Originally Posted by
Charlieshafer
... Is the group made up of the hybrid/Metis people? (I'm just using the Wiki definition of Mets, being a french derivative of the word hybrid of indigenous and French Canadians). ...
The band's website says:
"Born in Winnipeg with proud Métis roots, siblings Alyssa, Conlin, Nicholas, and Danton perform Métis fiddle music passed down by their elders, while drawing on their diverse backgrounds in classical music, jazz and beyond. ..."
So it looks like they're playing trad tunes but changing it up a bit with other influences as well.
I think I hear a very subtle drum in places in the tune, I don't know if that's a First Nations influence or more like Irish bodhran or ??
In any case, I love the nice rhythm and bounce they get with that tune.
Originally Posted by
Charlieshafer
... That sounds awfully like a classical string quartet playing a Quebecois tune, ...
It'd have to be an exceptionally good one (IMO). Not meaning to be argumentative or anything, but I'd be skeptical that the average classical string quartet would be able to bring a fiddle tune to life that well, without prior fiddle-tunes experience. I've heard plenty of classically-trained violinists trying to play fiddle tunes which they regard as "simple", yeah they get all the notes right and they think that's all there is to it, but the rhythm is all wrong/missing and the end result is just a string of meaningless notes without feeling, unlistenable.
It's my guess that the musicians in the Metis video already had plenty of experience in playing fiddle tunes & dance music, before they ventured off into the classical/jazz/etc influences mentioned on their webpage.
Anyway, seems they're well received:
"... [debut album North West Voyage] received "Best Traditional Album" at the 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards. ... The group has performed their music for audiences across Canada and internationally; from intimate settings in libraries, museums and schools, to festivals and events such as the 2015 Para-Pan Am Games opening ceremony, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Mariposa Folk Festival, and the Alianait festival in Iqaluit, Nunavut."
Originally Posted by
Charlieshafer
... I can't say I know the tune for sure. Is it a Native Canadian tune? ...
Good question - I don't know. That YouTube video was apparently uploaded by someone else other than the band, and below the video on the YouTube page the tune is identified as a medley of three tunes, but that can't be right because (to me anyway) it doesn't sound like three separate tunes. It sounds like one tune. Anyway here's what the YouTube page says:
"La Grande Gigue Simple / Red River Jig / Big John McNeil"
Maybe it's one of those? If I had to guess, I'd say the first one just because the name looks French and, to my ears, the playing sounds like it has a strong French influence as well. But I could be wrong. If I can remember it tonight, if someone else hasn't already ID'd the tune, I might look up those tunes and see if any of them is a match.
Originally Posted by
Charlieshafer
... Beautifully played whatever it is. ...
Yes.
Hearing awesome fiddling like that, makes me want to buy another fiddle, but... I've been down that rabbit hole before and after years of it I was still never quite satisfied with my fiddling. Bowing and rhythm/'feel' was no problem, but my sense of pitch is not really good enough (especially nowadays) to be playing a fretless instrument anymore. I can tell when a note is 'off' but I can't tell if it's sharp or flat without trial-and-error each time... not a good match for fiddle. I like my frets. So I will have to content myself with listening to other people playing great fiddle tunes, instead of like in the old days whenever I heard a cool tune I'd be like "I gotta learn how to play that! I gotta buy that instrument!" I even bought a set of Uilleann pipes one time. (Now those were a definite challenge, I never got very far with it, it seems that me & reeds do not get along very well.)
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