Annotation:Belle Catherine (2) (La)

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X:1 T:Belle Catherine [2], La D:Nightingale, "The Coming Dawn" S:Quebecois R:reel M:4/4 L:1/8 Z:Transcribed by Paul de Grae K:C EGce d2 c2|EGce d2 c2|Bcde fefg|ag^fg ec c z| EGce d2 c2|EGce d2 c2|Bcde fefg|ag^fg c2 z2:|: eg-ge gagf|egeg a2 z2|g2 ^fg bagf|ag^fg ec c z| gggg gagf|egeg a2 z2|g2 ^fg bagf|ag^fg c2 z2:||

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BELLE CATHERINE [2], LA. AKA and see "Braes of Mar (1) (The)," "Joe's Toes," "Reel des noces," "Reel de Pius Boudreau." French-Canadian, Reel. C Major (most versions): A Major (Portland). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Songer). According to Québec musician Benoit Bourque, "La Belle Catherine" is a colloquial French-Canadian term meaning an old maid, or an unmarried woman over the age of 25 (Songer). La Belle Catherine is also the name of a longways formation dance that was popular in Québec, one of the 'grandes danses' of the region. The dance itself may date from the 1700s and has been attributed by Marius Barbeau to French origins. The tune, which can vary greatly from musician-to-musician, was in the respective repertoire of fiddlers Joseph Bouchard and Louis "Pitou" Boudreault (Chicoutimi, Québec); the latter recorded the melody in 1975 (see Belle Catherine (3) (La). However, an earlier version of the tune was recorded in 1927 by fiddler Willie Ringuette as "Reel des noces" (Wedding Reel).