Botkin Lecture: Songs and Tunes from the French Creole Corridor

English Version (French version also available). French cultural historian Camille Moreddu presents an overview of the American Folklife Center’s collections of songs and music recorded in various Midwestern French-American communities during the first half of the 20th century. She reviews the repertoire found in these and related collections--from Great Lakes voyageurs’ songs and French-Canadian fiddle tunes to the ballads, winter ritual songs, and local songs of the Creole settlements of the Upper Mississippi River Valley. She also discusses methods and experiences of the different collectors; the histories of colonial era Francophone settlers as well as later immigrants from France, Belgium, and Canada; and how the French cultural presence was integrated into the narrative and historiography of the American frontier. The video includes a follow-up question-and-answer discussion with AFC scholar Stephen Winick.