Annotation:André à Toto Jig (1)
X:2 T:André à Toto Jig [1] M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig S:Quebecois Immersion Weekend 2012 Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D g|fef d2(B|A)FA DFA|fef {f}g2f|ecd e2g| {fg}fef d2(B|A)FA DFA|Bcd eag|fdc d2:| |:a|fga fga|fga {b}afd|efg efg|[M:9/8]efg fef d2e| [M:6/8]fga fga|fga afd|efg aba|[M:3/8]a2g:|]
ANDRÉ À TOTO JIG [1]. AKA - "Gigue Irlandaise à Firmin Mallet." Canadian, Jig (6/8 time). Canada, New Brunswick. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB. The tune was in the repertoire of New Brunswick fiddlers André "à Toto" Savoie and Firmin Mallet. The 'B' part is 'crooked' in Savoie's version, with measures of 9/8 mixed in with 6/8 time. Guy Bouchard explains that large families were not unusual in Québec until fairly recently and because of this naming needed to become more specific. To identify a person often the first name was used along with the father and even grandfather's name. Thus, this tune was from André, son of Toto, son of...an Acadian from New Brunswick. As it happened, when his father was a toddler he would sometimes "help out" as André's grandfather, a carpenter, worked. When he needed a hammer he would ask the youngster to fetch one, who would run off to comply crying "toto, toto, toto", his rendition of the French word for hammer--marteau--and the name stuck.
