Here is a great tune to start la nouvelle année: “Le Cotillon de la patte de mouton” (“Sheep Hoof Cotillion,” loosely translated!). Aimé Gagnon (see below for bio) is the source of this tune, and it was a favorite melody of Gens du Québec, a 28-member group of Québécois traditional singers, dancers, musicians, and craftspersons who traveled to Vancouver, BC in 1986 to perform and do crafts demonstrations for ten days at the Expo ’86 Folklife Pavilion. I was the tour coordinator, and one of many happy memories of those weeks was when Aimé would play this tune: after a couple of times through the tune, everyone on stage burst into song on the first part of the tune (with those most universal of lyrics: “la, la, la”). The audience quickly joined in–it was irresistible!
Born in the village of Saint-Louis-de-Lotbinière on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River (about 50 miles southeast of Quebec City), Aimé Gagnon inherited his love of music and a beautiful and unusual repertory of dance music from his father, grandfather, and several uncles. He began playing as a child, and after his marriage to Lisette Lemay, formed a trio with his wife on piano and his brother-in-law Marcel Lemay on accordion. He was by trade a farmer, carpenter, and merchant, but he wove music deep into the fabric of his family and community life. I visited with Aimé at his home in Lotbinière in the 1980s while I was living in Quebec, He was a kindly, gracious, and peaceful person whose music echoed his soft- spoken eloquence.
Cotillon de la patte de mouton (dance speed, mp3)[wpdm_file id=156]
Cotillon de la patte de mouton (slow, mp3)[wpdm_file id=157]
Cotillon de la patte de mouton (sheet music)[wpdm_file id=158]