Erskine Morris (1913 – 1997)

Erskine Morris (1913 – 1997)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

More Videos: Pembroke 2011

My good buddy Bill Erwin from the Pontiac region of Quebec recently posted two more videos of us playing at the Gaspé tent at Pembroke earlier this month.  I'm playing with Brigid Miller (Drody)  and Kent Sutton who do a wonderful job providing a peppy guitar accompaniment. Also, a big thanks to Kent for loaning me his fiddle for the afternoon. Its a beaut!

Both these tunes bring back strong memories of Cyril Devouge for me.  The first tune we play here the old-timers called, "Arty Savidant's Tune" which I learned from Cyril.  Cy learned this tune as a young man hearing Arty play this for square dances at Haldimand Hall.  Most people from the coast remember the great dances they used to have at Haldimand.


The second tune is the Winter Reel.  This was one of the tunes Cy would request most when we would visit him.  I didn't know this tune until Neil MacKay, the great Chateauguay Valley fiddler, played it for us when we were hanging out with Cy last fall.  Its a great Ontario tune with a rolling bow, perhaps in an attempt to imitate a rolling snowball?  A fun tune in any season nonetheless.


I recommended in an earlier post to check out Bill's Youtube channel. As far as I know, there is no better place on the internet to see on-line videos of authentic Canadian old-time fiddling and his channel is a great service to our fiddle culture.

No comments:

Post a Comment