Joseph Allard (February 1, 1873 – November 14, 1947) was a Canadian

fiddler A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. 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 synonymous, the ...

and composer. He occasionally recorded under the pseudonym Maxime Toupin. Allard made many popular recordings, including '' Reel de l'Aveugle'', '' Reel de Chateauguay'', '' Reel de Jacques Cartier'', and '' Reel du voyageur''. During most of his life he was rarely in the public eye, and worked much of his life as a

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recre ...

. After his recordings became popular, he was known as ''The Prince of Fiddlers''.

Childhood

Allard's birthplace is reported both as 1 February 1873 in Woodland now Lery,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

and as 1 July 1873 in

Châteauguay Châteauguay ( , , ) is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, located both on the Chateauguay River and Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. The population of the city of Châteauguay at the 2021 Ce ...

. His family was living in

when he was quite young. Allard's father was a fiddler, and when Allard reached the age of nine he was instructed in fiddling. Allard remained in Quebec until the age of sixteen, when he moved back to the United States, where he began to enter fiddling competitions.

Fiddling

Allard entered fiddling competitions throughout the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

, winning competitions in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. While in the United States, he met and married

Alexina Couillard Alexina is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: * Alexina Duchamp (1906–1995), American art dealer *Alexina Graham (born 1990), English fashion model *Alexina Louie (born 1949), Canadian composer *Alexina Ruthquist (1848–1 ...

. Scottish and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

musicians he met there taught him a number of

Reel A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a ''spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

s and

Gigue The gigue (; ) or giga () is a lively baroque dance originating from the English jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th centuryBellingham, Jane"gigue."''The Oxford Companion to Music''. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford Music Online. 6 July 2 ...

s. He continued to travel and play in the United States until 1917, when he returned to Canada and settled near

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

. Allard was one of five fiddlers to represent Quebec at a worldwide competition held in Lewiston,

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

in 1926, alongside

Johnny Boivin Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varia ...

, A. S. Lavallée,

Médard Bourgie Saint Medardus or St Medard (French: ''Médard'' or ''Méard'') (ca. 456–545) was the Bishop of Noyon. He moved the seat of the diocese from Vermand to Noviomagus Veromanduorum (modern Noyon) in northern France. Medardus was one of the most h ...

and

Ferdinand Boivin Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

. In 1928, Victor's Bluebird label contracted him to make recordings for them, and he produced 75 78s in his career. He would record six more under the pseudonym Maxime Toupin. Allard was one of the first French Canadians fiddlers to record commercially. Apart from traditional songs, Allard wrote around sixty songs of his own.

Legacy

In 1976, a former student of Allard's,

Jean Carignan Jean Carignan, (December 7, 1916 – February 16, 1988) was a Canadian fiddler from Quebec. Carignan was born in Lévis, Quebec on December 7, 1916, later moving to Sherbrooke and then Trois-Rivières with his family; the family moved to Montre ...

released '' Jean Carignan rend hommage à Joseph Allard'', a tribute album to Allard. Carignan began studying with Allard in 1926, and eventually learnt most of Allard's repertoire. In 1997, on the fiftieth anniversary of Allard's death, Châteauguay named both a new room in the public library and a street in its musician's district after Allard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allard, Joseph 1873 births 1947 deaths Canadian composers Canadian male composers French Quebecers Fiddlers from Quebec Canadian male violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian folk fiddlers