Keywords Musical Genres

In the Hudson's Bay records for Moose Factory, 1749, it is noted, 'having three Fidlers [sic] in the Factory, viz. Geo. Millar, Willm. Murray and James Short, our people celebrated the Evening with Dancing and Singing, and all were very merry'. Scottish employees of the Hudson's Bay Co brought many violins to Canada, and with them a repertoire of dance music that was carried throughout much of the country by the company's fur traders. The 'fur trade' repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries seems to have been based largely on Scottish reels, jigs and hornpipes, subject to French, Native and American influences. Two tunes were especially important. One, used for stepdancing, was The Red River Gig, also known as La Grande gigue simple, La jig du Bas-Canada or Gigue simple. The other, employed for versions of the Scottish line dance to which it gave its name was Drops of Brandy or Le Brandy, also known as The Hook Dance or La danse du crochet., and by various names in Native languages. Both tunes may have originally been Scottish hornpipes in 6/4; they survive in this form in Quebec but are metrically irregular as played elsewhere in Canada. Other fur trade dances also had their own tunes - eg, The Heel-Toe Polka, La Double gigue (Fisher's Hornpipe), The Broom Dance (The Keel Row), The Duck Dance, and The Rabbit Dance, while four-, six- or eight-hand reels (ie, dances) were done to combinations of jigs or reels chosen by the fiddler.

Somewhat independent of the fur trade, French settlers in Quebec established their own traditions: cotillons and quadrilles (in square formation), danses rondes (circle or couple dances) and contredanses (line formation). Such 'grandes danses' as La Belle Catherine, Les foins, La frégate and La Plongeuse, each with its own melody, may date from the 1700s and have been attributed by Marius Barbeau to French origins. A manuscript ca 1767 of 61 'contredanses françaises' held in the Archives du Séminaire de Trois-Rivières is the oldest written record of dance tunes played in Canada. This manuscript, and Jean-Baptiste-Edouard Bacquet's later 'Manuscrit de contredanses' (dating to ca 1850 and held at the Archives de Séminaire de Québec), are our main sources of information about early Québécois dance music. Both manuscripts contain tunes from France as well as some that may be of Canadian origin.

Apart from Native society, these two inter-related cultures - Métis (the mixture of Native, French and Scottish traditions) and French-Canadian - were predominant until the early 1800s. Beginning in the late 1700s, however, immigrants of Scottish, Irish, British and German background began to arrive in number. Scottish music and dance traditions were reinforced by an influx of Gaelic-speaking Highlanders to Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and Glengarry County and other parts of Ontario. Irish traditions took hold particularly in Newfoundland, in the Miramichi area of New Brunswick, in the Ottawa Valley, and in parts of Quebec, but Irish fiddle tunes were assimilated into the repertoire of both francophone and anglophone communities throughout Canada. Some tunes played in Canada have also been traced to German origins - eg, the 'Seven-Step' (or German Schottische) popular on the prairies.

Surviving manuscripts compiled by Frobisher, Ash, etc (see Manuscript Books), indicate a 19th-century repertoire of waltzes, airs (usually song tunes), jigs, reels, hornpipes, marches and 'quicksteps' (6/8 marches), most originating in the British Isles. Many US compositions entered the repertoire later in the century via sheet music or tune books (eg, Rickett's Hornpipe, Durang's Hornpipe, and Jenny Lind Polka) and aural tradition influenced by minstrelsy (eg, Year of Jubilo, Marching Through Georgia and Off to Charleston). The US influence is also apparent in the three-part quadrille that largely supplanted the older, French five-part quadrilles in most of Canada outside Quebec. Still other new dances, each with their own tunes, were developed in the mid- and late 1800s, including the French Minuet, the Jersey, the Roberts, the Rye Waltz and the Waltz Quadrille, all specialty dances of US or European invention. Others were taken up only in certain regions - eg, the Seven Step and the Butterfly on the prairies.

By the late 1800s, then, four distinct fiddle traditions had become established: French-Canadian in Quebec and Acadia; Native and Métis in the northwest, northern Ontario and northern Quebec; Scottish in Cape Breton and other Gaelic-speaking areas; and Anglo-Canadian - the mixture of Scottish, Irish, English, German and US tunes popular in English-speaking Canada. Although the four traditions would continue to interact, each was recognizable in style and repertoire, albeit with many local variations.

