17) Cent ans de musique traditionnelle québécoise. Première époque : 1900 à 1940 (One hundred years of traditional music in Quebec. First part: 1900 to 1940).

In Quebec, recordings of original traditional music are rather rare. Although during the 1980's some 78 rpm recordings have been re-released by artists such as Joseph Allard or Alfred Montmarquette, these artists are the true pioneers of folk recordings in the province. Fortunately, over the years some collectors have accumulated documents, objects, photos and recordings which tell of the sound history of traditional music in Quebec. M. Gabriel Labbé is one these collectors, and the largest known collection of 78 rpm recordings pertaining to this subject. Wishing to share his knowledge, in 1987, he published Les pionniers du disque folklorique québecois and then Musiciens traditionnels du Québec in 1995. The idea of putting together an anthology of recordings was an offshoot of the release of the last collection and has three partners: Radio-Canada, the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec and M. Labbé. From now until the year 2000, four double compact disks will be released, covering 1920 to 1940, 1940 to 1960, 1960 to 1980 and finally 1980 to 2000.

Premiere époque: 1900 à 1940 is then the first of this series. The two compact disks allow us to rediscover 78 rpm recordings of 26 traditional musicians, fiddlers, harmonica players and accordionists, giving us in 46 tracks for a total of two hours of music. It is accompanied by a booklet of 16 pages, in French and in English, commented by M. Labbé. Each recording has been carefully cleaned to augment the listening pleasure. As this collection focuses exclusively on instrumental music, no vocals are included. It would have been possible to focus on more obscure and rare recordings, but this collection instead features well-known artists such as Joseph Allard, Alfred Montmarquette, Fortunat Malouin, Adélard Saint-Louis and especially Henri Lacroix, taking up 19 of the 49 tracks. It would be interesting to know more about the selection criteria of M. Labbé, nevertheless it is nice to hear those who have popularized certain pieces of our repertoire.

The booklet which accompanies the disk gives us information on each of the tunes and on the artists who perform them, as well as the recording company they were with and the year of publication. M. Labbé's comments are uneven, and he sometimes gives us cause to wonder on his opinion concerning our musical tradition, as it quite touchy to speak of "authenticity" or of "the real Quebecois style" or of "traditional airs of lesser quality". M. Labbé states point blank that "only 20% of our repertoire is typically ours" [...] or "Since the very first recordings, there have always been virtuosos in Quebec, but certain instrumentalists, less talented, have nonetheless been the promoters of airs of less value, which others have then, unfortunately popularized later on by other musicians."

This text, an which is also exerpt of his last book (p. 22-23) is in my opinion, not the best choice for presenting an archive recording collection. The author's thinking in not clearly expressed and his statements need better backing so that the reader can understand exactly what he means comcerning the true meaning of the tradition, its evolution and what is retained by the collective memory. The 78 rpm recording is for us today a source of learning and a reference which need be considered not as an ends, but as a means of witnessing an interpretation, a musician's particular version at a certain moment of his life. However, the comments on the booklet concerning the musicians are clear and instructive, and are proof of the great passion which drives M. Labbé. Still, all in all, this double compact disk is most fascinating, and many will certainly derive great pleasure in discovering, or rediscovering, this tiny parcel of our musical heritage.

100 ans de musique traditionnelle québecoise. Première époque: 1900 à 1940 (Transit TRCD 9504/5) Livre: Musiciens traditionnelles du Québec (1920-1930), Gabriel Labbé, VLB éditeur, Montréal, 1995.