Annotation:Reel de Rimouski (1)
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REEL DE RIMOUSKI. AKA - "Reel de l'harmonica," "Rimouski (Le)." French-Canadian, Reel. G Major ('A' part), C Major ('B' part) & F Major ('C' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'CC'A"A"'B"B"'C"C"'A""A""'. Rimouski is a town on the east bank of the St. Lawrence River, above Quebec City. The tune is attributed to Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, violinist Fortunat Malouin (1870-1935) who lived in Quebec City but was originally from Saint-Sauveur, Québec. He was an influential musician who recorded in the 1920's. His "Reel de Rimouski" (recorded as "Le Rimouski" in New York in 1928) has become a show-case tune for fiddlers. The melody was included in Montreal musician, publisher, and music dealer A.J. Boucher's (1869-1927) Le Repertoire du Violonneux [sic] (Dec., 1933), a collection of Quebecois tunes that included versions of all eight tunes that Malouin recorded--all under different titles. "Reel de Rimouski" ("Le Rimouski") appears as "Le Vieux Champion." Researcher Jean Duval believes that Boucher and Malouin were rivals or competitors, at least from Boucher's point of view, and that Boucher may have been seeking to point out that "Les Joyeuses Québecoises" was not Malouin's composition, but rather a part of older Quebecois repertory appropriated by him. He also may have been trying to 'show Malouin up' by printing (as the first piece in the collection) a version with (as Duval says) "fairly acrobatic variations", perhaps to show his musical superiority over Malouin[1].
Harmonica player Aldor Morin recorded the tune as "Reel de l'harmonica."
Source for notated version: French-Canadian button accordion player Philippe Bruneau (Québec) [Bégin].
Printed sources: Bégin (Philippe Bruneau), 1993; No. 40, pp. 60-61.
Recorded sources: Calvin Vollrath - "Tunes from My Past" (2010). CAT-16001, La famille Soucy - "Un party ben l'fun avec Pôgne et la Famille Soucy" (1973). Columbia 34157-F (78 RPM), Fortunat Malouin (1928). Disques Mérite, La famille Soucy - "Un party ben l'fun avec la famille Soucy, vol. 1" (1999). Gael-Linn CEFCD 151, Buttons and Bows - "Grace Notes" (2012). Patrimoine PAT 19001, Jean Carignan - "Musicient Traditionnels Québécois--Jean Carignan--de Ti-Jean...le violoneux à Jean Carignan" (1977). RCA Victor Gala CGP-254, "Ti-Blanc Richard." Smithsonian Folkways SFW40539_105, Aldor Morin - "Classic Canadian Songs From Smithsonian Folkways" (2006. Appears as "Reel de l'harmonica").
See also listing at:
See/hear Jean Carignan with Gilles Losier play the tune at youtube.com [1]