Jean Carignan

Jean " Ti-Jean" Carignan (1916-1988): celebrate Canadian Violoneux Québécois and Irish folklore.

Born with Lévis on December 7th, 1916, it started to play four years and, at five years, it occurred already with the crossroads of Lévis. He learned initially the repertory from traditional airs of his father. At the seven years age, its family will move in Montreal. He will hear a recording of Joseph Allard which will become its model. He will be likely to study with this one of 1927 to 1931.

Using discs, it started to learn the repertories from the Irish fiddler Michael Coleman and from the Scot James Scott Skinner. Acclaimed at the same time by the folklorists and the colleagues violonists of Louis “Pitou” Boudreault with Menuhin and Szeryng, Carignan was, among the fiddlers Canadian-French, the main character of the Celtic traditions, particularly of the style known as sligo of Coleman. Its attitude was one of absolute rigor when it approached its repertory of some 7000 real, gigues and other dance tunes learned from Coleman, Skinner, Allard, Wellie Ringuette and much of others.

It always aimed the most strict authenticity in its executions. According to The Folk Music Sourcebook (New York 1976): “The technique of Carignan is astounding, but more still are the joy and the energy with which it makes use of it. Well few instrumentalists, in any music, reached its level of virtuosity without sacrificing the expression or the originality. ”

In 1973,400 fiddlers of the United States and Canada met in Ascot Corner, in the south of Montreal, in order to pay homage to Carignan. A bust out of wooden of the sculptor Georges Morissette was then revealed. Carignan became member about Canada in 1974 and accepted the Price of Calixa-Lavallée music in 1976. In 1978, it was joined together in duet with Yehudi Menuhin for a single service of the " Small concerto for Carignan and orchestre" composed by the pianist Andre Gagnon. The event takes place at the time of a presentation of the emission " Music off Man" diffused with CBC. It will have problems with its left ear which loses more and more its acuity since 1974. During the Eighties, its appearances on scene are spaced; he does not hear any more the high frequencies and he cannot support to play false. He was also taxi driver. Jean Carignan died out in Montreal on February 19th, 1988.

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