Our good friend, Bertrand Déraspe, is one of the great fiddlers from the last bastion of traditional Acadian culture, the Magdalen Islands.

He visited the Northwest in 2011 and attended the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes to great success.

He wasn’t able to bring his recordings last summer, but now he’s sent us a stash of recordings.

Albums cost $20 each, and that includes shipping. You can pay with PayPal or check.

Make checks out to Hearth Music and mail to: Devon Leger, 14879 6th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155. All money goes straight to Bertrand.

LISTEN AND LEARN MORE:  http://www.lafamilleleger.com/blog.html

The Recordings:

Mes Racines Bertrand Déraspe  2006
This is the first of Bertrand’s solo fiddling CD’s and definitely the one to start your collection. What you get is just Bertrand on fiddle and feet and Alain Turbide on piano, exactly as they appeared at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes last summer 2011 and with many of the tunes that they taught, including “Pu yèque sur le pu yinque” and “Cé fret su’l picassou”. There are also some of Bertrand’s beautiful waltzes. Bertrand channels tunes from the Magdalen Islands as well as Cape Breton in this recording. A must-have for any fiddle fan.

Vent Arrière: Bertrand Déraspe, Patrice Déraspe, Carole Painchaud  2003
This is the cd that started it all for us at La Famille Léger and especially the first track: “Reel à Célestin à Jos”. The track starts off with the sound of the ancient Toc à Toc motor of the maritime fishermen and Bertrand dives in with his fiddle, never missing a beat and keeping the motor going feverishly to the end. It took our breath away and we wanted to hear more of this great “madelinot” fiddler. Vent arrière means tale wind in French and there definitely is a strong wind driving this collection of songs and tunes.