schlange - Posted - 05/09/2014:  10:10:21

Basilica of St. Anne-de Beaupre on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec

This week we're featuring our first Canadian fiddle tune--and this is a fitting one since it's probably the most popular Canadian fiddle tune, at least here in the States. 

"St. Anne's Reel" was first recorded in 1929 in Montreal by Joseph Allard. Canadian radio and television personality Don Messer championed the tune and gave it the popularity it has today by playing it on his programs (see the video below of him and his band playing the tune, complete with dancing). It became popular in the US in the 1950's when it was recorded by Nashville fiddlers like Tommy Jackson.

I've loved this tune since the first time I heard it--the melody is catchy, and the backing chord progression is more interesting than the typicaly "1-4-5" bluegrass tune.

Here's a quote from our own Don Borchelt, pulled from this old forum thread:

Saint Anne's Reel is undoubtedly the most popular French Canadian tune among fiddlers here in the lower 48.  In French, it is Le Reel de Sainte-Anne; it is usually attributed to the great Quebecois fiddler Joseph Allard, the master who taught Jean Carignan. 

St. Anne, the mother of Mary (the mother of Jesus) is not mentioned in the biblical canon at all, but first appears in 2nd century Christian writings which the good Jesuits who taught me high school theology used to refer to as "apocryphal literature."   The French were the first people of western Europe to venerate her, around the 13th Century.  In the 17th Century, the French brought their unique devotion to St. Anne with them to the New World.  In 1658, a chapel was built about thirty miles northeast of Quebec City along the St. Lawrence River, called St. Anne-de Beaupre.  Over the centuries, the site grew into one of the most popular Catholic shrines in the world.  In 1922, a huge basilica was built on the site of the original chapel, which still stands today.  Joseph Allard, the composer of  St. Anne's reel, was from Chateauquay, Quebec, not far from the shrine.

According to this article, St. Anne's could be called New Brunswick's provincial anthem.​

Typically played in D. More more about this tune on the Fiddler's Companion.

Learn the Tune

• Hear It: If you aren't familiar with the tune, be sure to listen to the versions I've included in the playlist to the right, and in the videos below.


• Casey Henry has posted a Murphy Method lesson for this tune--only $6 thru the end of the week.​ Get it here >


• John Boulding has posted a backup lesson for this tune--only $5. Get it here >


• Backing Tracks: Band in a Box tracks are included below at various speeds for your practicing pleasure


• Tabs: here's a good one from Jack Baker.

Share!

I (and others) would love to hear (and see!) you play your version of this tune--post it in a reply below!

VIDEO: Saint Anne's Reel (click to view)	VIDEO: St. Anne's Reel on banjo, (click to view)	VIDEO: Don Messer & his Islanders - Le Reel Sainte-Anne (click to view)	VIDEO: St Anne's Reel -- Aly Bain with Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg (click to view)
VIDEO: THE STRAY BIRDS - "St. Anne's Reel" (click to view)	VIDEO: saint annes reel (click to view)	VIDEO: St. Anne's Reel - Excerpt from the Custom Banjo Lesson from The Murphy Method (click to view)	St. Anne's Reel Backing Track (D) 70BPM
St. Anne's Reel Backing Track (D) 90BPM	St. Anne's Reel Backing Track (D) 110BPM	St. Anne's Reel Backing Track (D) 130BPM	St. Anne's Reel Chords

5stringJim - Posted - 05/09/2014:  10:18:51

Here's my version, 2 ways,  melodic picking in G tuning, then into clawhammer in gCGCD.

Edited by - 5stringJim on 05/09/2014 10:20:55

VIDEO: St Anne's Reel on 5 string Banjo (click to view)

RawhideCreek - Posted - 05/09/2014:  10:37:46

Correction to the Borchelt quote:

St. Anne is the mother of Mary, hence the grandmother of Jesus.

(Not that it affects rendering the tune!)

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/09/2014:  11:49:43

Correct and knowing Don, he's simpy made an error--we both were Jesuit trained and survived....Jack

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

Correction to the Borchelt quote:



St. Anne is the mother of Mary, hence the grandmother of Jesus.



(Not that it affects rendering the tune!)

