La Famille Beaudoin: 1976 Ann Meuer photo cover photo - Philo 2022: La Famille Beaudoin These poems, stories, songs, quote, and art have been gathered from all over the world, partly via FIDDLE-L, an online list for fiddlers and those who love fiddle music. dhebert@crocker.com

La Famille Beaudoin Philo 2022 liner notes by Paul Wells (1976) In the past few years, Louis Beaudoin has become known as one of the finest old-time French-Canadian fiddlers in New England. Musical talent runs throughout the Beaudoin family, however, and this record, while featuring Louis' fiddling, allows other members of the family to demonstrate some of their skills. All three of Louis' younger brothers are musically inclined and can be heard on this album: Willie provides guitar accompaniment throughout; Robert plays the mouth organ on "Brenda's Reel"; and Freddie calls the dance changes for "La Grande chaîne." Julie Beaudoin, Louis' wife and staunch supporter of French-Canadian traditional music, sings the beautiful "La Bénédiction du père" which closes the album. Louis and Julie's children are also musically talented and two of their five daugheres, Louise (Brown) and Lisa, provide the piano accompaniment on the album. Lisa has become well-known in her own right as an outstanding stepdancer. She often performs at fiddle contests and other events throughout the Northeast, with her father supplying the music. Music has always been an important part of the Baudoin family's life. Much of Louis' early musical training came from his parents, and he plays many tunes which he proudly identifies as "old numbers I got from my Dad." His father was a fiddler and his mother, who played the piano, knew Mr. Beaudoin's tunes well enough to be able to sing them to Louis when he was struggling to learn the fiddle. Willie began to play music at about the same time as Louis and they often played taogether as boys. However, in a house with two younger brothers, they frequently found it necessary to lock themselves in the bathroom in order to practice in peace! After Louis and Julie were married and had children of their own, fiddle music became a part of the family entertainment. As Louis recalled: "Occasionally I used to sit in the house here with Louise, my oldest one, who was only seven years old at that time, and by gosh, she had to jump from one key to another (on the piano) to accompany me, and yet, she could do it! So, at night I'd sit here with the piano and Julie with the other kids, and I'd play for them. Good many evenings we'd spend that way!" Louis' fiddling has the distinctive rhythmic drive which is the hallmark of a good dance fiddler and which is extremely difficult to produce unless one has had the experience of playing for dancers. Although old-time fiddling is presently enjoying tremendous popularity, the number of fiddlers whose music can generate the urge to "get up and dance" in the way which Louis does is indeed small. The key to achieving this "danceability" lies with the fiddler's bow work. The accents and expressions which Louis produces with his bow strengthen the rhythmic aspects of the music and make rhythm as important a feature of ouis' tunes as melody. Louis' skill at providing this danceable rhythm has been shaped by many nights of playing for old-time kitchen dances, sitting on the kitchen table and fiddling all night with no accompaniment apart from his own clogging. He has also had considerable experience playing for stepdancers, especially, of course, for his daughter, Lisa. Louis recognizes the importance of bowing in giving life to his playing, and once told me: "When I learn a new number, naturally the first thing is to get my fingers on the notes. Then it's the coordination of that bow, to try to make it "talk" more." The fiddling on this record shows just how well Louis has carried out this intent. The Music Although the history of French-Canadian music has yet to be thoroughly researched, the repertoire of contemporary fiddlers within this tradition, such as Louis Beaudoin, can be said to be a mixture of several different elements. Tunes and dance traditions brought to the New World by early French settlers have been supplemented by materials drawn from British-American tradition and by locally composed tunes. Within the past few decades, phonograph raecords have played an important role in the continuance and development of French-Canadian traditional music . When Louis was learning to play the fiddle, he often listend to and learned from Joe Danis, a neighbor in Burlington, Vermont. "Joe's Favorite" is one of the tunes which Louis picked up from him, and he has named it in Joe's honor. "La Bastringue," which Louis learned from his father, is one of the most widely-known pieces in French-Canadian tradition, and it is often performed as a song as well as a dance tune. Many artists have recorded "La Bastringue," including La Bolduc (Starr 15765) and Jean Carignan (Elektra EKL-266, reissued as Elektra--Everest Legacy LEG 120). Throughout a lifetime of fiddling, Louis has picked up many tunes thta he can no longer ascribe to any definite source. "Bachelor's Reel," "Reel in D" and "Fireside Reel" are three such tunes. The titles for the first of these comes from Henri Landry, whose recording of the tune can be heard on Philo F1 2002. Louis learned "La tuque blue" from an early album by Jean Carignan. Carignan played the tune in F, but Louis has transposed it to the key of D. A "tuque" is a knit cap of the kind commonly associated with the dress of lumberjacks. Along with the fiddle and the accordion, the mouth organ is a popular instrument for playing French-Canadian dance music. "Brenda's Reel" which Bobby Beaudoin plays on this instrument, is a traditional tune which he has named after his daughter. It has also been recorded as "Reel du snack bar" by fiddler Ti-Blanc Richard (RCAV 55-5406) Side two of the album opens with Freddie Beaudoin calling the figures of a square dance to Louis' fiddling. Although he has never been a professional caller, Freddie calls dances at weddings and family get-togethers. Dance historian S. Foster Damon has credited the French with the invention of the square dance, claiming that it was their modification of the English Country Dance which was popular throughout Europe in the 18th century. (The History of Square Dancing," Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, Vol. 62, part. 1, April 1952, pp. 63-98) This relationship between the British and French dance forms helps to explain the basic structural similarity which exists between most French-Canadian and Brisih-American fiddle tunes. "Newlywed Reel" is a good example of at une which, in various forms, is played in both Anglo and French traditions. Although Louis' high part seems to be unique to this tune, the low part can be found in many other pieces, including the Shetland Isles tune "Aandonwin' at the Bow", an Irish tune known variously as "O'Connell's Reel," "The Maid that left the Country," or "Half Penny Reel.", and a tune know as "Old Crow" or "Crooked Road to Dublin." "Reel in D" and "Reel in G" are two more tunes which Louis has learned over the years from unknown sources One of the best and most widely-recorded Québec fiddlers was the late Isidore Soucy. Louis has listened to many of Soucy's recordings adn learned "La reel du sucre" from one of them. "Reel de Montréal" is a tune which Louis has recently worked out from a melody which was going through his mind. The high part of this version is similar to "Armand Signette" as played by Graham Townsend (Caprice SCPL 24030), but the tune is otherwise the same as "Montreal Reel" recorded by Clem Myers (Fretless 103). To many French-Canadians, the word "gigue" (jig) means a stepdance rather than a tune in 6/8 time. "La grande gigue simple" is a traditional stepdance tune which Louis learned from his father. The form of the tune, organized in three-beat phrases, is unlike anything found in British-American dance music, with the possible exception of the triple-time hornpipe which was once common in England. This tune is also known as the "Red River Jig" and has been recorded under this title by fiddler Frankie Rogers (Point P--324) Julie Beaudoin's song, "La Bénédiction du père," which she has known since her youth, describes the traditional practice of coming before the family patriarch on New Year's Day and asking for his blessing for the coming year. Many families regard this as a necessary custom and are almost superstitious in their observance of it, but it is also seen as a pleasant experience. Since Mr. Beaudoin's death, Louis has assumed the role of head of the family and his younger brothers now come to him on New Year's Day to receive his blessing. This song has special significance to the Beaudoins, for Mr. Beaudoin sang it frequently to his children, and the first time Louis heard Julie sing it, it only increased his love for her. © Paul Wells- 1976 - La famille Beaudoin