Jean Carignan

For the Canadian politician, see Jean-Guy Carignan.
Jean Carignan

Carignan playing the fiddle
Background information
Born December 7, 1916
Lévis, Quebec
Died February 16, 1988 (aged 71)
Instruments Fiddle

Jean Carignan, CM (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 Montreal when Carignan was ten years old.[1] As a child, Carignan studied with noted Quebec fiddler Joseph Allard, as well as learning the music of the great Irish fiddlers Michael Coleman and James Morrison and the Scottish fiddler James Scott Skinner. Carignan was a friend of famous violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin. In 1974, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada as "the greatest fiddler in North America".[2] 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 7000 pieces learned from Coleman, Skinner, Allard, Wellie Ringuette and many others.

Selected discography

Selected filmography

Honours and awards

References

  1. Bégin, 1981
  2. Order of Canada citation
  3. "BFI | Film & TV Database | CAPE BRETON AND QUEBEC (1986)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Jean Carignan". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-09-06.

Bibliography

External links