The crooked stovepipe : Athapaskan fiddle music and square dancing in Northeast Alaska and Northwest Canada / Craig Mishler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mishler, Craig.

Series:

Music in American life

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gwich'in Indians--Music--History and criticism.

Gwich'in Indians.

Gwich'in Indians--Dances.

Fiddle tunes--Alaska--History and criticism.

Fiddle tunes.

Fiddle tunes--Canada--History and criticism.

Music.

Canada.

Alaska.

Genre:

Fiddle tunes.

Physical Description:

xiv, 234 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [1993]

Summary:

Named for a popular local fiddle tune, The Crooked Stovepipe is a rollicking, detailed, first-ever study of the indigenous fiddle music and social dancing enjoyed by the Gwich'in Athapaskan Indians and other tribal groups in northeast Alaska, the Yukon, and the northwest territories. Though the music has obvious roots in the British Isles, French Canada, and the American South, the Gwich'in have used it in shaping their own aesthetic, which is apparent in their choice of fiddle tunings, bowing techniques, foot clogging, and a distinctively stratified tune repertoire. Craig Mishler treats this rural subarctic artistic tradition as a distinctive regional style akin to Cajun, bluegrass, or string-band music. He uses convergence theory as the framework for showing how this aesthetic came about. His skillful use of personal anecdotes, interviews, music examples, dance diagrams, and photographs will appeal to general readers interested in folk music and dance, as well as to specialists.

Contents:

1 The Metal That Sings: Early Social History 13

2 Fur Trappers and Priests: The Fiddlers 28

3 An Athapaskan Repertoire: Learning the Tunes 49

4 Open Floor for Everybody: Jigs, Reels, and Contras 63

5 Calling in English: A Snap of the Broom and Three Large Quadrilles 98

6 Bush Music Comes to Town: The Athapaskan Old-Time Fiddling Festival 126

Afterword: Speaking of Rubbaboos 143

Appendix A Interview with Bergman Esmailka, Sr. 155

Appendix B Fiddle Tune Lists and Annotations 161

Appendix C Fiddle Tune Transcriptions with Annotations / Pamela Swing, Shonti Elder 175.

Notes:

Discography/videography: pages 221-224.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0252019962

OCLC:

26810411