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)