“We never had a bed like that for a violin! We had a bag!”: Exploring fiddlers and dance music in Newfoundland. Red Cliff, Bonavista Bay and Bay de Verde, Conception Bay

Traditionally, dinners and dances (“times”) were the central form of organized entertainment in outport Newfoundland. After a supper and tea, the evening culminated with set dancing, accompanied by a fiddler or accordionist. Unfortunately, with the advent of modern life these dances and their music are dying out. Without the traditional setting, there is little stimulus for this instrumental music to be passed on, despite its long local history.

This research focuses on the lives and repertoire of traditional fiddlers from two fishing outports on the east coast of the Island of Newfoundland: Red Cliff, Bonavista Bay and Bay de Verde, Conception Bay. Field research was conducted during 2001 and 2002. This work presents the results of the research and includes: the dance formations; the interaction between music and dance; the musical life of the community; and the personal and musical biographies of primary informants. The dance repertoire is examined and an investigation is carried out on the claims of musicians that some of this music is of local origin. The majority of music discussed can be traced back at least a century within the community and often for several generations of one family.*

*This dissertation is multimedia (contains text and other applications not available in printed format). The CD requires the following system application: Windows MediaPlayer or RealPlayer.