Annotation:Glise à Sherbrooke

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 GLISE DE/A SHERBROOKE, THE. AKA - "Reel de Sherbrooke (Le)." AKA and see "Big Ship (The)," "Blue Bell Polka (2)," "Bluebell Reel," "Reel de Tadoussac," "Quadrille de Chez Nous." French Canadian (originally), American, England; Reel. USA; New England, Northwest. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Silberberg): AABB (most versions): AA'BB' (Miskoe & Paul). "Glise à Sherbrooke" is the tune played for the dance La Grande Chaine, actually descriptive of a prominent dance figure that is known in the United States as 'grand-right-and-left'. Glise, as fiddler Lisa Ornstein points out, is not a French language word, but is similar and may have derived from glisse, meaning to slide or glide. The 'Glise' title can be found no earlier that 1960, when it appeared on 1960 Folkways album by the group Pers Four. It is perhaps from that source (propelled by its entry in Sweet's Fifer's Delight, 1964) that the tune and title were absorbed into New England contra dance repertory, where it became part of the core repertoire of the latter 20th century. The title is predated by others: fiddler Jospeh Allard recorded the melody in 1928 under the title “Quadrille de chez nous” (Our House/Home Quadrille) {Victor 263514}, and again in 1945 as “Reel de Tadoussac” (Victor Bluebird 55-5225).  Source for notated version: transplanted French-Canadian fiddler Omer Marcoux {1898-1982} (Concord, N.H.) who learned the tune when young in Quebec [Miskoe & Paul]; accordion player Dennis Rothrock (Portland, Oregon) [Songer]; Laurie Andres [Silberberg].  Printed sources: Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), vol. 2, 1954; p. 25 (appears as "The Big Ship"). Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertory), 1983; No. 158. Miskoe & Paul (The Fiddle Tunes of Omer Marcoux), 1994; p. 33 (appears as "Le Reel de Sherbrooke"). Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 145. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 51. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 85. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; p. 72.  Recorded sources: Alcazar Dance Series FR 204, "New England Chestnuts 2" (1981). Folkways FW8826, Per's Four--"Jigs and Reels: Eastern Square Dance Music."

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