Annotation:Danse carrée - partie 1
X:1 T:Danse carrée - partie 1 M:2/4 L: 1/8 R:Polka S:Paul et Blanche Bertrand N:Paul Bertrand was a hammered dulcimer player from northeastern Ontario, near the N:border with Québec. D:Starr 15511 (78 RPM), Paul et Blanche Bertrand (1928) K: G P:"A" D2B2 BGBG|E2c2 cAcA|F2A2d2 cd|e2d2 B2G2| D2B2 BGBG|E2c2 cAcA|F2A2d2 FF|1A2[B,2G2][B,2G2]E2:|2A2[B,2G2][B,4G4]|| |:G2 Bd gdBd|e2[c2e2][c4e4]|D2FA f2 ef|e2 [B2d2] [B4d4]| G2 Bd gdBd|e2[c2e2][c4e4]|D2FA f2 ed| cBAF G4:|
DANSE CARREE - PARTIE 1. Canadian, Polka (2/4 time). Canada, Ontario. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Danse carree," parts 1 and 2, was recorded in 1928 by Paul Bertrand and his daughter Blanche, who accompanied him either on another dulcimer or by playing the bass strings on his instrument. Paul Gifford writes that
Although the tympanon was reasonably popular in 18th-century France as an instrument for genteel amateurs, it is unlikely that the dulcimer played by French descendants in Canada came from French tradition. In northern Ontario, Paul Bertrand (born about 1872 near Ottawa, died about 1960) was a well-known player of the instrument and members of his extended family also played it. Bertrand lived most of his life in Connaught, Ontario. He also played the violin, mandolin, and piano. Perhaps he learned the dulcimer from Bob Hiteman, a forest ranger in Connaught. The instrument was rare in the area, and people were led to believe that Bertrand invented the instrument.
Bertrand’s sister, who married Aurel Chevrier, played it, as did many of her children. This French-speaking family sometimes referred to the instrument as musique Ö baguette, although in English they called it “dulcimore”. Albert Bertrand and his family moved to Montreal in the late 1920’s, and while there “invented” a dulcimer with a chromatic tuning and christened it “carolino,” after Caroline, his wife. [Paul Gifford, "Hammered Dulcimer Tales and Traditions", 1998-04 (Fall 1998), Dulcimer Players News Vol. 24 No. 4]
