Annotation:Kitchen Reel (The)

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KITCHEN (REEL), THE. AKA and see "Ralph Page's Breakdown (1)." Canadian, New England; Reel. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The tune is possibly the "Reel de Celibataires" (Kitchen Reel) that Isidore Soucy recorded (RCA 26-7093 Ca 226d EE). Messer's "Kitchen Reel" is mentioned in the CBC Program Scheduled for Friday, May 3rd, 1946:

DON MESSER AND HIS ISLANDERS
(4:00 p.m.)
Charlie Chamberlain, the singing Islander. has a brand new song for listeners tonight-a Fred Rose composition, "Wait For the Light to Shine" and one of the loveliest songs of yesteryear-"Where the Sunset Turns the Ocean Blue to Gold." The band, under the direction of Don Messer, plays "The Rambler's Hornpipe." "The Kitchen Reel," "Snow Dear" and "The Fargo's Apron."

The tune appears as "Ralph Page's Breakdown (1)" in New Hampshire fiddler Randy Miller's 2004 collection, associating it with the influential Page (1903-1985), the “dean of the contra dance callers,” and a seminal figure in New England traditional dance and music for 40 years [1]. Page himself published it in 1968 as "Kitchen Reel."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Messer (Way Down East), 1948; No. 20. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 40, p. 30. Miller (Fiddler’s Throne), 2004; No. 235, p. 144 (as "Ralph Page's Breakdown"). Page, Northern Junket, vol. 9, no. 6, 1968; p. 23. Sannella, Balance and Swing (CDSS).

Recorded sources: Rodeo Records RLP 8015, Graham Townsend - "House Party" (1987).