Annotation:Quatre coins de St-Malo (Les)
X:1 T:Quatres Coins de St Malo, Les S:From the playing of André a Toto Savoie (Shippagen, NB), via Devon Leger M:C| L:1/8 N:"+" = pizzicato note N:Where it says "Tap" over the rest, the fiddle is lightly tapped with the N:nut at the end of the frog with bow vertical to the fiddle (to represent N:the bed posts. Beginning at measure 29, the fiddle is tapped this way N:in each of the four bouts of the fiddle, marking the 'four posts of the bed.' N:Take care not to damage the surface of the fiddle by tapping too hard. Some N:fiddlers rap the fiddle with a knuckle or cover the metal nut to cushion it. N:Savioe was cavalier about repetitions of parts and tapping, often tapping N:around the fiddle bouts seven to ten times as he desired at the time. D:https://www.facebook.com/devleger/videos/1587033502128170 Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D |:A|dddd ddfd|ddfd efeA|d2dd dd[df]d|dd[df]d efeA| e2fg a3a|aAaa fede-|f2fg fede-|ffed e3e-| fgfe fAa2|(3fgf ec dfae|ffec d3:| d-|Acef g2gg|eceg abaf|d2ef gage| fedf eAe2| (Ac)ef gggg|eceg abaf|d2 ef gage|fgfd efec-|d3d efed|| c2"+"e2 "tap"z "+"e2|e4 efed|c2"+"e2 "tap"z "+"e2|d4 efed| c2"+"e2 "tap"z "+"e2|e4 efed|c2"+"e2 "tap"z "+"e2|d4 efed| P:29 "tap"z "+"e2"tap"z "+"e2|"tap"z "+"e2"tap"z "+"e2|"tap"z "+"e2"tap"z "+"e2|"tap"z "+"e2 |e4 efed| c2"+"e2 "tap"z "+"e2|d4 efed|c2"+"e2 "tap"z "+"e2| "tap"z "+"e2e4| efed c2"+"e2 | "tap"z "+"e2 .d2z||
QUATRE COINS DE ST-MALO, LES. AKA and see "Bobelo (Le)," "Four Poster Bed (1) (The)," "Reel des enfants." French-Canadian, Reel (cut time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). The Quebecois/Acadian version of this tune, "Les Quatre coins de St-Malo," may be derivative (or vice-versa) of the British/Irish tune "Four Posts of the Bed" or "Four Poster Bed (The)", both musically and with the descriptive action with the bow. Whether French or English in origin, antiquity is generally assigned to the tune in traditional lore, although no citations older than the late 19th century have surfaced for the melody to date[1].
Researcher Jean Duval notes that the first strain of "Quatre coins de St-Malo" corresponds with the song "À St-Malo beau port de mer", recorded by fiddler Isidore Soucy in 1929. J.O. La Madeleine's "Ribidibou" is similar. Gaspe fiddler Edouard Richard also had a version of the melody called "Pèteuse (1) (La)," albeit without the four-post bed lore and tapping. In Richard's version the pizzicato represented demure farts. See also J.A. Boucher's "Quatre Coins (2) (Les)."
- ↑ The oldest appearance of "Four Poster Bed" in print is in Kerr's Merry Melodies vol. 1 (Glasgow, c. 1880, p. 46) wherein it is described as a "Novelty Reel".