La Grande Chaine barndance

This tune is from Quebec and the title is Le Grand Chein which means the big dog.

LOL I think the original title was “La Grande Chaine”.

I think Chien’s a much better name though 🙂

BTW, the B’s in bars 3 and 7 of each part should be capitals - I think you might have time to edit the ABC before Jeremy converts this to sheetmusic.

thanx Dow

That’s okay, only…
Oh never mind 🙂

I know… 🙂

The version of this that I play is more like this one that I found on the leeds site. I play it with lots of D and G drones.

X:413
T:la Grande Chaine
M:4/4
O:Canada
R:Reel
Z:Richard Robinson <URL:http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/RRTuneBk/contact.html>;
%%FILEURL: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/RRTuneBk/RRtunes/RRtunes.abc
%%TUNEURL: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/RRTuneBk/gettune/0000085c.html
%%ID:0000085c
K:G
BGAG E2D2 | BGAB cedc | BGAG E2D2 | BGAF G4::\
g2fg edBd | gedc BGGd | ! g2fg edBd | eaag fdef |\
g2fg edBd | gedc BGG2 | EFGA BcAF | G6:|

Sounds like the kid’s song The big ship sails on the ally ally o.

I’ve also heard something like it in a Netherlands folk dance

Played as the third Antigonish Polka by Máire O‘Keeffe on the CD ’Cóisir’. https://thesession.org/recordings/1607

She says that she got it from Sandy MacIntyre, a fiddler with the Cape Breton Symphony. Her version (which I’ve set in 2/4) goes something like:

X:1
T:Antigonish Polka #3
M:2/4
L:1/16
R:Polka
K:A
B/2|c2c2 d3/2c/2d3/2f/2|e2e2 c3/2A/2c3/2e/2|
d2d2 B3/2G/2B3/2d/2|c3/2d/2c3/2B/2 A3/2G/2A3/2B/2|
c2c2 d3/2c/2d3/2f/2|e2e2 c3/2A/2c3/2e/2|
d2d2 B3/2G/2B3/2d/2|c2A2 A2- A3/2:|
|:d/2|a2a2 f2f2|e2e2 c3/2A/2c3/2e/2|
d2d2 B3/2G/2B3/2d/2|c3/2d/2c3/2B/2 A3/2c/2e3/2g/2|
a2a2 f2f2|e2e2 c3/2A/2c3/2e/2|
d2d2 B3/2G/2B3/2d/2|c2A2 A2- A3/2:|

X: 3
T: Antigonish Polka #3
Z: Weejie
N: adjusted to 4/4
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: AMaj
|: B/ |\
c2 c2 d>cd>f | e2 e2 c>Ac>e | dd B>GB>d | c>dc>B A>GA>B |
c2 c2 d>cd>f | e2 e2 c>Ac>e | dd B>GB>d | c2 A2 A2- A3/ :|
|: d/ |\
a2 a2 f2 f2 | e2 e2 c>Ac>e | d2 d2 B>GB>d | c>dc>B A>ce>g |
a2 a2 f2 f2 | e2 e2 c>Ac>e | d2 d2 B>GB>d | cA A- A3/ :|

The Cape Breton Antigonish Polkas are of the 4/4 variety…

“The Antigonish Polka #1”
Submitted on July 16th 2005 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/4739

“The Antigonish Polka #2”
Submitted on July 17th 2005 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/4744

X: 4
T: Big Ship, The
S: George Hepple - fiddle & Donald Ridley - piano accordion, Northumberland
T: Quadrille de chez nous
T: Reel de Tadoussac
C: attributed to Joseph Allard - by both titles
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: GMaj
|: D |\
G2 GA BABc | d2 dc B2 G2 | c2 cB AFDA | dedc B2 D2 |
GFGA BABc | dedc B2 G2 | cdcB AGFA | G2 B2 G2 :|
|: dd |\
g2 gf efge | d2 dc B2 G2 | c2 cB A2 A2 | dedc B2 d2 |
g2 gf efge | dedc B2 G2 | cdcB AGFA | G2 B2 G2 :|

Oops! 😀

I have added a setting of the tune as played by Philippe Bruneau on the 1974 Philo label LP titled Danses Pour Veillées Canadiennes (FI-2006). It is the fifth tune in a nine tune medley which fills the A side of the LP. It is titled Quadrille de chez nous in the medley. He actually plays it in F (on a three row accordion) but I transposed to G to be more consistent with the other settings here.

Bruneau’s description of the medley from the liner notes: “This side consists of a medley of nine Quebec reels played on the three row accordion. I chose these delightful and spirited tunes so that people can dance to the record and also to enable other musicians to learn them.”

The second tune in this set is very much like a Shetland reel I know called Aandowin At Da Bow. Does anyone know of any other versions of this tune? I wonder if this is a Scottish reel which migrated to the Shetlands and also over to Quebec.

“The second tune in this set…”

What set, Chris?

Wow, lots of versions and lots of names.

Here some info coming from a web site dedicated to French Canadian traditional music
http://www.mustrad.udenap.org

There, “La grande chaîne” (http://www.mustrad.udenap.org/partitions/TQ023.jpg ) would be similar to setting 2 from Ted Dunning.

The “Reel de Sherbrooke” would be
http://www.mustrad.udenap.org/partitions/TQ015.jpg


“Quadrille de chez nous” and “Reel de Tadoussac” are for the same tune.
http://www.mustrad.udenap.org/partitions/TQ034.jpg
I think that this melody share many similarities with most of the settings publish here.

The web site indicate that it was registrered by Joseph Allard in 1929 under the name “Quadrille de chez nous”. A mention is given that the melody is an adaptation of another one used in a theatre play created in London ( “Home sweet home” composed by Sir Henry Bishop 1785-1855). Would be nice to validate that.

In response to lahu, the Henry Bishop opera in question, titled “Clari, or the Maid of Milan”, was performed in London in 1823, with complete score published by Goulding, D’Almaine & Potter. The song was the (now) famous Home Sweet Home, in about the same form as we now know it (although the opera also had several other variants of the tune, including one in 6/8.)

While there is no conclusive proof that ballad is the source of the square-dance tune, there is much reason to think so. Although the dance tune has more notes, the basic melody is very similar. Maine musicians know it as “Home Sweet Home Reel”; it was recorded under that name by Simon St. Pierre and the Kennebec Valley Boys (associated with Maine Fiddle Camp) and Canadian fiddler Bruce Osborne. The oldest known source for the tune is the 1928 recording by French Canadian Fiddler (born in Maine) Joseph Allard who knew called it “Quadrille de Chez Nous”, and of course “chez nous” is French for “home.”

Allard calling it a quadrille identifies it with square dancing, and “La Grand Chaîne” is what French Canadians call the square dance chain figure also known to anglophones as “the grand right and left” so the origin of that name is obvious. Louis Beaudoin’s 1976 recording of La Grand Chaîne may be largely responsible for its modern revival; it features square-dance calling (in French) over the music.

Confusing the word “chaîne” (chain) with “chien” (dog) (by an anglophone, likely) has comically resulted in the tune being called “Le Grand Chien” or in English “The Big Dog.”