Alexis Chartrand E5 S1: Transcript

Full transcript of interview with traditional Québecois fiddler Alexis Chartrand, with links to video, podcast, and bonus episodes. In Episode 5, Season 1 of Conversations with Musicians with Leah Roseman, we get to hear some beautifully realized traditional tunes from Québec from traditional fiddler Alexis Chartrand. He talks about both groove and ornamentation in different traditional styles of fiddling. He talks very thoughtfully and about his background as a son of dancers, his explorations of tone colour with baroque violin, his upcoming performances at a number of festivals, and some of his musical influences and inspiration.

Alexis Chartrand: “I learned a lot from step dancers, listening to the sound of their feet, to the inherent groove that they've developed. To me that's really the basis of my practice of the bow, all of the rhythms that we have to summon with the traditional style of bowing. Personally is deeply, deeply related to the practice of step dancing in Quebec.”