Francine Brunel-Reeves (29 October 1933 – 3 February 2018) was a Québécois singer, caller, guitarist, dancer, ethnomusicologist and independent researcher of traditional music and dance in Quebec. She was known as the grandmother of French-Canadian traditional music.
Brunel-Reeves was born on 29 October 1933 in Montréal, Québec, Canada, into a wealthy family. Her father was the biologist and botanistJules Brunel [fr].[1] She was educated at a boarding school run by the Sisters of Saint Anne in Lachine, Québec; then attended a business course at the Collège Jésus-Marie in Montreal; then studied philosophy, history and law at the Université de Montréal.[1]
Brunel-Reeves was a member of the Folklorists of Quebec dance troupe, under the direction of Simonne Voyer [fr].[1]
Brunel-Reeves married the French-Canadian astrophysicistHubert Reeves and they had four children together ( scientist and musician Benoît Reeves [fr]; architect Nicolas Reeves [fr]; Gilles Reeves and Evelyne Reeves) before they divorced.[2][3] The couple moved to Europe for their careers, and she performed at the American Center in Paris, France, singing the songs of French-Canadian artists, such as Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault and Claude Léveillée.[1][4] She "became the first Quebecer to make traditional music known in France."[5]
Brunel-Reeves was the subject of the documentaryAs Long as There Remains a Voice (French: Tant qu'il reste une voix) made by Jean-Nicolas Orhon,[5][7] which won the 2009 Mnémo Prize.[8]
