TTA:St. Anne's Reel
ST(E). ANNE'S REEL. AKA and see “La Reel de la Baie Ste. Anne.” Canadian (originally), American, Irish; Reel and Breakdown. Canada; Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Reiner & Anick, Silberberg): AABB (Begin, Brody, Cranford/Holland, Jarman, Mallinson, Martin & Hughes, Miller & Perron, O'Neill, Perlman, Sweet, Taylor): AA'BB' (Phillips). According to Anne Lederman (in her article on “Fiddling” in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, 1992), tune was first recorded by Québec fiddler Joseph Allard as “Reel de Ste Anne”—which became popular in English-speaking Canada as “St. Anne’s Reel.” While this is not proof that “St. Anne’s” origins are French-Canadian (as Allard spend much of his youth in upper New England, where he played in fiddle contests, and presumably came into contact with regional musicians), it is suggestive. There are at least two bays by this name in eastern Canada, as the French alternate title above would suggest, though it is not known if those features explain the origin of the tune’s title. There is a French community called Baie Sainte Anne, on St. Anne’s Bay, near the mouth of Mirimichi Bay, New Bruswick. “St. Anne’s” was popularised by Radio and TV fiddler Don Messer (who had the title as “Sainte Agathe” in his 1948 Way Down East collection), and has been assimilated into several North American and British Isles traditions and remains a popular staple of fiddlers’ jam sessions. When asked to play a Canadian tune, for example, American fiddlers generally will play “St. Anne’s” first. It was in the repertoire of Cyril Stinnett, who epitomized the "North Missouri Hornpipe Style" of Mid-West fiddling, though it soon became a popular staple of most Missouri fiddlers. It was perhaps from listening to Canadian radio broadcasts in the hey-day of the big AM band stations, which could be heard clearly in the northern part of the state, or it may have been brought back by contest fiddlers in the 1960’s who attended the renowned contests in Weiser, Idaho, and in Canada. Perlman (1996) similarly states the tune entered Prince Edward Island tradition from radio broadcasts from Québec, but that it has elaborated (especially in western PEI) over the years to suit the rhythms of the local step-dancing. Irish musicians have frequently recorded the melody as well. The earliest printing of “St. Anne’s” appears to be in the Jarman collections of the 1930’s and 1940’s, where arrangement is credited to John Burt with a copyright date of 1937. Mark Wilson says its popularity in the United States dates from the 1950’s after it was recorded by Nashville fiddlers such as Tommy Jackson. The tune has some affinity to older reels, including two printed by O'Neill in his Waifs & Strays of Gaelic Melody, "The Factory Lass" (249) and "The Home Made Reel" (250). There is a similarity in the first part to “The Skylark [1],” composed by James Morrison.
Sources for notated versions: Andy Woolf (Mass.) [Reiner & Anick]; transplanted French-Canadian fiddler Omer Marcoux {1898-1982} (Concord, N.H.), who learned the tune in Montreal from his brother Emile [Miskoe & Paul]; Elmer Robinson (b. c. 1910, Mounty Pleasant, now resides in Woodstock, West Prince County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; fiddler Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa Valley, Ontario) [Begin]. Begin (Fiddle Music from the Ottawa Valley: Dawson Girdwood), 1985; No. 48, pg. 57. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 243‑244. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), vol. 1, No. 8. Cranford (Jerry Holland: The Second Collection), 2000; No. 139, pg. 52. Jarman (Cornhuskers), 1944; pg. 7. S. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 4: Collection of Fine Tunes), 1983 (revised 1991, 2001); pg. 14. Mallinson (Essential), 1995; No. 47, pg. 21. Martin & Hughes (Ho-ro-gheallaidh), 1990; pg. 33. McNulty (Dance Music of Ireland), 1965; pg. 14. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddle Repertoire), 1983; No. 139. Miskoe & Paul (Omer Marcoux), 1994; pg. 32. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 5. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 73. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 208. Reiner & Anick (Old Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pg. 48. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 149. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 49. Taylor (Crossroads Dance), 1992; No. 35, pg. 25.
Recorded sources: Bee Balm 302, “The Corndrinkers.” Condor 977‑1489, "Graham & Eleanor Townsend Live at Barre, Vermont." County 725, The Riendeau Family‑ "Old‑Time Fiddling." Flying Fish, Bryan Bowers‑ "The View From Home." Folkways FTS 31098, Ken Perlman ‑ "Clawhammer Banjo and Fingerstyle Guitar Solos." Green Linnet SIF‑104, John & Phil Cunningham ‑ "The Celts Rise Again" (1990). Green Linnet SIF‑3036, Silly Wizard ‑ "Live in America" (1986). Heritage XXXIII, The Correct Tone String Band ‑ "Visits" (1981). June Appal 007, Thomas Hunter (N.C.) ‑ "Deep in Tradition" (1976). June Appal 014, John McCutcheon ‑ "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" (1977. Learned from Tommy Hunter). Mulligan LUN 027, Martin O’Connor - “The Connaughman’s Rambles.” Philo 2000, "Louis Beaudoin" (1973. Learned from his father). Rounder 7006, Theresa and Marie MacLellan (Cape Breton) ‑ "A Trip to Mabou Ridge." Shaskeen - "My Love is in America." Rounder CD7014, Dennis Pitre – “Fiddlers of Western Prince Edward Island” (1997). Rounder CD 7016, Gerry Robichaud – “The Slippery Stick” (1996). Rounder Heritage Series 1166-11592-2, Gerry Robichaud (et al) – “The Art of Traditional Fiddle” (2001. Learned from New Brunswick tradition). Rounder Select 82161-0476-2, “The Wind That Shakes the Barley: Hammered Dulcimer Music” (reissues, orig. released 1977). TRAX 026, Aly Bain - “Aly Bain and Friends.” Temple House Ceili Band - “Music for the Sets, vol. 1.”
See also listings at:
Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info [2]