Born: 4 June 1894, Canada
Died: 20 February 1941
Country most active: Canada
Also known as: La Bolduc, Mary Rose-Anne Travers
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
One of the most unique aspects of Québécois music are the wordless vocalizations known as turlutte. Usually associated with the working classes, this form of popular song is decidedly in the style of the French chanson tradition that was popular in the middle ages and Renaissance. Troubadours and Trouvères (poet-composers) spread this style of song (chanson) throughout history and it has served as inspiration for later iterations such as the nouvelle chansons of the 1990s-2000s that denote songs with especially poetic or political elements. Turlutte is sometimes compared to Irish and Scottish lilting or Scandinavian trall. Some describe it as the vocalization of the sound of an instrument. One of the most skilled individuals in this art form was Mary Rose-Anne Bolduc, or La Bolduc. In the 1930s Madame Bolduc was a household name. Known as the Queen of Canadian Folk singers, she combined the Irish melodies and French Canadian folk tunes learned from her parents to excellent comedic and musical effect. She especially enjoyed employing the dialog song which is from the French tradition and requires two singers answering to one another.