“Reel Béatrice” is actually an Italian polka titled “Oggi nevica” or “Quando nevica” (“Today it is Snowing” or “When it Snows”) which is still popular in the northeastern region of Italy known as Emilia Romagna, where the “liscio” (ballroom dancing) repertory includes polkas and mazurkas. You can see Italian piano accordionist Sebastaino Barbagalla playing a version of “Quando nevica” on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpKQQqeyY78
How Quebec City-region fiddle player Jos Bouchard came across this tune is a matter of speculation, but I would venture to guess that he might have heard it either on the radio or on a 78rpm recording. In any case, its structure (three parts, two in minor keys, with a contrasting trio section in the major) is very much in keeping with the 19th century quadrille repertory which was in circulation in the Quebec City region in the first half of the 20th century, and its rhythms are similar to those of a reel. Jos Bouchard apparently found the combination irresistible and added the tune to his repertory, recording it in 1938 under the title “Reel p’tit Charles” on the Bluebird label, and later as “Reel Béatrice” (which was the flip-side of the 1928 78rpm recording–he apparently got the titles confused).
“Reel Béatrice” is widely played as a session tune in Quebec and has made the rounds in Irish circles in the U.S. and Ireland (as well as fiddle communities across Canada) thanks in part to Liz Carroll, who recorded it a brilliant up-tempo take in G minor and B-flat major on her eponymous album a few decades back. Nowadays some musicians open this tune with schmaltzy Romany-wannabe introduction–under the romantic but misbegotten notion that it is a “Gypsy melody.”
The version I play here is fairly on the straight and narrow and straightforward as played by Jos Bouchard (actually, Jos Bouchard changed it up on his various recordings over the years)–so just take this as a starting point.
Reel Béatrice (dance speed, mp3) [wpdm_file id=381]
Reel Béatrice (sheet music, basic version, pdf)[wpdm_file id=382]