Canada
Canadian Musical Tradition and the Jig

Canadians of French and British origin constitute a large proportion of today's Canadian population. Musical traditions which these first colonists brought with them from European countries have been transformed, adapted and cross-bred through the years, making Canadian music a rich blend of melodies, rhythms and stylistic elements.

Traditional French and British music share the use of the violin, the accordion or the harmonica as the melodic instrument; the piano, guitar or double bass as an accompanying instrument; and percussion in the form of spoons or bones. From Newfoundland to the provinces of the Canadian West, each region affirms its cultural singularity with a style and a repertoire belonging to them alone. These unique styles and repertoires are the best guarantee against the uniformity brought by the homogenization and commercialization of these forms of music.

Canadian music is, above all, a music to dance to. It accompanies square dancing, notably those called the "quadrill" and "set square". And, although many types of solo dance exist in Canada, traditional Canadian music is most closely associated with the solo dance that we simply call the "jig".

England
Music for Morris-Dancing

The Morris Dance, of English origin, descends from pagan fertility dances (rites). In the Middle Ages, Morris-dancing was, without a doubt, the most popular dance in rural England. Morris-dancing was never featured at court, probably because of its ritual connotations.

Each year on May 1 at sunrise, a group gathers in High Park, Toronto, to dance a salute to the arrival of spring and the life-giving sun. The songs which can be heard during these gatherings clearly convey the original function of this dance, which was to celebrate the springtime awakening of nature.

In Canada, Morris-dancing also has a social and cultural function. Morris-dancing attests to the permanence of a distinct ethnocultural group: Canadians of English origin. This form of dance is sometimes accompanied by the music of the concertina, the accordion, the violin, the flute and the drum.