Canada: Traditional French-Canadian music and song 

Blended musical traditions perfectly suited to the mountain dulcimer

By Marc Mathieu

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published online in 2006 in the bimonthly webzine “Dulcimer Sessions,” produced by Mel Bay Publications, Inc., and edited by Lois Hornbostel. It has been edited for print and republished with permission from the author. 

Folk Music in Canada 

Traditional folk music and song, regardless of cultural origin, are deeply rooted in the common people. 

German folklorist Johann Gottfried Herder once wrote that each nation is an organic unit with its own unique culture, and in order to survive and grow, this culture should be cultivated. He believed that the national soul of a people is expressed best in folksong. 

With its large ethnic diversity, Canada is very fortunate to possess a miscellany of folk music that is culturally varied. Since colonization began in the 16th century, traditional folk music of European origin has been present in Canada. Musical life during the early days of colonial Canada was already diversified, as French and British settlers each transplanted their own music and songs along the shores of the St. Lawrence River and the adjacent Atlantic coastline and islands. 

In the early settlements of New France, the first generation of French-Canadians maintained the traditional culture and heritage. Their folk songs, many of which were in the purest medieval tradition, preserved memories of the homeland, made their daily chores go by faster, and also provided some rhythm for dancing. 

Although the lyrics of many folk songs still exist today in their original form, others were modified – rewritten to reflect the local conditions that these pioneers encountered. For example, as brave and adventurous explorers, “coureurs des bois” (trappers), and fur traders traveled west and north into the forested areas of central Canada, they adapted medieval dance songs to sing in chorus. They often invented new verses as they went along, to keep time as they paddled their large voyageur canoes, while giving themselves the courage they needed to persevere. 

The Songs

For a long time, the distinctive rhythmic character and lilt of many traditional French-Canadian songs have inspired observers and listeners alike. Another distinction is the rhythmic “vitality and momentum” resulting from the special way in which the syllables of the text match the duration of the tunes. 

French immigrants successfully retained specific repertoires and ideas about music making. Both of these elements can still be found in certain parts of this country today. Canadian “songcatcher” Marius Barbeau (1883-1969) whose collection of wax cylinder recordings is preserved in the Canadian Museum of History, has estimated that he collected well over 10,000 French folk songs and their variants throughout francophone Canada. 

Many of these songs, especially some of the ancient ones, have since been forgotten in France, though there still appears to be fairly strong stylistic connections between some circa 1500s French songs and French-Canadian folk songs sung today.

The Instruments

Baggage restrictions often prohibited musical instruments from accompanying settlers across the Atlantic, therefore, “primitive” percussion, such as a drum, hand clapping, foot stomping, spoons or bones, was often the only accompaniment available. Dancing was sometimes accompanied by mouth reels, in which instrumental sounds were imitated by the mouth. The more fortunate might have had a jaw harp, and in the very best of cases, a fiddle, the most common instrument of the day. 

In the mid-to-late 1800s, German settlers introduced two new instruments, the diatonic harmonica and the button accordion, which quickly became favorites among French-Canadian musicians. The fiddle, accordion, and harmonica formed a new and long lasting friendship.

As Irish and Scottish settlers arrived during the middle of the nineteenth century, the “contagious” rhythms of their own traditional music were soon adopted by the French-Canadians. The music retained many distinctive traits, but took on a new form, the rhythms blending into diverse, dynamic, and functional music meant to accompany traditional dances. 

The French-Canadian fiddling style of the Atlantic provinces is a perfect example of such a hybrid. Although the song titles and lyrics are in French, the fiddling styles demonstrate a strong Celtic influence. Hence the well-suited and humorous observation by William Dunlop, a Canadian physician of Scottish origin: “If a Frenchman has a fiddle, sleep ceases to be a necessity of life.” The fiddle is still the instrument most closely associated with French-Canadian music.

What About the Dulcimer?

The ancient French zither, known as the épinette des Vosges (a mountainous region of northeastern France), more than likely accompanied singers back in France as they sang some of the very same airs imported by the early settlers. Since I have not personally come across any written account of them during my research, I often wonder if these compact instruments were ever “smuggled” onto a ship en route to New France, but for reasons unknown became “extinct” after their arrival on this side of the ocean.

