Stéphane Boudreau

Our search for Stéphane Boudreau started with a video of a Madelinot fiddler playing a great tune for the Mi-Carême celebration. Unfortunately, all the musicians wore masks and we had no idea who was playing the tune. Then we found another video where the same group of musicians were sitting in costume but without the masks. We send a copy of this video to our good friend Bertrand Déraspe and he told us that the fiddler in the video was Stéphane Boudreau, who had been one of his students and was his second cousin. The tune he was playing was Reel du Pic Dûre and Bertrand had taught it to him. The videos were made by Micheline Cyr, who made a whole series of YouTube video of the Mi-Carême celebrations of the Magdalen Islands. To view the videos, click on the links below:

Masked Musicians

Unmasked Musicians

On a trouvé le violoneux Stéphane Boudreau grâce à une vidéo des célébrations de la Mi-Carême aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine. On a demandé à notre ami Bertrand Déraspe s'il connaissait le violoneux et il nous a répondu que c'était Stéphane Boudreau, son petit cousin et un de ses anciens élèves. Le morceau qu'il joue s'appelle "le reel du Pic dûre".

Avila LeBlanc

Avila was born March 14th, 1914 and died July 13th 2010 at Gros-Cap in the Magdalen Islands off the coast of Canada. He was 96 when he died and during his lifetime he was celebrated as a fisherman, folklorist and fiddler. He fished for lobster and herring in Baie de Plaisance with his father and brothers. During his lifetime he gathered stories about the life and times of the Madelinots and was a respected storyteller and oral historian. He was a friend of Père Anselme Chiasson, the great collector of folklore and a co-author with Jean-Claude Delorme of the book « Histoires Populaires des Iles » (A Popular History of the Islands). He is cited in another book as the guardian of the oral tradition of the islands: « Deux Cents Ans d’Histoire aux Iles de la Madelaine » (Two Hundred Years of History in the Magdalen Islands). Above all, Avila was a great fiddler. His father bought him his first fiddle for 38 cents. Finally, his uncle bought him a Simpson/Sears fiddle for $50 and this is the one he played for gatherings and dances through the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Many of his tunes were recorded by the department of folklore studies at the Université Laval and there are also recordings at the University of Moncton. Robert Richard, the Archivist at the Centre d'Etudes Acadiennes Anselme Chiassson has graciously sent us some recordings of Avila Leblanc which we share below along with an approximate notation. Many of Avila's tunes are without titles and are known as either Rabestans (short pieces), Cotillons, Reels, and Gigues (Stepdances). La Bottine Souriante featured one of his tunes "Air de Cotillon"  in a Pot-Pouri (medley) called "Surf and Turf" on their CD: "Tout Comme au Jour de l'An". Another great fiddler who knows and plays many of Avila's tunes is Lisa Ornstein. On her CD: "Par un Beau Samedi d'Eté" (One Fine Summer Day), she plays a medley of a cotillons sandwiched between two rabestans in "La Suite des Madelinots".
 

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Lisa Ornstein also posted one of Avila's rabestans on her monthly blog of fiddle tunes. Click on the link for her version of Le Petit Métier.

 http://www.lisaornstein.com/quebecois-tune-of-the-month-le-petit-metier/

Un Vieux Cotillon des Isles 🎼

Vieux Cotillon dl'an premier 🎼

Le Reel des Isles 🎼

Arnold Déraspe

Arnold Déraspe is a fiddler and fisherman from the Madgalen Islands. He has passed down his techniques and tunes as a "Madelinot" fiddler to his son Bertrand Déraspe who continues the tradition. Some recordings of his playing can be found through the archives of Acadian music at the University of Moncton NB

P.S. Arnold Déraspe passed away Saturday, May 8th, 2021. He was 88 years old. The following was posted by his son, Patrice Déraspe on Facebook:

Un géant vient de déposer son archet.

