Jean Carignan, (December 7, 1916 – February 16, 1988) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

fiddler A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...

from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Carignan was born in Lévis, Quebec, on December 7, 1916, later moving to

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

and then

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

with his family; the family moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

when Carignan was ten years old. As a child, Carignan studied with noted Quebec fiddler

Joseph Allard Joseph Allard (December 31, 1910 – May 3, 1991) was a professor of saxophone and clarinet at the Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, and the Manhattan School of Music. He also held adjunct positions at many other schools. He succeed ...

, as well as learning the music of the great Irish fiddlers Michael Coleman and James Morrison and the Scottish fiddler

James Scott Skinner James Scott Skinner (5 August 1843 – 17 March 1927) was a Scottish dancing master, violinist, fiddler and composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential fiddlers in Scottish traditional music, and was known as "the Strathspey Kin ...

. In his mid-teens Carignan joined George Wade and his Cornhuskers. Carignan was a friend of famous violinist and conductor

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

. In 1974, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

as "the greatest fiddler in North America". He died in Montreal on February 16, 1988, at the age of 71. In 1976, ''The Folk Music Sourcebook'' (Sandberg and Weissman) wrote about Carignan : "Carignan's technique is amazing, but more so the joy and energy with which he applies it. There are few players in any music who reach his degree of virtuosity without sacrificing feeling or originality"—p. 84. As a fiddler, he was always aiming for the strictest authenticity in his executions, displaying an attitude of absolute rigor when playing his repertoire of 7,000 pieces learned from Coleman, Skinner, Allard, Wellie Ringuette and many others.

Selected discography

*1959: ''Ti-Jean. . . Le Violoneux'' (Disques London Série Française) *1960: ''The Folk Fiddler Who Electrified the Newport Folk Festival'' (

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

) *1960: ''Old Time Fiddle Tunes played by Jean Carignan'' (

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

) *1961: ''Alan Mills and Jean Carignan: Songs, Fiddle Tunes and a Folk-Tale from Canada'' (Folkways) *1973: ''Jean Carignan'' (Philo) *1975: ''French Canadian Fiddle Songs'' (Legacy – an Elektra/Everest Production) *1976: ''Jean Carignan rend hommage à Joseph Allard'' (Philo) *1977: ''Jean Carignan Plays the Music of – Joue la Musique de Coleman, Morrison & Skinner'' (Philo) *1987: ''Gigue à Deux'' (Radio Canada International) *2006: ''Classic Canadian Songs from Smithsonian Folkways'' (

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was f ...

)

Selected filmography

* 1986 Featured in TV series, ''Down Home'' for Channel Four TV made by Pelicula Films, Glasgow * 1996 Featured in ''A Musical Journey- The Films of Pete, Toshi and Dan Seeger 1957-1964'', 1996, Distributed by Rounders Records.

Honours and awards

* 1974: Member of the

. * 1976: Recipient of the Calixa-Lavallée Award. * 1977: Honorary D.Mus (

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

). * 1977: Honorary D.Mus (

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

). * 2002: Plaque on the ''Canadian Folk Music Walk of Fame'' in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

References

Bibliography

*Bégin, Carmelle: ''La musique traditionelle pour violon: Jean Carignan'' (Mercury Series no. 40, Canadian Museum of Civilization) (Ottawa, 1981)

External links

*
Jean Carignan
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Carignan on Folkways

Jean Carignan
at YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Carignan, Jean 1916 births 1988 deaths Fiddlers from Quebec Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Members of the Order of Canada People from Lévis, Quebec 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian folk fiddlers