Wishing everyone out there from Gaspé and beyond a very happy St. Patrick's Day. Here's a lovely rendition of "My Lovely Rose of Clare" that Norma McDonald and Debbie Sams recorded for the archives last spring. They did a consummate job and really bring out the beauty of the melody and lyrics. This is by far my personal favourite Irish song and their version can't be beat. Great job, you two!
Hear "My Lovely Rose of Clare"
We featured this song as sung by Norma's neighbour, Graham McDonald, on our recently-released CD,
Douglastown: Music and Song from the Gaspé Coast.
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| Joe Girard step dancing at an annual St. Patrick's Day concert in Douglastown |
And here is a lovely old photo shared on Facebook today by Elizabeth and Glenda Girard (originally of Douglastown) of their father, Joe Girard, dancing at the annual St. Patrick's Day concert in Douglastown, probably in the 50s or 60s. In their heyday, the St Patrick's concerts attracted capacity audiences of over 400 people from near and far, including Quebec's senior Catholic clergy. Joe Girard is known to have been one of Douglastown's finest step dancers. I'm not certain who the musicians are but, based on the electric guitar, I think it's MaryEllen Drody-Savidant providing the accompaniment. Elizabeth thinks that it might be either Gérard Durette or Joe Howell playing fiddle; her father frequently enjoyed dancing to Joe Howell's fiddling while Gérard Durette is an excellent French-style fiddler who was a mainstay at the St. Patrick's concerts. Let me know if you know who the musicians are. Thank you Glenda and Elizabeth for the photo.
The person playing guitar is Norma Gaul MacDonald and that picture along with others were hanging in the back of the Hall last summer.
ReplyDeleteHi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteWould you have the sheet music for Eva's tune? I just love it!