French Canadian Choral Music
Musical Influences
French Canadian music is heavily influenced by the music of France. Due to New France’s cultural isolation, French Canadian communities were able to retain much of their musical traditions. The general folk music style has become slightly freer over time and has been influenced by Celtic dance music as well.
Folk songs were passed down through oral tradition until around the 1850s when they began to be collected and transcribed. Most songs follow a straightforward verse and chorus structure, and are often commentary on work conditions in lumber camps, the life of a voyageur, canoeing across the river, misfortune, love, and communal life.
Instrumentation
The most typical French Canadian instrument is the fiddle. Other popular instruments include the harmonica, the accordion, the guitar, and simple percussion instruments like the spoons.
French Canadians also pride themselves on singing in the French language. As a result, folk songs are often sung in communal spaces such as bars and at house parties.
Dance Music
French Canadian folk music is generally meant to accompany dances such as the cotillion, the jig, the quadrilles, and rondes. Much of the music is quite energetic and rhythmic for this reason.
A specific style of dance called clogging requires the dancer to wear leather soled shoes, and to perform skipping, stepping and tapping movements while dancing on a board.
French Canadian Choral Music 