A new wave of immigration in the 1890s brought Eastern European, and especially Ukrainian, influences to the Anglo-Canadian and Métis dance music on the prairies. Some Ukrainian dances and wedding traditions have become popular in non-Ukrainian celebrations - eg, the 'presentation,' a receiving line for donations, held to the accompaniment of dance music. Furthermore, older Ukrainian tunes and new tunes in the Ukrainian style have been absorbed into the general polka and two-step repertoire of the West. Similarly, though to a lesser extent, tunes of other ethnic traditions became popular in certain areas - eg, Rumanian and Hungarian tunes in parts of Saskatchewan, Polish tunes in the area of Wilno, Ont, and Icelandic tunes in Gimli, Man. In contrast, the folk violin traditions of ethnic groups who tended to settle in urban areas - Jews, Greeks, Italians, etc - have remained relatively separate from rural fiddle styles.

The advent of recording and radio in the early 20th century had a dramatic effect on the older fiddling traditions, both in the formalization of interpretations and the dissemination and homogenization of styles. It also created an artificial hierarchy between those fiddlers who have recorded or broadcast and those who have not. The Berliner Gramophone Co was the first in the field, recording J.B. Roy's Medley of Hornpipes for its Victor label in 1918. Columbia and Starr followed soon after. Early fiddlers to record, most of them French-Canadian, included (in approximate order of first release) Roy, Raoul Gagnier, José Zaffiro, Arthur-Joseph Boulay, Isidore Soucy, Wellie Ringuette, J.O. LaMadeleine, Joseph Allard, Joseph Larocque, Albert LaMadeleine, Leon Robert Goulet, George Wade and the Cornhuskers, Percy Scott, Dennis O'Hara, Tezraf Latour, John Lajoie, the Famille Lajoie, Joe Bouchard and, by 1940, Omer Dumas. Some tunes recorded by French-Canadian fiddlers became popular in English Canada under English names - eg, Joseph Allard's versions of Reel de Ste Anne (St Anne's Reel) and Reel de la tuque Bleu (Snowshoe Reel).

Cape Breton fiddlers began to record in the late 1920s, first for Columbia's 'Irish' series, then for Brunswick and, beginning in 1933, for Celtic. Among the first fiddlers to be recorded were Alcide Aucoin, Colin Boyd, Dan J. Campbell, Angus Chisholm, Winston 'Scotty' Fitzgerald, Alick Gillis, Angus Allen Gillis, Bill Lamey, and Hugh A. Macdonald. As in the case of the early recordings of French-Canadian fiddlers, early 78s by Cape Breton players were influential in establishing certain tunes as a basic part of the Scots-Canadian repertoire - eg, McNabb's Hornpipe, as recorded by Fitzgerald, and Glengarry's Dirk, as recorded by Chisholm.

The first group featuring fiddle music to broadcast nationally was George Wade and the Cornhuskers on the CRBC and then the CBC in the 1930s, followed in 1944 by Don Messer and His Islanders. Messer's influence on Canadian fiddling has been profound, particularly in areas where the Anglo-Canadian tradition prevailed. As a result of its wide exposure on radio, records, and later, TV, Messer's style - smoother and less ornamented than the older French, Scots-Irish, and indeed Anglo-Canadian traditions - gradually became synonymous in much of English Canada with the idea of Canadian 'old time fiddling'.

Messer and the Islanders made their first recordings for Apex in 1942, including The Operator's Reel, The Belfast Jig, and Cock of the North, followed shortly by Big John McNeill. Other fiddlers in the Messer or 'down-east' style began in the late 1940s to record - eg, Ned Landry - followed in the early 1950s by Ward Allen and in later years by Al Cherny, Peter Dawson, June Eikhard, Bill Guest, Ed Gyurki, Ivan Hicks, Brian Hébert, Reg Hill, Jim Magill, Rudy Meeks, Earl Mitton, Johnny Mooring, Vic Mullen, Victor Pasowisty, Bob Ranger, Cye Steele, Graham Townsend, Eleanor Townsend, and others. The Banff, Rodeo, and London labels were particularly active in the field.

