''Matapédia'' is an album by the Canadian duo

Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of folk rock and country folk Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed together until Kate's death in 2010 ...

, released in 1996. Kate's daughter,

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and the younger si ...

, appears on the album as a backing vocalist and is directly mentioned in the title track's lyrics. The title " Matapédia" refers to the river in eastern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

that runs down to the town of

Matapédia, Quebec Matapédia (; former name: Saint-Laurent-de-Matapédia) is a municipality at the southern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, in eastern Quebec, Canada. Matapédia is located along Quebec Route 132 on the border of New Brunswick. In addition to Matap� ...

, and then out into

baie des Chaleurs frame, Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay in the centre of the image; the Gulf_of_St._Lawrence.html" ;"title="Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence">Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and t ...

. The river's rhythm is supposed to inspire the loping beat of the album's title track. The album won the

Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Group Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...

at the

Juno Awards of 1997 The Juno Awards of 1997, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 9 March 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Jann Arden was host for the major ceremonies which were broadc ...

Critical reception

The ''

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'' wrote that the songs "reflect on time's passage with a mixture of haunting ambiguity and bittersweet longing—qualities that have defined the duo's songbook from the beginning." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' noted that "the old-time folksiness of the McGarrigles' sound is in the foreground once more, carried by fiddles and accordions."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that the sisters "return to their strengths by trimming back the synthesizers and sticking with direct, folky testaments."

Track listing

#"Matapedia" (Kate McGarrigle) – 4:52 #"Goin' Back to Harlan" (Anna McGarrigle) – 4:59 #"I Don't Know" (Kate McGarrigle) – 4:28 #"Hang Out Your Heart" (Kate & Anna McGarrigle,

Philippe Tatartcheff Philippe Tatartcheff (born in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Canadian poet and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist who wrote French language songs recorded by folk duo Kate & Anna McGarrigle. Origins and early life Tatartcheff's family was or ...

, Chaim Tannenbaum) – 4:27 #"Arbre" (Anna McGarrigle, Philippe Tatartcheff) – 3:14 #"Jacques et Gilles" (Kate McGarrigle) – 4:27 #"Why Must We Die" (Kate & Anna McGarrigle,

Joel Zifkin Joel Zifkin (born April 14, 1954) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. His primary instrument is the electric violin and he is best known as a session musician and live performer. Career Zifkin has performed and/or recorded with the followi ...

) – 5:32 #"Song for Gaby" (Anna McGarrigle) – 2:55 #"Talk About It" (Kate & Anna McGarrigle) – 5:50 #"The Bike Song" (Anna McGarrigle) – 3:54

Personnel

* Kate McGarrigle - vocals, harmony vocals, chorus, banjo, piano, celeste, synthesizer * Anna McGarrigle - vocals, harmony vocals, chorus, guitar, keyboards, piano, harpsichord, synthesizer *

Pierre Marchand Pierre Marchand (born 1958) is a Canadian songwriter, musician and record producer. Marchand is known for his ongoing collaboration with Sarah McLachlan, having produced all of her albums since '' Solace'' in 1991. He also co-wrote several of M ...

- keyboards, accordion, drums, production *

Pat Donaldson Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition " Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay C ...

- guitar, bass * Michel Pépin - guitar, dobro, bass, percussion, backing vocals * Andrew Cowan - guitar *

- violin, fiddle, backing vocals * Gilles Losier - violin * Sylvain Clavet - drums, percussions * Mike DiNardo - drums * Gordie Adamson - drums * Lily Lanken - harmony vocals *

- harmony vocals

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matapedia (album) 1996 albums Kate & Anna McGarrigle albums Hannibal Records albums Albums produced by Joe Boyd Albums produced by Pierre Marchand Albums recorded at Le Studio Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group albums