Annotation:Reel Béatrice

Back to Reel Béatrice

X:1 T:Reel Béatrice M:2/4 L:1/16 Q:100 K:Amin A,3B,|:[A2C2]A,C EA,CE|AEEC E2AB|ccAc eAce|ae (3eee aeab|! c'bag fedc|Bdd^c d4|e^def e=dcB|1A3 A, A,3 B,:|2A3 A, A,2 z2||! |:a2 fa bf (3fff|fe^de ae (3eee|e^def e=ddB|cdcB A2 a2|! aafa bf (3fff|fe^de ae (3eee|e^def e=dcB|1A2 z A, A,3 z:|2A2 z4 G>B||! |:cG (3GGG EGce|cG (3GGG EGce|dB (3BBB GBdB|cc'ba gfed|! cG (3GGG EGce|cG (3GGG EGce|dB (3BBB GBdB|1cBcd c2 GB:|2cBcd c2 z2||!

REEL BÉATRICE. AKA - "Beatrice." French-Canadian, Reel or Galope. A Minor {'A' and 'B' parts} & C Major {'C' part} (Begin, Hart & Sandell, Phillips). Standard tuning. AABB'CC (Phillips): AA'BB'CC' (Begin, Hart & Sandell, Songer). “Reel Béatrice” was popularized among Québec musicians by fiddler Joseph Bouchard (to whom the tune is often attributed), who recorded it on a 78 RPM record for Bluebird in 1938. According to Paul M. MacDonald, the original reel began as a polka from the Ballo Liscio dance repertoire called “Oggi Nevica” (which means ‘today it snows’), played by Riccardo Tesi, an Italian accordion player. Begin (1993) points out that the structure of the tune is that of a reel, although the melody approaches one considered suitable for a Galop. However, it is in the style of the 19th century bal musette, and many of these polkas, waltzes and mazurkas were characteristically in three parts, two in minor keys, with a contrasting trio section in the major. The tune called “Beatrice” in the Omer Marcoux collection is not “Reel Béatrice” but apparently a tune entitled “Carnival,” although the tunes share somewhat similar structures and chord patterns.

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - French-Canadian button accordion player Philippe Bruneau (Québec) [Begin]; Ruthie Dornfeld (Seattle) [Phillips], La Bottine Souriante fiddler Martin Racine [Hart & Sandell].

Printed sources : - Bégin (Phillipe Bruneau), 1993; No. 38, p. 57 (appears as "Piece de J. Bouchard"). Hart & Sandell (Dance ce Soir), 2001; No. 29, p. 59. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 21 (appears as "Beatrice"). Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 25.

Recorded sources: - Green Linnet SIF 1092, Liz Carroll - "Liz Carroll" (1988). Green Linnet 1101, Liz Carroll - "Playing with Fire: the Celtic Fiddle Collection" (1989). Green Linnet GLCD 3127, Sharon Shannon – “The Best of Sharon Shannon: Spellbound” (1999. Learned from Liz Carroll). Lisa Ornstein & Denis Pepin - “Dansieries de la Belle Province.” Rounder RO7023, Natalie MacMaster - “No Boundaries” (1996. Learned from Baltimore fiddler Jesse Smith). Le Tamanoir Records, Joseph Bouchard – “Jos Bouchard, violoneux: Musique et dancse trandtionelle de Charlevoix” (1978). Andre Alain – “Viloneux de St-Basile de Portneuf” (1986). La Bottine Souriante – “Je voudrais changer d’chapeau” (1988). La Bottine Souriante – “En spectacle” (1996).