Arnold Déraspe nous a quitté à l’âge de 88 ans, ce samedi 8 mai 2021. À l’heure de son départ, ses fils lui ont rendu hommage en musique, comme ils l’avaient fait pour leur mère Gladys.

Arnold laisse derrière lui, un legs musical inestimable. Porteur de tradition et passeur de savoirs, il a transmis bien plus que l’amour de la musique traditionnelle. Il fut un exemple de rigueur et de bonheur à retrouver ces mélodies du passé et à les faire revivre sous ses doigts.

Son immense talent, son humour et son amour pour la vie, pour sa famille, pour sa communauté, auront touché bien des cœurs et fait danser des milliers de souliers.

Géant parmi les plus anciens héritiers Madelinots, pêcheur de tradition pendant 50 ans, sa présence nous manquera, mais son coup d’archet lui survivra, dans le Violon des Îles.

À tous ceux qui ont croisé sa route en parole ou en musique, la famille Déraspe vous remercie du fond du cœur pour votre amitié.

Ses fils, Bertrand, Mario, Patrice ainsi que ses belles-filles, ses petits-enfants et ses arrière-petits-enfants vous remercient à l’avance pour vos marques d’affection. Les détails des célébrations viendront sous peu.

A giant just dropped off his bow.

Arnold Déraspe left us at the age of 88, this Saturday, May 8, 2021. At the time of his departure, his sons paid tribute to him in music, as they did for their mother Gladys.

Arnold leaves behind, a priceless musical legacy. Tradition carrier and knowledge passer, he passed on much more than the love of traditional music. He was an example of rigor and happiness to find these melodies from the past and make them relive under his fingers.

His immense talent, humor and love for life, for his family, for his community, will have touched many hearts and made thousands of shoes dance.

Giant among the oldest heirs Madelinots, a fisherman of tradition for 50 years, we will miss his presence, but his bow strike will survive him, in the Violin of the Islands.

To all those who crossed their path in word or music, the Déraspe family thank you from the bottom of their hearts for your friendship.

His sons, Bertrand, Mario, Patrice as well as his daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren thank you in advance for your affection marks. Details of the celebrations will come shortly.

Le Reel de la Morte 🎼

Pascal Miousse

Pascale Miousse, the fiddler for the super group Vishtèn, is a native of the Magdalen Islands. From the ages of 4 to 10 he took classical violin lessons then started playing guitar with his dad. At 14 he learned bass and toured with a traditional folk group and at 20 went on a 10 year tour of eastern Canada. He joined Vishtèn in 2002 at the Franco-Fête in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Shediac Bridge 🎼

Shediac Bridge

Below is a video of Pascale Miousse playing one of Bertrand Déraspe's tunes: "C'est Fret sur le Picassou" 

Steeve Poirier

Steeve Poirier is a self-taught fiddler from Havre aux Maisons on Iles de la Madelaine. He is representative of the new generation of Madelinot fiddlers and has recorded two albums with his group Rebels, as well as a solo CD Chemin des Sources.

Steeve and Emy Poirier. Photo by Maude G Jomphe, from the book Têtes de violon : 64 violoneux des îles de la Madeleine.

Félix Leblanc

Felix Leblanc is the fiddler for the Madelinot group Suroît, replacing Bertrand Désraspe who had formed the original group in 1977 with buddies Alcide Painchaud and Pierrot Déraspe. You can visit his Facebook page for photos and news: https://www.facebook.com/felix.leblanc.790?fref=ts

Mathieu Gallant

A native of the Magdalen Islands, Mathieu Gallant is equally at home playing Madelinot as well as Québécois tunes. He started learning fiddle at 4. He also learned to play saxophone and joined a Reggae band for travels to Québec, Western Canada and Central America. He moved to Montreal a few years ago to devote himself to learning crooked fiddle tunes and also taught at the PEI Fiddle Camp in 2012. He has a Facebook page - check it out: https://www.facebook.com/mathieu.gallant2?fref=ts

Dominic Cyr