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Edited by - Jack Baker on 05/09/2014 11:55:34

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/09/2014:  12:24:36

Scott Vestal is always amazing. Eric, I just sent you my tab complete w/ fingerings...Jack

SCclawman - Posted - 05/09/2014:  12:58:41

I love this song! Hope you guys don't mind me posting a clawhammer version I recorded a couple of months ago.

Look forward to listening to some more versions.

 

St. Anne's Reel

schlange - Posted - 05/09/2014:  13:45:43

quote:

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

Correction to the Borchelt quote:



St. Anne is the mother of Mary, hence the grandmother of Jesus.



(Not that it affects rendering the tune!)

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I corrected Don's quote. I figure he won't mind. :-)

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/09/2014:  13:47:34

Excellent Travis....Jack

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Originally posted by SCclawman

I love this song! Hope you guys don't mind me posting a clawhammer version I recorded a couple of months ago.

Look forward to listening to some more versions.

 

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Jack Baker - Posted - 05/09/2014:  13:49:30

Yeah, good move Eric...I'm sure it was a typo on Don's part...Jack

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Originally posted by schlange

quote:

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

Correction to the Borchelt quote:

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I corrected Don's quote. I figure he won't mind. :-)

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Edited by - Jack Baker on 05/09/2014 13:50:07

RawhideCreek - Posted - 05/09/2014:  15:59:40

quote:

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

Correction to the Borchelt quote:



St. Anne is the mother of Mary, hence the grandmother of Jesus.



(Not that it affects rendering the tune!).

Hey, I'm a good Jewish boy, so my investment is strictly academic--but obviously not Jesuit.  (When I was on my public high school debate team--and we were formidable--our dreaded foes were the guys at the Jesuit high school, the only guys who ever beat us!)

Edited by - RawhideCreek on 05/09/2014 16:01:00

Don Borchelt - Posted - 05/10/2014:  13:03:09

Rawhide Creek wrote: "...our dreaded foes were the guys at the Jesuit high school, the only guys who ever beat us!"

Yeah, I was one of those "master debaters."   St. Xavier High School, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

My ancestor on my mother's side, Nicholas Lebel, settled in Chateau-Richer, Quebec, around 1650, in the general area where the shrine is located.  He married a woman named Marie Drouin, in 1662.  Shortly thereafter, she died by drowning in the Riviere aux Chiens, on her way to St. Anne's to make her devotions.  It was a hard life in those days. 

Edited by - Don Borchelt on 05/10/2014 13:16:55

swamplunker - Posted - 05/11/2014:  08:32:17

Thanks for putting in all the different versions, Eric, that enriches this whole process by showing how many different ways a tune can be done. I gotta confess, though, my favorite is the Stray Birds and there's no banjo anywhere- or needed!

Old Hickory - Posted - 05/11/2014:  08:52:26

quote:

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Originally posted by schlange

quote:

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

Correction to the Borchelt quote:



St. Anne is the mother of Mary, hence the grandmother of Jesus.



(Not that it affects rendering the tune!)

---

I corrected Don's quote. I figure he won't mind. :-)

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There was nothing wrong with what Don wrote. It needed no correction. The appositive  (set off within commas) phrase "mother of Jesus" was not providing additional information about St. Anne.  It was a providing identifying information about Mary, conveying which of the millions of Marys in the world and history he was referring to.

It would be best to put the statement back the way Don wrote it.

I'm an editor. Trust me. 

Old Hickory - Posted - 05/11/2014:  09:12:47

I love Steve Louvat's version. Saved it to my computer years ago.  

I don't play single string, so a lot of his 2nd solo is still beyond me.

Here's how I interpret the first few measures that are forward-backward roll:

|----------------12--------------|----------------14--------------|----------------17--------------|
|--------10--------------10------|--------10--------------10------|--------15--------------15------|
|----11----------------------11--|----11----------------------11--|----16----------------------16--|
|12------------------------------|12------------------------------|17------------------------------|
|------------11------11----------|------------11------11----------|------------16------16----------|

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/11/2014:  09:39:50

Hi Ken,

I know how to use an/the appositive sentence or phrase and I'm sure Eric does too. non-editors reading these posts could be mislead as to Saint Anne's role in History. Your editor's pen could confuse the message in this case ..Jack  p.s. thanks for the extra version of St. Anne's Reel by Steve. Lots of melodics and very thoughtful playing indeed...nice

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Originally posted by Old Hickory

Edited by - Jack Baker on 05/11/2014 09:54:14

O.D. - Posted - 05/11/2014:  14:56:18

In the spirit of sharing, I submit St Annes Reel.

