Marcel Bénéteau is a retired associate professor in the Department of Folklore and Ethnology of French North America at the University of Sudbury, a bilingual post-secondary institution in the North of Ontario. He was born outside Windsor, Ontario, in the small community of River Canard (French: Rivière-aux-Canards). This area is home to one of North America’s oldest continuously inhabited French communities. In the 18th century, French-speaking settlers from France and Québec came to this area to build a strategic fur-trading post, Fort Detroit (see Les voyageurs). Later, in the 19th century, more Québecois joined the town, and, in the present day, the two Francophone communities remain somewhat culturally distinct. Bénéteau’s mother’s side of the family is descended from the so-called Fort Detroit French.
Bénéteau’s primary research focus is on the history and culture of French settlers in the Detroit region. His career began as a musician when he was approached by a Radio-Canada producer, Paulette Richer, who encouraged him to sing folk songs in French. At that time, the French folk song repertoire mainly comprised songs from Québec. Inspired by efforts in the Maritimes to revive Acadian folk songs, Bénéteau made it his mission to rediscover the folklore of the Detroit region, completing a Master’s in Folklore Studies at Laval University.
He has collected over 2,000 folk songs from the Detroit region, a mission which he considers a race against time as the people who know these songs tend to be older. He has recorded numerous albums of these songs (see example below). He has often claimed that folk songs enable us to discover a way of speaking and telling stories in a French that has been linguistically preserved.
Suggested listening:
“La vie des matelots.” YouTube. Accessed February 28th, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eaeLiUClVk.
Suggested Sources:
“Marcel Bénéteau: Notice Biographique.” Presses de l’Université de Laval. Accessed February 28th, 2025. https://www.pulaval.com/autrices-et-auteurs/marcel-beneteau#:~:text=Marcel%20B%C3%A9n%C3%A9teau%20est%20professeur%20agr%C3%A9g%C3%A9,de%20la%20r%C3%A9gion%20du%20D%C3%A9troit.
“50 ans de CBEF: les souvenirs de Marcel Bénéteau, l’animateur.” Radio-Canada Ohdio. Accessed February 28th, 2025. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/matins-sans-frontieres/segments/entrevue/172488/marcel-beneteau-ancien-animateur-agro-mag-cbef-insecurite-linguistique.
Longobardi, Constance. “Marcel Bénéteau fait revivre la musique traditionnelle.” l-express.ca. Accessed February 28th, 2025. https://l-express.ca/marcel-beneteau-fait-revivre-la-musique-traditionnelle/.
“Folk Music.” Voyageur Heritage: Community Journal & Resource Guide. Accessed February 28th, 2025. https://voyageurheritage.wordpress.com/music/.
Related links:
Detroit
Les voyageurs