La Bastringue
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"La Bastringue" is a Canadian (originally) and American reel in D Major ('A' part) & D<br> Mixolydian ('B' part). The parts are played AABB (Miller & Perron, Perlman, Sweet) or<br> AABB' (Brody).<br> "La Bastringue" has its origins in an old French tune from the 17th or 18th century.<br> It appears set in 6/8 time in a number of English collections in the 19th century, such<br> as Wilson's Companion to the Ballroom (1816) under the title<br> "Voulez Vous Danser/Voulez-vous danser, Mademoiselle".<br> In French Canada it became a "party song" which tells of an older man who<br> wants to dance "La Bastringue" with a girl. He soon finds he isn't up to the pace,<br> however and, to save face, tries to beg off by feigning concern for the woman's stamina.<br> She proves equal to the task, though and he finally just has to give up. The first<br> verse goes:<br> Mademoiselle, voulez-vous danser La Bastringue,<br> Mademoiselle, voulez-vous danser,<br> La Bastringue est commencee.<br> Transplanted French-Canadian fiddler Omer Marcoux {1898-1982} (Concord, N.H.) recalled<br> it as one of the first dance tunes he learned and related that his father played it for<br> the first tune of the evening, to get everyone moving in the house. A third part is<br> infrequently played after the familiar first two parts. Vermont fiddler Louis Beaudoin<br> played the first strain of "Moneymusk" as his third part.<br> It was printed in Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983),<br> Miller & Perron's New England Fiddlers Repertoire (1983),<br> Miskoe & Paul's Omer Marcoux (1994),<br> Perlman's The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island (1996),<br> Sweet's Fifer's Delight (1964/1981) and<br> Welling's Welling's Hartford Tunebook.<br> It was recorded by Alan Mills and Jean Carignan,<br> Jackie Daly, Seamus & Manus McGuire on Buttons and Bows (1984),<br> Jean Carignan on French Canadian Fiddle Songs,<br> Les Franco-Américains on Mademoiselle, voulez-vous danser? (1999),<br> Yankee Ingenuity on Heatin' Up the Hall (1989),<br> Frank Ferrelon Fiddle Tunes and<br> Jackie Daly (et al) on The Big Squeeze.<br> <br>
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