In this selection, the narrative follows a suitor, a tailor, is rejected by the girl’s father on the grounds that the suitor would be dangerous because of the needles with which he works.
The singers are Lucy Doucet and her son, Dan Doucet.
Wing Tra La, 1996. Lucy Doucet. T-3257. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.
A prisoner-of-war cuts himself with a knife to draw blood with which to write a letter to his mother. The mother, receiving the letter written in blood, gathers her other children around her to pray for their brother whom she presumes is dead.
This song is also known as La Lettre De Sang and is sung and played here by Joseph Larade.
This field recording was collected by Ronnie MacEachern in 1978.
La Vie Au Cachots, 1978. Joseph A. Larade. T-1067. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.
A young man pursues a girl. The girl’s mother likes him, but the girl won’t have him. “Drink up,” she says, to add insult to his rejection.
Venez Jeunes Gens, 1996. Lucy Doucet. T-3257. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.
A young girl gets an offer of marriage, but can’t accept it as she is hired to work for six years. He offers to double what she is earning – an offer, it appears, she will not resist. The story is framed with white roses and nightingales that give good advice.
This recording of Mrs. Marie Deveaux, age 75, was collected by Dr. Elizabeth Beaton in Belle Marche, August 1978.
Le Rosier Blanc, 1978. Marie Deveaux. T-1166. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.
Quarrelling lovers hurl accusations at one another.
Rosette, 1996. Lucy Doucet. T-3257. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.
The fishermen are invited to head out to sea on a beautiful moonlit night. But a storm springs up and the father is lost. The son goes off to comfort his mother.
This is probably the best known and best loved song among all Acadians. The version we hear here is a more formal one; there was/is another version sung in the Chéticamp area.
This performance is a part of a field recording of Le Festival Acadien, held in Petit-de-Grat from July 30 to August 3, 1980. It was collected for the Beaton Institute by Paula Webber, Alan Cash, Ken Simpson, and Heather MacDonald.
This annual event commemorates the arrival of the first ancestors of the Acadian people at Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The 1980 festival held special meaning as it was the 375th anniversary of the founding of Port Royal by Samuel de Champlain, thus marking the long existence of the Acadian culture in Nova Scotia.
Le Festival Acadien is an expression of a people’s pride in their heritage and culture and celebrates the past accomplishments of the hard working Acadian people. Through their music they relate the history of Acadie, and remember its heroic figures such as Evangeline and Gabriel.
Partons La Mer Est Belle, 1980. T-921. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.
This performance is a part of a field recording of Le Festival Acadien, held in Petit-de-Grat from July 30 to August 3, 1980. It was collected for the Beaton Institute by Paula Webber, Alan Cash, Ken Simpson, and Heather MacDonald.
This annual event commemorates the arrival of the first ancestors of the Acadian people at Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The 1980 festival held special meaning as it was the 375th anniversary of the founding of Port Royal by Samuel de Champlain, thus marking the long existence of the Acadian culture in Nova Scotia.
Le Festival Acadien is an expression of a people’s pride in their heritage and culture and celebrates the past accomplishments of the hard working Acadian people. Through their music they relate the history of Acadie, and remember its heroic figures such as Evangeline and Gabriel.
O Réveil De L’Exilé, 1980. T-921. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.