Mary Rose-Anna Travers, (June 4, 1894 ? February 20, 1941) was a French-Canadian singer and musician. She was known as Madame Bolduc or La Bolduc. During the peak of her popularity in the 1930s, she was known as the Queen of Canadian Folksingers.[1] Bolduc is often considered to be Quebec's first singer/songwriter. Her style combined the traditional folk music of Ireland and Quebec, usually in upbeat, comedic songs. Bolduc never had any formal music lessons, and developed her own style under the influence of her father's teaching and the musical traditions of Irish folk music and Québécois folk tunes.[1] Her songs tended to be happy and comical with lively rhythms.[1] Her self-written songs often used existing melodies from folk tunes or dances, combined with lyrics she wrote herself.[6] For instance, she wrote the song Les Cinq Jumelles about the Dionne Quintuplets, which was set to the tune of 'Little Brown Jug.'[2] In other cases, she would adopt popular contemporary American songs.[6]
One technique often employed by Bolduc is the enumerative song, which lists something such as foods or tasks.[6] This technique was traditional in French-Canadian folk songs, derived from similar French traditions. Bolduc also employed the traditional French folk song style of the dialgoue song, usually a duet with a man, where the song is a conversation or debate between the man and the woman.[6] One such song was Mademoiselle, dites-moi donc, which she recorded with Ovila Légaré and featured the two of them bantering and flirting comedically. She often wrote in the style derived from traditional English broadside ballads, which tell current news to the tunes of traditional songs. One such song by Bolduc is La chanson du bavard, which notably employs an introduction inviting the listener to hear a tale, as is common in broadside ballads.[6] Other topical ballads by Bolduc include Les Américains about Americans coming to Montreal during Prohibition to obtain liquor and the unrecorded Si je pouvais tenir Hitler which she wrote a few days after the outbreak of World War II.[7]
Her music relied heavily upon the harmonica and the fiddle, the traditional instruments of reels in Quebec.[6] Her singing also adopted a nasal style, and her pitch was relaxed, both of which are found traditionally. Her singing often featured turlutage, which is derived from Irish and Scottish musical traditions.[6] Most often she employed this technique in reels, such as her song Reel turluté.
Her touring troupe La Troupe du bon vieux temps gave fairly consistent performances. Mary Bolduc opened the show with her newest songs.[4] The troupe then performed comedy sketches, ensemble songs, folk songs and vaudeville routines. Most performances included a segment where amateurs would perform, sometimes for cash prizes. Bolduc would close with some of her newest or most topical songs.[4]
Bolduc's lyrics are predominantly French, but frequently include a few words or lines in English.[2] This was reflective of her Gaspé upbringing and her experiences in Montreal, where the two languages mingle.[6] The recordings were marketed to working class francophone audiences, in small towns and rural areas where people had traditional values.[2]
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