ago.
The Red River Jig & Big John McNeil are Métis standards. I learned the ‘Red River Jig’ from an Andy DeJarlis record many years ago so this version is quite similar to his. Andy was a superb fiddler from Manitoba. ‘Big John McNeil’ is similar to the style of a great Métis fiddler Cliff Maytwayashing, also from Manitoba. Note the added bar at the end of the 2nd A part.
‘Lady Do Si Do’ & ‘Romeo's 1st Change’ are 2 popular Métis tunes that I’ve learned over the years by hearing many fiddlers play them. They are more commonly used for square dances. |