The down-east style has been popularized further by the many contests which have adopted it as their standard - eg, the Maritime Old Time Fiddling Contest in Dartmouth, NS (established in 1950) and the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers' Contest in Shelbourne, Ont (established in 1951). Contests in old time style have come to be held in every province and have helped to promote the careers of younger players, among them in the 1980s Robbie Dagenais, Michelle and Dwight Lubinecki, Don Reed, and the Schreyer brothers (Raymond, Louis, Pierre, and Dan) from Ontario, Patti Koskurak and Crystal Plohman of Manitoba, and Guy Gagner and Denis Lanctot in Quebec.

In the west, King Ganam was the first fiddler to record, for Victor in the early 1950s. The influential Métis fiddler Andy DeJarlis began recording for Quality in 1956. Employing the down-east model, DeJarlis adapted and recorded many older tunes from Native and Métis communities, establishing a smoother, 'professional' and widely-imitated version of this western Métis tradition. Recordings followed by many other fiddlers in the style, such as Reg Bouvette. More recently, several Métis players have made albums for Sunshine Records in Winnipeg, among them Mel Bedard, Gordon Carnahan, Alex Carrière, Sinclair Cheechoo, Del Garneau, Lawrence 'Teddy Boy' Houle, Eugene Laderoute, Clarence Louttit, Cliff Maytwayashing, and Esau Sinclair. Similarly Cana Song Recordings of North Battleford, Sask, have issued albums by John Arcand, Hap Boyer, and Bunny Peterson.

Ukrainian material was especially popular in the late 1960s and the 1970s as recorded by Cherny, Pasowisty, Tommy Buick, the D-Drifters-5, Jim Gregrash, Ron 'Peanuts' Mrozik, the Neduzak family, Boris Nowosad, Bill Prokopchuk, Mike Stickylo, and others, largely for the Galaxy, K and V labels in Winnipeg. More recently the Hryniuk family, Mike Grywinsky, and Ron Boychuk have recorded for Sunshine.

The influence over the years of US country music and bluegrass has been felt in Canadian fiddling in two ways: the introduction of a fiddle style that was a smooth distillation of older US folk styles (much as Messer had blended older Canadian styles) and the addition of singers to what had been primarily an instrumental format, thus expanding the role of the fiddler from that of soloist to accompanist. In addition, many hybrid forms of country music developed in Canada as the US influence mixed with regional and cultural elements - eg, French-Canadian, Inuit, Native, and Ukrainian communities developed country-style music in their own languages and incorporated their own fiddle traditions. Many fiddlers have also established themselves in country music, among them Gordon Stobbe in Nova Scotia, John (J.P.) Allen, Brian Barron, Al Cherny, Peter Dawson, Roly LaPierre, and Don Reed in Ontario, 'Fiddling Red' (Francis) Sabiston in Manitoba, and Ray Warhurst and Ted Waterman in Alberta.

Younger Canadian fiddlers in the mid-20th century often chose to learn the widely-disseminated 'down-east' or (US) country styles over the older, local traditions. However, renewed interest, ca 1970, in traditional Canadian fiddling styles brought attention to older styles and players. Many made recordings at this time for small, independent companies devoted to a particular regional tradition - eg, Pigeon Inlet Productions (Newfoundland) Islander Records (Prince Edward Island), Maritime Express (New Brunswick), and Le Tamanoir, Patrimoine, and Opus in Quebec - or for the US labels Folkways, Rounder, and Philo. Many local fiddle societies were also established at this time - eg, Maple Creek and Swift Current fiddling associations in Saskatchewan, and the Association Québécoise des loisirs folkloriques in Montreal.

