The North Atlantic Strings: Joe Cormier, Edmond Boudreau, Robichaud Brothers, Doug MacPhee (CD 2004)

This CD is currently out of print. Produced in 2004 by Patio Records, it presents recordings of key Acadian artists with ties to the Boston and Waltham, MA area. From Chéticamp, fiddler Joe Cormier was one of the great Cape Breton fiddlers of his day and came from Acadian roots. Longtime compatriot Edmond Boudreau, also from Chéticamp, joins him here on mandolin and guitar. From New Brunswick, the Robichaud Brothers, Gerry and Bobby, bring Acadian fiddling from Gerry and guitar from Bobby. Cape Breton pianist Doug MacPhee was renowned as well, joining in on piano accompaniment and leading a few tunes himself. You can find out more about Patio Records and their work creating "natural healing environments for people undergoing the rigors of cancer treatments" here: https://www.patiorecords.com 0:00 1. Joe Cormier, Edmond Boudreau: Loch Laven Castle/Kieran O'Hare's Reel 1:50 2. Joe Cormier, Gerry Robichaud: Honey Maid Hornpipe/Heather Hill/Temperance Reel 5:20 3. Gerry Robichaud, Joe Cormier: Fred Wilson's Clog/The Milburn Hornpipe/Mr. Alexander Thorn's Reel 9:12 4. Edmond Boudreau, Joe Cormier: Johnnie Wilmot’s Fiddles/Tarbolton Lodge/Down the Broom (Fermoy Lasses) 12:48 5. Joe & Andy Cormier: Neil Gow’s Lament (for the Death of) His Second Wife 15:01 6. Gerry Robichaud, Edmond Boudreau: Watching the Clock/The Woodchopper’s Breakdown 18:27 7. Doug MacPhee: Braes of Mar/Miss Jesse Smith Strathspey/Judy’s Reel/Robert Stubbert Reel 23:19 8. Gerry Robichaud, Edmond Boudreau: Bitter Creek Breakdown/Winter Reel (Reel de l'hiver) 25:36 9. Joe Cormier, Edmond Boudreau: Devil in the Kitchen/Drummond of Perth/Mullean Dubh/Bridge of Bamore 29:00 10. Doug MacPhee: The Sweeps Hornpipe/The American Rifle Team 32:31 11. Andy & Joe Cormier: The Firefly Hornpipe/The College Hornpipe (The Sailor’s Hornpipe) 35:18 12. Joe Cormier: Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord/Miss Lyall Strathspey/Miss Lyall Reel 40:26 13. Gerry Robichaud, Edmond Boudreau: Out the Buckhorn Way 43:11 14. Matt Leavenworth: The Road to Lisdoonvarna/Drowsy Maggie/Kitty’s Ramble 48:12 15. Gerry Robichaud: Dutch Clog/Wabamun Breakdown 50:47 16. Edmond Boudreau: The Grand Mira/SPIN-N-GLOW/Squirrel in a Tree 53:50 17. Joe Cormier: Cape North Jigs/The Old Dutch Churn/Max MacDonald’s Jig INTRODUCTION BY TERRY EAGAN IN LINER NOTES: Edmond Boudreau, Joe Cormier, and Gerry Robichaud have been playing music in the Greater Waltham, Massachusetts, area for over 50 years. Edmond and Joe were childhood friends in Cheticamp, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. Gerry grew up in St. Paul, New Brunswick, Canada. Each has played at dances at the Canadian-American Club in Watertown, MA and French Club in Waltham, MA, for decades (not to mention all over the world)! Gerry, Joe, and Edmond spend a good chunk of time together on the golf course. What happens when the winter months interfere with their weekly games on the links? Well, they get together on Friday afternoons to play hundreds of their favorite tunes learned over their collective centuries of music-making and friendships. This wide-ranging collection reflects the spirit of those sessions, and will set your feet atappin' and hearts asoar! With Edmond on mandolin, and Joe & Gerry both being fiddlers, dontcha think a guitar player is in order? Indeed, why look further than the one who has accompanied Gerry since childhood - his brother Bobby Robichaud! Bobby became a regular Friday-afternooner, and the four were quite agreeable when requested to capture their wondrousness on disk. Lucky for us all, Doug MacPhee was available for the two afternoons we had scheduled to record. Doug, one of Cape Breton's most respected traditional pianists, was happy to come 'up' from Cape Breton to join in the project. He had played numerous times with Joe and Edmond, and Gerry remembered Doug vividly from the one time they played together 30 years earlier. Thus, the nucleus of The North Atlantic Strings was set. Two of the unplanned gems on the album are solo sets by Doug that were captured as he satisfied our urgings to play awhile for our own enjoyment. --------------- NOTE: We do not own the copy right to this recording but are presenting it via fair use as a cultural critique of Acadian music. If the copy right owner wishes us to remove this video, please email acadiefiddle at gmail. The goal with posting this video is not to profit, but to educate the public about the history of Acadian folk music, which is so little known.