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

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

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 ...

from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the 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 one of the thirtee ...

. Carignan was born in

Lévis, Quebec Lévis () is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec and the Pierre-Laporte, connect western Lévis wit ...

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 and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

and then

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

with his family; the family moved to

Montreal 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 ...

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 ...

. Carignan was a friend of famous violinist and conductor

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

. In 1974, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

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: ''Old Time Fiddle Tunes played by Jean Carignan'' ( Folkways Records) *1961: ''Alan Mills and Jean Carignan: Songs, Fiddle Tunes and a Folk-Tale from Canada'' (Folkways) *1973: ''Jean Carignan'' (Philo) *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 fo ...

) *''French Canadian Fiddle Songs'' (Legacy – an Elektra/Everest Production)

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 The Calixa-Lavallée Award (french: Prix Calixa-Lavallée) is a music award created in 1959. It is granted by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal (SSJBM) to a Quebecer having distinguished themself in the field of music.http://degree.youthl ...

. * 1977: Honorary D.Mus (

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

). * 1977: Honorary D.Mus (

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

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

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; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

Carignan on Folkways

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