Such recordings, and appearances on concert stages and at folk festivals in Canada and the USA, brought national and/or international attention to Newfoundland's Émile Benoit and Rufus Guinchard; Quebec's André Alain, Louis 'Pitou' Boudreault, Jean Carignan, Jean-Louis Labbé, Henri Landry, Hermas Rehel, and Jules and Jean-Marie Verret; the Acadians Joseph Cormier, Félix Leblanc, Gilles Losier, Arthur Muse, and Eddy Poirier; and Cape Breton's Beaton Family, John Campbell, Winnie Chafe, Jerry Holland, Theresa MacLellan, and Carl Mackenzie, (all recorded by Rounder), as well as Lee Cremo, Howie MacDonald, Hugh (Buddy) MacMaster, Scotty Fitzgerald, John Donald Cameron, Wilfred Gillis, and Sandy McIntyre (the last five, and Jerry Holland, members at various times of the Cape Breton Symphony).

Some younger fiddlers in Quebec have maintained their traditions in a relatively pure form - eg, Michel Bordeleau, Pierre Laporte, Lisa Ornstein, and Martin Racine (variously of La Bottine souriante), Jean-Pierre Joyal and Vincent Ouellet (Éritage), Remi Laporte (La Guignolée), Daniel Lemieux (Manigance), Claude Gervais (Rêve du diable), and Claude Methé (Rêve du diable and, later, Manigance).

At the same time, there have been influences on younger fiddlers, especially those in urban centres, from newer styles of pop music including rock, jazz, and such ethnic traditions as those of eastern Europe. Irish traditional music has also undergone a Canadian revival, largely through the efforts of Comholtis Ceiltori Eirran, a tradition Irish music society with branches in many parts of Canada. Fiddlers who have been successful in moving between styles of music include Calvin Cairns (of the Romaniacs, Stringband), Chris Crilly (Barde), Yvon Cuillerier, Clint Dutiaume (C-Weed Band), Ian Guenther, Daniel Lapp, Anne Lederman (Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, Muddy York), Zeke Mazurek, Ben Mink, Don Reed, Kelly Russell, Oliver Schroer, Jamie Snider (Wonderful Grand Band), and Lenny Solomon.

Style And Technique
In the late 20th century, six major styles of 'traditional' fiddle music in Canada may be identified, although some fiddlers prefer to regard themselves strictly in terms of localized traditions. Each style combines older repertoire with recently composed tunes and is still associated with a particular style of dancing. All remain largely aural traditions.

French-Canadian
(Quebec and Acadia) French-Canadian bowing is largely single-note strokes or two-note-slurs; ornamentation ranges from virtually none to fairly complex systems related to older Irish and Scottish styles, although most French-Canadian playing is more accentuated than either Scottish or Anglo-Irish, and tends to have an even,16th-note pulse that corresponds to the steady clogging of the fiddler's feet. Many tunes have asymmetric phrasing, departing from the 32-beat pattern of the Scots-Irish versions. Some use altered tunings - eg, A-D-A-E for tunes in D major, or A-E-A-E for tunes in A major. The famous Reel du pendu (Hangman's Reel) employs an A-E-A-C# tuning, and the Acadian tune Le caraquet is typically played with the D string removed so that an octave drone may be achieved with the bottom string tuned to A. (It is important to note that these pitch names are relative inasmuch as many old-style players tune their instruments at something other than concert pitch.)

French-Canadian fiddlers (violoneux) are known especially for their clogging patterns for reels, created while seated, by alternating their feet on the floor. In Quebec this is typically a heel-heel-toe-toe pattern in 16th notes. A heel-toe-toe pattern of an 8th note followed by two 16th notes is also done by Métis, Native, Scottish and Newfoundland fiddlers.

The former is unique to Quebec; the latter is also done by Métis, Native, Scottish and Newfoundland fiddlers. Clogging patterns for jigs and waltzes are rare. Early violoneux often played to the accompaniment of only their own clogging and/or the rhythm of the dancers' feet, although the jaw harp (guimbarde), bones and spoons have also been used for rhythmic accompaniment, and the piano for harmonic backing. Some pianists, eg, Yvon Breault of Quebec City and Gilles Losier of Montreal, have developed a rich, chromatic accompaniment style. Québécois dance tunes are also performed on button accordion and harmonica and in the form of reel à bouche ('mouth music') by singers.

Native and Métis
(Prairies, northern Ontario and Quebec, Northwest Territories, the Yukon). Native and Métis fiddling is related to the French-Canadian style. Métis fiddlers, though, clog to both jigs and reels, using heel-toe-toe patterns in either 6/8 or 2/4 time.