Regards

 Everett

St Annes Reel-- melodic

Banjophobic - Posted - 05/11/2014:  16:36:03

Eric

A back-up video for the tune is currently uploading to dropbox..should be up later tonight.

Old Hickory - Posted - 05/12/2014:  06:58:50

quote:

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Originally posted by Jack Baker

 I know how to use an/the appositive sentence or phrase and I'm sure Eric does too. non-editors reading these posts could be mislead as to Saint Anne's role in History. Your editor's pen could confuse the message in this case .

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Jack:  I suppose some folks could be confused by Don's original version.  But what Don wrote was not only structurally correct (as I said) but also rhetorically and traditionally correct in its use of the phrase "Mary, mother of Jesus" as an expanded name by which Mary has been called for centuries. The phrase is complete and correct unto itself and should not be changed for the benefit of those who haven't heard it. 

And, by the way:  I don't deserve any thanks for the Steve Louvat St. Anne's Reel video. Had nothing to do with it.

Old Hickory - Posted - 05/12/2014:  07:48:54

CORRECTION to the phrase I posted above! Third measure was 2 frets too high.  Sorry.

|----------------12--------------|----------------14--------------|----------------15--------------|
|--------10--------------10------|--------10--------------10------|--------13--------------13------|
|----11----------------------11--|----11----------------------11--|----14----------------------14--|
|12------------------------------|12------------------------------|15------------------------------|
|------------11------11----------|------------11------11----------|------------14------14----------|

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/12/2014:  07:54:33

Ok Ken,

I see that Don's post has been changed back. I think it to be confusing but in the end, I really am not a firm believer in Myths anyway...Jack   p.s. I should have clarified that I searched Steve's video myself...geez, you editors ...Jack  p .s. if only it had said: Saint Anne, who was the Mother of Mary, the Mother of Jesus etc.

---

Originally posted by Old Hickory

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Edited by - Jack Baker on 05/12/2014 07:56:40

schlange - Posted - 05/12/2014:  09:33:09

Just posted the link to John's lesson--get it here >

Re: editing Don's quote, Old Hickory ... I'm not editor, but I don't understand how what he originally wrote could be correct. He said "St. Anne, the mother of Jesus, is not mentioned in the biblical canon at all..."

Old Hickory - Posted - 05/12/2014:  09:49:41

Eric: When I'm wrong, I'm wrong!  And I admit it.

I was not reading carefully enough.  I went back to Don's original post in 2011.

In a discussion of St. Anne's Reel, JanetB had posted on 10/9/11: "I found out recently that Saint Anne is known as the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus."

JanetB got it right.

But then Don, in his reply, misquoted JanetB and did in fact make the mistake that you cite above. He wrote: For Janet:  St. Anne, the mother of Jesus,..

You, Jack and Russ are correct.  Don was wrong.  I absolutely did not notice that Don had not said "Mary" in there.  What Don should have written in quoting back to JanetB was something like this:  "St. Anne, the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, . . . "

I suppose parentheses are OK, too.  But as I tried to convey above, the full phrase "Mary, mother of Jeus" is how she is traditionally referred to.

And one additional note:  Like Russ, I'm also a good Jewish boy.  So this whole issue doesn't involve any of my beliefs -- other than language.

And St. Anne's Reel is one of my absolute favorite fiddle tunes -- and one that I still cannot play at a decent speed. The B part gets me every time.

So sorry for thread drift. 

schlange - Posted - 05/12/2014:  09:55:47

No worries!

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/12/2014:  10:18:13

Hi Eric,

All is well again...Ken, we all make teeny little mistakes; count me in for tons of them ...Jack

quote:

---

Originally posted by schlange

No worries!

