41
solo. Here the chords are rolled upward from the melody, giving the impression of octave
displacement in the melodic line.
Third Movement: Joe Férail
The third movement of Cajun Set is based on the song Joe Férail est un Petit
Nègre. This tune, described by Whitfield as a “characteristically Cajim melody,”69 was
also transcribed from a Lomax record. In the liner notes accompanying his record, Lomax
notes that it is a “contemporary white imitation of the ‘Cajun’ Negro blues style, giving a
portrait of the legendary Joe Férail, who sold his wife for a bushel of potatoes.”70
Whitfield’s translation of the lyric is as follows: “Joe Férail is a little pickaninny
whom Madame Joe is rocking. Regina, the mulattress, sold him to me for a song.” 71 The
melody is quite a bit shorter than the other two songs and simpler in many respects. It is
divided into two identical lines, each made up of a call and response. Only five notes are
used, and the range is exactly one octave. The most interesting feature of the song is the
alternating dotted rhythms.
69
Whitfield, 125.
70
Alan Lomax, ed. : Bahaman Songs, French Ballads and Dance Tunes, Spanish
Religious Songs and Game Songs, original recordings, Library of Congress Recording
Library AAFS L5, 1956, LP.
71
Whitfield, 125.
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