However, older Native and Métis styles employ greater asymmetry in phrasing and tune structure than is found in Quebec, suggesting the influence of traditional Native music. Fiddlers make more use of altered tunings, two-note 'chords,' drones and the now-fading 'double stringing' technique of playing continuously on two strings at once. Some older players put rattles or other buzzing objects inside their fiddles, showing another influence from traditional Native music. In some areas, accompaniment by another fiddler was once common in the form of drones, two-note chords or a version of the melody an octave lower. Latterly, however, guitar and, for larger events, bass guitar and drums, have been prevalent.

Cape Breton style
(Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and the northeastern USA) The Cape Breton style draws on an 18th- and 19th-century Scottish repertoire of airs, strathspeys, marches, jigs, reels and hornpipes, augmented in Canada by many new compositions. Bow strokes tend to be short and executed near the tip; ornamentation is complex and includes several kinds of 'cuts' (bowed triplets on one note), trills, and turns, many reminiscent of those used by bagpipers. Players frequently use a 'raised bass' tuning of A-E-A-E or, less commonly, A-D-A-E.

Cape Breton-styled fiddlers are most often accompanied by a pianist who frequently supplies melody, or counter-melody, as well as harmony. Some accompanists, eg, Doug McPhee, have developed a solo style; others, eg, Maybelle Chisholm, have developed new rhythmic techniques that have greatly influenced younger pianists. Bagpipes, harmonica, button accordion, and guitar have also been used in place of the violin, and 'jigging' (singing) fiddle tunes was once common, employing either nonsense syllables or Gaelic words, the latter style known as 'puert a beul'.

In general, Cape Breton-styled fiddlers have made much greater use of printed sources of music than do players in the other Canadian traditions. Many old collections of Scottish music are still in use on the island and two, The Skye Collection of the Best Reels and Strathspeys and The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to Scotland and the Isles (Simon Fraser, ed) were reissued by Cranford Publications in Sydney in 1979 and 1982 respectively. Cape Breton repertoire has been collected in several publications: Gordon MacQuarrie's The Cape Breton Collection of Scottish Melodies for Violin (J. Beaton 1940), Joseph Beaton's Mabou Music (Casket Printing and Publishing Co Ltd 1980), Kinnon Beaton's self-published Beaton's Collection of Cape Breton Scottish Violin Music (1984), and Kate E. Dunlay and D. L. Reich's Traditional Celtic Fiddle Music of Cape Breton (Fiddlecase Books 1987). Dan R. MacDonald's The Heather Hill Collection (Brownrigg no date) and Jerry Holland's Collection of Fiddle Tunes (Cranford Publications 1988) are devoted to original compositions.

'Down-east'
(Maritimes, Ontario and the west) 'Down east' fiddling is a distillation of the older Anglo-Irish, Scottish, and German traditions, with some additional US influences. Players tend to use very smooth bowing with little or no ornamentation and typically prefer very fast tempos for reels. Players in this style are more likely to be classically trained than those from other traditions, although playing by ear and having an 'old time feel' is still prized. Repertoire consists largely of jigs, reels, hornpipes (clogs), waltzes, schottisches, and some specialty dance tunes. In predominately Irish areas - eg, Newfoundland and the Miramichi region - some of the more ornamental features of traditional Irish playing have been maintained, as has an older Irish repertoire.

Because of the large number of players and recordings in the 'down-east' style, its repertoire has enjoyed greater growth than that of the other Canadian traditions. Ward Allen, Abbe Andrews, Andy DeJarlis, Graham Townsend, and others have been among the major contributors of new material - eg, Maple Sugar (Allen), Lord Alexander's Reel (Andrews), Manitoba Waltz (DeJarlis), and Fairy Jig (Townsend). Old time fiddle contests have promoted the medley of a waltz, a jig and a reel as a performance standard and have encouraged various types of novelty fiddling - ie, a comic style using acrobatics, tricks and unusual 'bows' (a hockey stick, baseball bat, etc) practised by Al Cherny and the Quebec fiddlers M. Pointu (Paul Cormier) and Ti-Blanc Richard. Piano accompaniment is most common at contests and dances, while bands of bass, drums, piano and, often, guitar or banjo, after the Messer model, are frequently used for recordings, concerts, and dances.

