Fidel Martin

We just an email from David Caron, journalist at Acadie Nouvelle about a great old Acadian fiddler, Fidel Martin. We don’t have any photos of him, but David has managed to find some audio files and a picture of his tombstone. Most of what is known about Fidel was thanks to the research of Art Rosenbaum, the American folklorist. Hopefully, someone reading this post might remember more and come up with more recordings and photos.

Fidel Martin

Né dans la région de Rogersville, au Nouveau-Brunswick en 1891, Fidel Martin a été «découvert» par le folkloriste américain, Art Rosenbaum, lors d’une visite à Berlin, au New Hampshire, en 1967. À la recherche de musiciens traditionnels dans cette ville qui comprenait une forte proportion de Franco-Américains, M. Rosenbaum est tombé sur Fidel Martin grâce à des résidents locaux dans un quartier ouvrier de Berlin. Il a aussi rencontré durant ce séjour des membres de la famille Riendeau, qui ont enregistré quelques années plus tard un album avec County Records.

Il n’est pas clair à quel moment Fidel a appris à jouer le violon, mais son répertoire est un mélange de pièces acadiennes, irlandaises, canadienne-françaises et américaines. Un ancien combattant de la Première Guerre mondiale, il était aussi impliqué dans sa communauté, notamment dans la fondation de la section locale du VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), à Berlin.

Selon Art Rosenbaum, Fidel Martin était un homme accueillant et il semblait apprécier jouer du violon pour des inconnus.

Après des pièces particulièrement énergiques, il s’exclamait en disant «Jesus Christ, that’s a hot one!»

Il est décédé le 7 février 1976 à l’âge de 84 à Colebrook au New Hampshire.

Born in the Rogersville, New Brunswick, area in 1891, Fidel Martin was ‘discovered’ by Art Rosenbaum, a well known american folkorist, during a field recording trip in Berlin, New Hampshire, in 1976.

He met him through some casual inquiries in a working class neighborhood in Berlin, where many people of french-canadian origin were living and working. During this trip, Rosenbaum also met the Riendeau family who released an album with County Records a few years later.

It’s not clear when exactly Fidel Martin learned to play the fiddle, but his repertoire is a mix of Acadian, Irish, French-Canadian and American tunes. A World War I veteran, he was heavily involved in his community, most notably as a charter member of the local VFW.

According to Rosenbaum, Fidel Martin was friendly and seemed to enjoy getting out his fiddle and being recorded by interested strangers.

One of his favorite exclamations after playing a vigorous tune was ‘Jesus Christ, that’s a hot one!’

He passed away on february 7th 1976 in Colebrook, NH.  

Commercial recordings on which he can be heard - https://dusttodigital.bandcamp.com/album/art-of-field-recording-volume-i

https://dusttodigital.bandcamp.com/album/art-of-field-recording-volume-ii

Field Recordings

https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/331630

https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/331506

https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/331538 (A Side)

Dennis Pitre

Dennis Pitre from Tignish Shore is a fiddler with the West Prince style of playing. As his accompanist, Vincent Doucette says: "He is the best fiddler this end of the island from Egmont Bay to the North Cape".  He started fiddling when he was 12 years old and bought his first fiddle for $20 with money that he earned by collecting bottles. For years he played in a band for weekly dances at the Tignish Fire Hall. For more information on Dennis Pitre, including stories, photos, audio and video clips, go to Bowing Down Home

Toussaint Arsenault

Toussaint Arsenault was a Prince County fiddler who grew up in Egmont Bay but later moved to Summerside. His fiddle style was influenced by the Evangeline fiddlers such as Joseph Bibienne Arsenault and Joseph's daughter Zélie-Anne. He was friends with the fiddling barber Ervan Sonier and they would often hang out in the barbershop after hours playing tunes. They also performed together and after Toussaint suffered a stroke, he relied on Ervan to help him remember the tunes. There are some great photos and recordings of Ervan and Toussaint on the Bowing Down Home website.

Ervan Sonier

Ervan Sonier had a barber shop in eastern Prince county and often would hang out and play tunes with his friend Toussaint Arsenault. They swapped tunes and often performed together fro public events. Ervan also composed tunes, including Seaweed Reel and Mug and Brush Reel. From more information, including photos, recordings, and oral histories, go to Bowing Down Home.

Delphine Arsenault

Delphine Arsenault, from Abrams Village PEI, was one of the talented daughters of Joseph Arsenault (Jos Bibienne). She played fiddle, harmonica, and pump organ and was also an accomplished singer and step dancer, along with her sister Zélie-Anne. For more information on Delphine, along with some great photos and recordings from folklorist Georges Arsenault, go to Bowing Down Home

Jaddus Gallant

Jaddus Gallant, c. 1970 (collection of Faustin Gallant)

Jaddus Gallant from Cap-Egmont was a fisherman and fiddler. He was often accompanied by his wife Béatrice on the pump organ. A more extensive bio, as well as photos and recordings that were collected by folklorist Georges Arsenault can be found on the excellent website devoted to Prince Edward Island fiddlers: Bowing Down Home

Albin Arsenault

Photo by Georges Arsenault

Albin Arsenault was born and lived his whole life in Cap-Egmont, PEI. He worked as a car mechanic and was a well-known and respected fiddler who played for weddings and parties. For photos and recordings that were collected by folklorist Georges Arsenault, go to Bowing Down Home

Adam LeBlanc

Adam LeBlanc is a young fiddler and step dancer from Memramcook, New Brunswick. He started playing fiddle at 10 years of age and took lessons from Jocelyne Bourque, Christine Cormier and Samantha Robichaud. He has also been step dancing since he was 10 and has won numerous awards

Placide Odo

Placide Odo, also known as P'tit Placide, was a very well respected fiddler from Chéticamp. Although he could not read a note of music, he played the fiddler very well and was often called upon to play for weddings and gatherings such as La Chandeleur. He was a contemporary of Joseph Larade and his brother Jacques (Jim) Odo was also a fiddler as well as a violon maker. There's a great article about the Odo fiddlers that appeared in the April/May 2007 issue of the Participaper (volume 28 #2), an Inverness County paper. 

Sébastien Dol

Sébastien Dol, born October 27, 1978 in Digby, Nova Scotia started playing fiddle rather late in life, when he was 16 or 17 years old. His uncle, Denis à Alfred Comeau and his cousin, Johnny Comeau were a big influence. He was also inspired to play by the video "Johnny à Denis à Alfred" from the collection "Le Son des Français d'Amérique"  watching his grandfather and Johnny playing. He likes to play a mixture of French, Cajun and Acadian tunes and played with the group "Feutchaque". To learn more about Sébastien, you can visit his Facebook page at Se Bas Tien Dol

Sébastien Dol est né le 27 octobre 1978 à Digby. In commença à jouer le violon assez tard, inspiré par son grand-père Alfred à Denis, ainsi que son oncle Denis à Alfred Comeau et son cousin Johnny Comeau. Son style de jeu est un mélange de trois cultures: la France, la Louisiane, et l'Acadie. "J'ai commencé tard, vers l'age de 16 ou 17 ans. Je joue le violon à cause que c'est dans ma famille. Quand j'étais p'tit, je me souviens vaguement de mon grand-père, Alfred à Denis, qui jouait du violon" (Entends-tu le Violon de Marie-Adèle Deveau)