NCPR Newsroom linkPrograms linkWeather linkSupport NCPR LinkContact NCPR linkArts linkStation Special Events linkNCPR Services link
North Country Public Radio OnlineNCPR Pledge Online Form link
NCPR Live Stream link
Up North Community link
Search link
NCPR Homepage link
}
Return to Meet the Masters Homepage
Meet the Masters: La Famille Ouimet,
French American Traditions, Valley Falls

Bernie and Norm explain how they present the old songs to modern ears.
Listen (Real 1:16)

The Ouimets sing the rousing traditional Vive La Compagnie.
Listen (Real 0:20)

Bernie describes the changing role that music plays in French American families.
Listen (Real 1:36)

The Ouimets sing the traditional French Canadian Le Petit Marie.
Listen (Real 2:53)

Story Begins

Meet the Masters: La Famille Ouimet, French American Traditions
(04/10/00) The Ouimet family see themselves as preservers of a number of vanishing traditions. They play traditional music in the French American ethnic tradition, and they pass the music on within the family, performing as a family band. Old-style Quebecois rugmaking is among the other talents of this Valley Falls family.

Download audio | (0) Comments |
Meet the Masters homepage
Traditional Arts in Upstate New York
arts · canada · music · ouimet · tauny · tradint · traditional arts in upstate new york · traditional music · valley falls
Story Ends La Famille Ouimet actively practices the music, cooking, dances, and celebrations traditional in their family. In the early 1950s, the family moved from Quebec to Cohoes, where everybody in their neighborhood spoke French and worshipped at St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church. In those days, the Ouimets often went home to St. Jean for family occasions where they learned songs, some of which go back to medieval Brittany. For public performances, Bernard plays the traditional button accordion or keyboard, while his brother Normand plays the guitar. They both sing, often demonstrating traditional rounds or answering songs, as well as ballads. Nephews whom they have taught sometimes join them. Their mother Lucille is an accomplished needleworker, having taught Bernard's wife Françoise a very rare rug weaving tradition from old Quebec. They use a wagon wheel as a form and colorful scraps from the textile mills in Cohoes.

Return to Masters Homepage
© 2008 North Country Public Radio, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York 13617-1475
phone 315/229-5356 or toll free 877-388-NCPR fax 315/229-5373
email radio@ncpr.org Return to Page Top