Ukrainian
Ukrainian fiddling, popular in many rural areas of the prairies, draws largely on a repertoire of two-steps or polkas, waltzes, and song melodies. Older Ukrainian dances which have their own tunes - eg, the kozatchok, kolomyka, mazurka, arkan and chuban, and holub - are gradually disappearing. The older style is unique among Canadian fiddle traditions, both in repertoire and style, incorporating eastern European slides, turns, and other melodic decoration. However, as in the other traditions, older fiddlers tend to use more ornamentation and variation than younger players. The tsymbaly was once the most common accompanying instrument, but has been somewhat superseded by accordion and guitar; bass and drums are usually added for weddings and other large events.

Country and Western
The main commercial fiddle style in rural Canada in the second half of the 20th century, country and western introduced into fiddling new forms of improvisation. Fiddlers in country bands play both melodic lines and chords behind singers and frequently take solos. They use specialized bowing techniques - eg, the 'double shuffle' (also called 'rocking the bow,' a syncopated chord pattern) - and generally prefer long, smooth lines of many notes to a bow stroke with little or no ornamentation. There are several substyles within country music, most notably Cajun, bluegrass, and western swing, most of which are known to professional players in Canada, no matter their original tradition.

See also Bluegrass, Country Music, Folk music-inspired composition, Métis

Author Anne Lederman

Bibliography

Proctor, George A. Old Time Fiddling in Ontario, National Museums of Canada Bulletin no. 190 (Ottawa 1963)

See also bibliographies for Émile Benoit, Louis Boudreault, Jean Carignan, Rufus Guinchard, and Don Messer

Links to Other Sites
Canadian Folk Music Awards
The mission of the Canadian Folk Music Awards is to celebrate and promote Canadian Folk Music in all its forms.

Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship
The website for Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship. A great resource for fans of Canadian fiddle music.

Ned Landry
A brief profile of the master fiddler Ned Landry from The Nova Scotia Country Music Hall Of Fame. Scroll down to middle of page.

The Nova Scotia Country Music Hall Of Fame
This website honours outstanding Canadian country and bluegrass musicians, fiddlers and builders.

Leahy
The website for the award-winning band “Leahy.” Features current news, profiles, and a discography with audio clips.

Rounder Records Group: April Verch
This site for the versatile Canadian fiddler April Verch features numerous audio samples of traditional and contemporary tunes with an international flavour. From Rounder Records Group.

Gordon Stobbe
A brief article about East Coast country fiddler Gordon Stobbe. Written by music columnist Gerry Taylor.

Rufus Guinchard
An annotated photograph of Émile Benoit and Rufus Guinchard from the “Francophones of Newfoundland and Labrador” Virtual Museum exhibit.

Traditional Instrumental Music
A brief article about fiddlers Rufus Guinchard and Émile Benoit, accordionist Harry Hibbs and other Newfoundland practitioners of traditional instrumental music. From Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Bowfire
Listen to a radio interview about Bowfire, a Canadian group performing an eclectic mix of jazz, classical, bluegrass, Celtic, rock, Gypsy, Ottawa Valley, and Cape Breton musical styles. From National Public Radio in the US.

Marquis Classics: Bowfire
This site features a profile, discography, and music clips of this eclectic musical group. From Marquis Classics.

Natalie MacMaster
The website for Natalie MacMaster, renowned fiddler in the East Coast traditional style. Features a bio, discography, sound clips, and more.

La Bottine souriante
The official website for "La Bottine souriante."

It Came From Canada
An extensive information source about Canadian music and musicians. Features performer profiles, music clips, podcasts, and more.

Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship
The website for the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship in Shelburne, Ontario.

Canadian composer, fiddler Oliver Schroer dies at 52
A CBC obituary for Canadian composer and fiddle player Oliver Schroer.

Comhairle na Gàidhlig: The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia
The website for the Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia. Check out "Nova Scotia's Gaelic Culture" for articles on Gaelic language, music, dance, and more.

Photographs by Lois Siegel
View a selection of Lois Siegel photographs of prominent personalities from Canada and the US.