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Edited by - Jack Baker on 05/12/2014 10:19:33

Davidschultz42 - Posted - 05/12/2014:  11:15:36

quote:

---

Originally posted by 5stringJim

Here's my version, 2 ways,  melodic picking in G tuning, then into clawhammer in gCGCD.

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This is so beautiful.  I was wondering how you claw hammer with your picks on? 

chuckv97 - Posted - 05/12/2014:  16:47:26

I learned this tune from Tony T.'s "Banjo Songbook" in the 1970's . Think it was the chapter on Bela Fleck. Not playing banjo for 26 years ,til recently, has me forgotten how I did it. It was in C, capoed at the 2nd fret- a nice sounding version. I'll have to woodshed to get it back under my fingers. Thnx for posting this great old tune.

KidfromDeliverance - Posted - 05/12/2014:  18:15:07

Jack -

Since you appear to be at hand, how does one do the left-hand fingering on measure 18 of your tab?  I couldn't get my pinky out far enough to keep my hand in the 7-9 fret area, but it seems a bit awkward to move up the neck just to get that one note at the 11th, then right back again.

Patrick

Don Borchelt - Posted - 05/13/2014:  10:42:41

Just to be clear, in my original post from 2011, I did erroneously identify St. Anne as the mother of Jesus.  After eight years of nuns and then eight years of Jesuits, I certainly knew that Mary was the mother of Jesus, not St. Anne; how I made such a basic theological mistake I do not know.  So Old Hickory's defense of the grammatical correctness of the statement in the original post, which I agree with, was actually a defense of Eric's first correction.  Eric's second correction has the beauty of being both grammatically correct and clearly understandable as well.  Therein lies an important lesson about writing I learned some time ago- sometimes a sentence can be grammatically correct but still be potentially confusing, and sometimes the only solution is to stop fussing and do a complete rewrite (although merely adding parentheses worked well in this case).  Having said all of that, I do greatly appreciate Eric's attempt to keep me from looking stupid, perhaps a lot cause in my case.   It reminds me that the good Jesuits had a policy to never give a grade above 96%, because, perfection, they said, belongs only to God.

Edited by - Don Borchelt on 05/13/2014 10:47:57

Saint Anne's Reel with Marty Lebenson

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/13/2014:  11:27:31

Ah, good qvestion Patrick. I changed it to the 6th fret of the 3rd string, measure 18 (C#)...This should play better for you...Jack  p.s. I also changed the TOTW tab for Saint Anne's Reel.

Saint Anne's Reel

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Originally posted by KidfromDeliverance

Jack -

Since you appear to be at hand, how does one do the left-hand fingering on measure 18 of your tab?  I couldn't get my pinky out far enough to keep my hand in the 7-9 fret area, but it seems a bit awkward to move up the neck just to get that one note at the 11th, then right back again.

Patrick

 

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Edited by - Jack Baker on 05/13/2014 11:34:05

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/13/2014:  11:33:17

Ha Don,

Eric and I have to keep you in the good graces of a Jesuit trained lad ...Jack

Originally posted by Don Borchelt

KidfromDeliverance - Posted - 05/13/2014:  12:07:51

Thanks, Jack - seems simple enough.  I've been having a lot of fun getting back to this one over the weekend.  Figured out a simple change in my fretting hand movement, to get past the hiccups I had in the version I was playing.  This is a nice variation for me - different, but still very recognizable.  That "loop method" really works - I just have to make myself do it.  So tempting to play the whole song.

Patrick

Nick Hornbuckle - Posted - 05/14/2014:  05:22:33

Really pretty tune...thanks Eric! Here is my arrangement-double C capo 2 Key of D. Nick

Saint Anne's Reel

RawhideCreek - Posted - 05/14/2014:  06:24:17

quote:

---

Originally posted by Don Borchelt

It reminds me that the good Jesuits had a policy to never give a grade above 96%, because, perfection, they said, belongs only to God.

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When I went back to school to study engineering (1990), one of my professors must have been a closet Jesuit!  He boasted that no one had ever gotten a perfect score on one of his exams.  I came close, at 99.9%--I made no errors, but when I questioned him about it, he replied, "I have my reputation to think about."

Jack Baker - Posted - 05/14/2014:  08:39:00

Yep, that sounds like a Jebbie...Jack  p.s. not known for their modesty

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

 

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