There is no doubt in my mind that if this rather simple instrument had survived through Canada’s early colonization, French épinette players would have adapted their playing skills to the new musical styles that emerged. 

It is appropriate and interesting, at this point, to note the similarities shared between the épinette des Vosges and one of its relatives, the mountain dulcimer – the way that it is often played across the lap, the diatonic fretboard, the frequent use of a noter, and the dronal qualities are identical to the way the traditional mountain dulcimer is played.

Consequently, the mountain dulcimer is the perfect substitute! Versatile by nature, this Appalachian instrument fits quite nicely into the unique characteristics of French-Canadian music. Ballads, dance tunes, fast fiddle tunes, and the tunes played on the diatonic button accordion and harmonica – they are all playable on the mountain dulcimer.

An Example

The traditional French-Canadian song “C’est l’Aviron” (“It is the Rowing”) is a typical example of a voyageur paddling song, i.e. a medieval song “adapted for the job.” It perfectly illustrates French-Canadian blending – preserving ancient songs by adapting them to the tasks of their environment.

The leader sang the first line, then it was repeated by the rest of the paddlers. The chorus was usually sung in unison. This type of singing would energize and enliven exhausted canoe men as they traveled along Canada’s many waterways. 

In French Canada alone, close to one hundred variants of this song have been written down or recorded on cylinders, discs, or tapes. Different versions have also been located in the northeastern United States and in France. The vast repertoire of a dyed-in-the-wool, traditional French-Canadian folk singer would contain many different versions of this song, but the refrain I am presenting here is the most recognizable.

The refrain “C’est l’aviron qui nous, mène, mène mène, c’est l’aviron qui nous mène en haut.” roughly translates to “It’s with our oars that we move along the river. It’s our oars that get us there.” It is completely out of place with the story told in the verses, that of a young man riding his horse from the French town of Rochelle who comes upon three young ladies. 

The tempo would be set by the paddling requirements, with a strong emphasis placed on the beats corresponding to the strokes of the paddles. Traveling upstream on a swift river would certainly be demanding, therefore one could expect to have to sing quite vigorously compared to coasting leisurely on a calm lake at sunset. 

That said, feel free to play it at a comfortable pace that matches your mood or playing level. After all, this tune has been interpreted and recorded by a variety of French-Canadian vocalists and musicians in the form of party and campfire songs, fiddle tunes, children’s songs, and even lullabies. I recently came across a unique rendition performed by a French-Canadian jazz ensemble!

Over the past 400 years, “C’est l’Aviron” has been enjoyed by many generations, and appreciation for this precious traditional “gem,” will undeniably continue well into the future. So enjoy learning and playing this song that helped Canada develop into the vast country it is today. It’s a great pleasure for me to share it with all of you!

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Since the early 1960s, the “Moose Capital of Canada,” Hearst, Ontario, has been the home of Franco-Ontarian Marc Mathieu. After acquiring his first mountain dulcimer in 1994, he began strumming familiar songs and tunes he had grown up listening to. He has composed several pieces reflecting his French-Canadian heritage, including “Snow Shoveler’s Reel,” recorded by Heidi Muller and Bob Webb for their album “Light The Winter’s Dark.” Find videos of Marc performing with his brother Gilbert at youtube.com/@baker289. Reach Marc at dulcimarc@gmail.com.

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More About This Song

A Canadian variant of this song appears in the 1910 book “Forty-four French Folk-songs and Variants from Canada, Normandy, and Brittany,” collected and harmonized by Julien Tiersot, the English translations by Henry Grafton Chapman. “En revenant de la joli’ Rochelle” or “As I came back from beautiful Rochelle” is on p. 76-77, with the following additional English and French lyrics and notes on p. 78.

The refrain with this version is different from the refrain shared by Marc Mathieu. Note that the first line of each verse is repeated, and the second line of each verse becomes the first line of the next verse:

1. En revenant de la joli’ Rochelle,
J’ai rencontré trois jeunes demoiselles. 

Refrain:
La voilà ma mi’ qu’ mon cœur aime tant!
La voilà ma mi’ qu’ mon cœur aime! 

