Quebec fiddle is a part of theOld time fiddle canon and is influential in New England and Northwestfiddle styles.
According to Reiner and Anick,[1] the affinity between Anglo-Celtic and French fiddle music dates to the 17th century. Solo style predominated in the rugged frontier land where a small fiddle could be easily managed. Thus, cross tunings, drone notes and complex rhythms evolved to fill the gaps left in unaccompanied playing and this resulted in a highly developed style.Clogging was often the only available accompaniment, and, much like the IndigenousMetis fiddle style, percussive and rhythmic playing is notably developed in this style. As with the French-speakingCajun fiddle style, German button accordion created a fad which temporarily influenced the form, as did the eventual introduction of piano in the urban center Montreal.[2]
The repertoire is, in some respects, generally the same as that ofAmerican,Canadian andOldtime fiddle, but with the addition of French-derivedchanson. However, the interpretation is quite different. For example, Lisa Ornstein's treatment ofThe Devil's Dream (Reel du Diable) emphasized double stop and rhythmic ornament seldom found in US interpretations.
This style is also demonstrated in a rare 2011 performance byKevin Burke in which he plays three reels fromQuebec (Reel de Napoleon, Reel en Sol (Reel in G), and Guy Thomas).[3]
He also recorded this set with Celtic Fiddle Festival on their 2008 CD Equinox.The percussive use of footwork, however, is not limited to the First Nations musicians. Fiddle music, in general, lends itself well to group playing and percussive use of feet and hands, as in the performance ofLa Turlette at Kyneton, central Victoria, where the Celtic Southern Cross Summer School producedthis ethnomusicologically notable clip.[4]
Joseph Allard (February 1, 1873 – November 14, 1947) was a Quebecfiddler who made many popular recordings earning him the titleThe Prince of Fiddlers. His family lived inQuebec when he was quite young. Allard's father was a violoneux, and, when Allard reached the age of nine, he began formal fiddle instruction.[5]Allard remained in Quebec until the age of sixteen at which time he moved back to the United States. He entered fiddling competitions throughoutNew England, winning inMassachusetts,New Hampshire,Rhode Island andConnecticut.Scottish andIrish musicians he met through his travels taught him a number ofReels andGigues.[5]
He continued to travel and play in the United States until 1917 when he returned to Canada and settled nearMontreal.[5] Allard was one of five fiddlers to represent Quebec at a worldwide competition held inLewiston,Maine in 1926 alongsideJohnny Boivin,A. S. Lavallée,Médard Bourgie andFerdinand Boivin.[citation needed] In 1928,Victor's Bluebird label contracted him to make recordings for them. He went on to produce seventy-five78-rpm records in his career and would record six more under the pseudonym Maxime Toupin. Allard was one of the firstFrench Canadians fiddlers to record commercially.[6] Apart from traditional songs, Allard also wrote around sixty songs of his own.
Jean “Ti-Jean” Carignan (December 7, 1916,Lévis - February 16, 1988,Montreal) is perhaps the most famous Québécoisfiddler since Allard. He started to play violin at the age of four, and, at age seven, his family moved toMontreal. Joseph Allard eventually became his role model after he heard one of Allard's recordings which whom Carignan began studying in 1926. He also learned the repertories from the Irish fiddlerMichael Coleman, from whom he received most of his stylistic influence, and from Scotch fiddle playerJames Scott Skinner. Carignan's other major influences includedLouis Boudreault,Yehudi Menuhin andHenryk Szeryng.
In 1976, Carignan releasedJean Carignan rend hommage à Joseph Allard, a tribute album to Allard.[7]
