Sultans of String - Tkaronto Reel (Ft Métis Fiddler Quartet)

Music by Nicholas Delbaere-Sawchuck, Arr. by Métis Fiddler Quartet and Chris McKhool


Conlin Delbaere-Sawchuck – steel string acoustic guitar
Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuck – viola
Nicholas Delbaere-Sawchuck – violin
Danton Delbaere-Sawchuck – cello

Métis fiddle is a style marked by the percussive use of the bow and percussive accompaniment (such as spoon percussion). The Métis people are a poly-ethnic post-contact Indigenous peoples. Fiddles were introduced in this area by Scottish and French-Canadian fur traders around the early 1800s, where the Métis community adopted the instrument into their culture.

The Métis fiddle tradition is an oral tradition, and it is notable that the meter can vary from measure to measure and is very percussive. Players use their feet and choke up on the bow to enable a very sharp "bite".