2. J’ai rencontré trois jeunes demoiselles;
J’ai point choisi, mais j’ai pris la plus belle.

3. J’ai point choisi, mais j’ai pris la plus belle;
J’l’y fis monter derrièr’ moi, sur ma selle.

4. J’l’y fis monter derrièr’ moi, sur ma selle;
J’y fis cent lieues sans parler avec elle.

5. J’y fis cent lieues sans parler avec elle;
Au bout des cent lieues, ell’ me d’mandit à boire.

6. Au bout des cent lieues, ell’ me d’ mandit à boire;
Je l’ai menée auprès d’une fontaine.

7. Je l’ai menée auprès d’une fontaine;
Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ ne voulut point boire.

8. Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ ne voulut point boire;
Je l’ai menée au logis de son père.

9. Je l’ai menée au logis de son père;
Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ buvait à pleins verres;

10. Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ buvait à pleins verres,
A la santé de son père et sa mère.

11. A la santé de son père et sa mère; (bis)
A la santé de ses sœurs et ses frères.

12. A la santé de ses sœurs et ses frères;
A la santé d’celui que son cœur aime.

1. As I came back from beautiful Rochelle,
There did I meet three pretty damoselles.

Refrain:
Here’s the one for me, here’s the one I love,
Here’s the one for me, here’s my loved one.

2. There did I meet three pretty damoselles,
I did not choose, but took the greatest belle.

3. I did not choose, but took the greatest belle,
I set her up behind me on my saddle.

4. I set her up behind me on my saddle,
One hundred leagues, and not a word was spoken.

5. One hundred leagues, and not a word was spoken,
When they were o’er she asked me for some water.

6. When they were o’er she asked me for some water,
I took her then to where there was a fountain.

7. I took her then to where there was a fountain,
When she got there, she would not drink the water.

8. When she got there, she would not drink the water,
I took her to the dwelling of her father.

9. I took her to the dwelling of her father,
When she got there, she emptied all the glasses.

10. When she got there, she emptied all the glasses,
Drinking the health of her father and mother.

11. Drinking the health of her father and mother,
Drinking the health of her sister and brother.

12. Drinking the health of her sister and brother,
Drinking the health of him who is her lover.

There has been found in Normandy a variant of this song (see Moullé’s “Mélodies populaire de la Haute-Normandie”), the great age of which is confirmed from another quarter, by the fact that it has already been noted in an ancient French manuscript published by Gaston Paris under the title of “Chansons du XVe siècle.” Here are the first couplets, preceded by a line which serves as the refrain of the whole song:

Faisons bonne chère, faisons la, faisons.

En m’en venant de Paris à Rochelle,
Je rencontrai trois jeunes demoiselles.
A mon avis je choisis la plus belle,
Et la montai sur l’arson de ma selle.

Make we good cheer, make good cheer, good cheer.

As I came back from Paris to Rochelle,
There did I meet three lovely damoselles.
As I believe, I chose the very fairest;
Upon my pillion then I set my dearest.

The verses, which at the beginning are almost identical, diverge from this point, though not without preserving, more or less, the character of songs of gallantry.

“Forty-four French Folk-songs and Variants from Canada, Normandy, and Brittany,” collected and harmonized by Julien Tiersot, the English translations by Henry Grafton Chapman

Another variant appears in “Chansons Populaires du Canada,” published in 1865, by Ernest Gagnon, on p. 155.

Victor Morin makes note of a few verses, and comments on the adaption of the Canadians to “make it one of our most pleasant rowing cadences” in his article “La Chanson Canadienne,” published in the “Déliberations Et Mémoires de la Société Royale Du Canada,” Third Series, Volume 21, published in 1927.

Jay Rahn discusses the tune in depth in his article “‘M’en, revenant de la Joli’ Rochelle’ – A song from c. 1500 in the current French-Canadian repertoire,” published in the Canadian Journal for Traditional Music, Volume 16, 1988.

(“More About This Song” compiled by Fiona Potts).