Re: [Harp-L] French Canadian Harmonica Rarity

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

This is Mary Travers Bolduc, Quebec's first singer-songwriter-folk artist, who enjoyed enormous popularity as a recording artist and performer from the mid-1920s until her death in 1941 - she was sort of the Ma Rainey of French-speaking Canadians (and Americans) in the Northeast. She continues to hold a legendary place in the annals of French Canadian music, and her records have never gone out of print in Quebec. 

While she was an audacious lyricist (in 1930 she was singing about domestic violence, but in a way where both husband and wide were active participants, which both helped get the problem out in the open in an acceptable way through the use of humor, and also delivered to women the message that they didn't have to be victims), she was also a fine harmonica player.

Mary Bolduc's chordal, bouncy harmonica playing is solidly in the French Canadian tradition also exemplified by such fine players as Louis Blanchette, Henri Lacroix, and Adelard Saint-Louis. You can get an introduction to all of these players and others, with background information and sample recordings, at my French-Canadian site:

http://www.angelfire.com/folk/harmonicanuck/

You can hear even more from these and other harmonica players at the Virtual Gramophone, a site presents several thousand Canadian 78rpm records from the early 20th Century:

http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/gramophone/index-e.html

By the way, Glenn, I'm curious about the player-piano-like instrument you mention. That's the first I've heard of such a thing in connection with La Bastringue, which, in the lyrics of the song, is simply a dance (the man and the woman in the song keep making excuses about not dancing "la bastringue" with each other, but each always bases the excuse on the indisposition of the other (e.g., you're too tired, I wouldn't out you through such an ordeal), which is the humorous point of the song).

Winslow

--- On Mon, 8/18/08, Glenn Weiser <celticguitar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Glenn Weiser <celticguitar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] French Canadian Harmonica Rarity
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Monday, August 18, 2008, 7:16 AM

Hey All-

Check this out-sounds like tongue-blocking harmonica on an old 78.
The song is "La Bastringue," and concerns an odd musical instrument
somewhat 
like a player piano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwDGu2SEUPY&feature=related

http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/tbr_bastringue.htm

Glenn Weiser
Web: www.celticguitarmusic.com

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