French-Canadian music
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French Canadian music is music derived from that brought by the early French settlers to what is now
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and other areas throughout Canada, or any music performed by the
French Canadian people French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
. Since the arrival of
French music ''French music'' may refer to: * Music of France, music of the French people in France ''French music'' may also refer to the music of French-speaking countries: *Music of Quebec, music of the French-Canadians in Canada, most often Québécois or ...
in Canada, there has been much intermixing with the Celtic music of Anglo-Canada. French-Canadian folk music is generally performed to accompany dances such as the
jig The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...
, jeux dansé, ronde,
cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner ...
, and
quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...
. The fiddle is perhaps the most common instrument utilized and is used by virtuosos such as Jean Carignan, Jos Bouchard, and
Joseph Allard Joseph Allard (December 31, 1910 – May 3, 1991) was a professor of saxophone and clarinet at the Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, and the Manhattan School of Music. He also held adjunct positions at many other schools. He succeed ...
. Also common is the
diatonic button accordion A melodeon or diatonic button accordion is a member of the free-reed aerophone family of musical instruments. It is a type of button accordion on which the melody-side keyboard contains one or more rows of buttons, with each row producing the ...
, played by the likes of Philippe Bruneau and Alfred Montmarquette.
Spoons Spoons may refer to: * Spoon, a utensil commonly used with soup * Spoons (card game), the card game of Donkey, but using spoons Film and TV * ''Spoons'' (TV series), a 2005 UK comedy sketch show *Spoons, a minor character from ''The Sopranos'' ...
,
bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...
s, and jaw harps are also played in this music. A distinctive part of the French Canadian sound is '' podorythmie'' ("foot rhythm"), which involves using the feet to tap out complex rhythmic patterns, it is quite similar to
tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
but is done from a seated position, and can be done simultaneously while playing the violin or other small instruments. French settlers in
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
established their musical forms in the nascent colonies of
Canada (New France) The colony of Canada was a French colony within the larger territory of New France. It was claimed by France in 1535 during the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, in the name of the French king, Francis I. The colony remained a French territory u ...
and (New France) before the British conquest, completed in 1759. Already diverging from the music of France, Canadian and Acadian music were becoming distinct from each other, reinforced by the different experience of the regions under British rule, with Acadians experiencing a mass expulsion and partial return. The French (Quebecois) tradition continued to spread westward, however, in the form of the camp songs and rowing songs of the
voyageurs The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including th ...
, professional canoemen in the employ of the fur trading companies. In the west this tradition intermingled with others to give birth to Metis music. There was no scholarly study of French Canadian song until
Ernest Gagnon Ernest Gagnon (7 November 1834 – 15 September 1915) was a Canadian folklorist, composer, and organist. He is best known for compiling a large amount of French Canadian folk music which he published as ''Chansons populaires du Canada'' in 186 ...
's 1865 collection of 100 folk songs. In 1967,
Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
released '' The Centennial Collection of Canadian Folk Songs'' (much of which was focused on French-Canadian music), which helped launch a revival of Quebec folk. Singers like Yves Albert,
Edith Butler Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...
, and, especially,
Félix Leclerc Félix Leclerc, (August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988) was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and '' Québécois'' political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posth ...
and
Gilles Vigneault Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Quebec's unofficial anthems: " Mon pays" and " Gens du pays", ...
, helped lead the way. The 1970s saw purists like
Le Rêve du Diable Le Rêve du Diable (''The Devil's Dream'') is a Canadian folk music group from Quebec. It is one of the oldest folk music bands in the province, and has been performing folk music for more than forty years. History The band was founded by Gervais ...
and
La Bottine Souriante La Bottine Souriante is a folk band from Canada. The band specializes in traditional French Canadian folk music, often with a modern twist. Formed in 1976 by Yves Lambert, Andre Marchand, and Mario Forest, they have toured extensively throug ...
continue the trend. As Quebec folk continued to gain in popularity, artists like
Harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...
,
Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010. Music ...
, Jim Corcoran,
Bertrand Gosselin Bertrand may refer to: Places * Bertrand, Missouri, US * Bertrand, Nebraska, US * Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada * Bertrand Township, Michigan, US * Bertrand, Michigan * Bertrand, Virginia, US * Bertrand Creek, state of Washington * Saint-Ber ...
, and Paul Piché found a mainstream audience. Since 1979, Quebec music artists have been recognized with the
Felix Award Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
. In 2017,
Universal Music Canada Universal Music Group owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to UMG official site, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Bravado, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammopho ...
launched ''Canada 150: A Celebration of Music'', a six-disc album to celebrate the
150th anniversary of Canada The 150th anniversary of Canada, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation and promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, occurred in 2017 as Canada marked the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation. Planning Major pl ...
. It was criticised for not including any French-language song.Compilation du 150e en anglais: Joly condamne Universal
Le Soleil, 19 July 2017


See also

* Franco-country * French-Canadian rock * French Canadian hip hop *
Music of Quebec Like many cosmopolitan cities, Quebec is a home for all genres of music. From folk music to hip hop, music has always played an important role in Quebecer culture. In the 1920s and '30s singer/songwriter Madam Bolduc performed comedic songs in ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French-Canadian Music Canadian styles of music French Canadian culture