Annotation:Galope du Lac St-Jean
X:1 T:Galope du Lac St. Jean S:Thomas Vaillancourt (1856-1918), via Louis "Pitou" Boudreault (1907-1988) M:C| L:1/8 K:D f2d2g2eg|ffdf ec[D2A2]|f2dfg2eg|fdec [D3d]-[De]|
GALOPE DU LAC ST-JEAN (Lake St-Jean Galop). AKA - "La Vieille Galope du Lac Saint-Jean." AKA and see "Keel Row (The)," "Reel à quatre (3)," "Reel Blanchette," "Reel du quêteux Tremblay de Aimé Gagnon," "Rêve du quêteux Tremblay de Aimé Gagnon (2)." French-Canadian, Reel. F Major (Carlin): D Major (Boudreualt). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The source for "Galope du Lac St-Jean" is fiddler Thomas Vaillancourt (1856-1918) of Hébertville, the first important parish of Lac St-Jean, Sauguenay region, settled beginning in 1849 in a clergy-sponsored agriculture initiative by the Société des comtés de l'Islet et de Kamouraska. Chicoutimi fiddler Louis "Pitou" Boudreault's (1905-1988) father, Didace (who was also a fiddler), visited family in in Hébertville and came to know Thomas Vaillancourt, his future wife's great-uncle. Vaillancourt had a large repertoire of tunes for contradanse and step-dancing, as well as party pieces and listening pieces, and was known as one of the best fiddlers in the region and some of his repertoire was absorbed by the Boudreault family.
This particular gallope melody is, however, from the north of England where it is well-known as a dance and song tune called "Keel Row (The)." The older tune is quite recognizable in Vaillancourt and Boutreault's playing, although later versions by Quebec fiddlers are more distanced from the English tune.
