Coteau: Highly Seasoned Cajun Music

Abstract

B/W photographs. 31-item bibliography, discography and web site listing. Region: New Hampshire. Genres: contra dances and square dances. 16 tracks recorded in the studio. 67:00.1999. Choose Your Partners!, produced in collaboration with the New Hampshire Council of the Arts, documents a tradition of contra-and square-dance music which has been particularly well preserved in dance halls of the southern Monadnock region of New Hampshire. The recording quality is rich and clear, and the liner notes are extensive and informative, including a detailed bibliography of books, recordings, performers and websites. The included essay (by Jack Beard, Lynn Martin, and Kate Van Winkle Kellar) emphasizes the participatory aspect of the music, with references to the"spring of an old wooden floor," and indications of metrical shifts which would enliven actual dancers. Synchronic differences, such as regional variations, typically emphasized in collections of this sort, are given less prominence than historical variation. Rather than posit an unchanged "found artifact," the collection documents stylistic changes over the past 150 years: for example, the effects of the vacationing skiing community, which reportedly resulted in increased complexity of melodies and harmonies, and larger repertoires. Contemporary compositions (by such well-known dance musicians as Bob McQuillen) and complex medleys are also included as the latest link in this evolving tradition. Notes for each selection feature the tune name(s), dance type and a short paragraph describing the general nature of the dances themselves. The inclusion of dance callers announcing the steps helps make up for the relative lack of visual aids, as does the occasional sound of a clogger's steps, or occasional "spontaneous" applause at the end of a medley.