Marianne s'en va-t-au moulin

'Marianne s'en va-t-au moulin'

'Marianne s'en va-t-au moulin'. Folksong popular in France and Canada. The text gives a spirited account of the adventures of Marianne, whose donkey, tied up behind a mill, is devoured by a wolf. The miller offers her another animal as compensation, and when she gets home Marianne explains to her father that donkeys change their coats on St Michael's Day. The tune and words are found in Ernest Gagnon's Chansons populaires du Canada (Quebec City 1865); the lyrics also appear in La Lyre canadienne (Quebec City 1886) and other publications. Jean Papineau-Couture wrote music for celesta and strings for 'Marianne s'en va-t-au moulin,' a puppet show presented on CBC TV in 1952. Hector Gratton composed a fantasy for soprano, tenor, and orchestra on the tune, and Morley Calvert employed it in the first movement of his Suite from the Monteregian Hills (1962) for brass quintet. Among the harmonizations for voice and piano are those of Alfred La Liberté (Le Passe-Temps, August 1946) and Claude Champagne (Harris 1959). The song was recorded by Louis Chartier (Brunswick 3421, a 78), and Marguerite Gignac (RCA LCP-1035, an LP).