Biography:Édouard Richard
Édouard Richard
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| Given name: | Édouard |
| Middle name: | |
| Family name: | Richard |
| Place of birth: | |
| Place of death: | |
| Year of birth: | 1934 |
| Year of death: | 2019 |
| Profile: | Composer, Musician |
| Source of information: | |
Biographical notes
ÉDOUARD RICHARD (1934-2019) was a fiddler and life-long resident of Grande-Vallée, north side of the Gaspé peninsula, Quebec. He learned to play at the age of seven. Ti-douard, as he was known to his friends, learned a large part of his repertoire from his grandfather Joseph Richard as well as from his grandfather's playing partner, Didier Lebreux. Instead of receiving direct tutelage, however, when his grandfather played a tune Ti-douard liked he asked the older man to play it while he watched his fingers, and when he had it fixed in his mind he would go to his bedroom to practice until he had it right. Then he would emerge and the two would play together.
Ti-douard was a painter and plasterer who would work all over the north shore of the Gaspé on construction jobs. He would be gone from home for long periods of time as a result, but he always brought his violin with him and found other musicians to play with. He learned from all these experiences and increased his repertoire, however, he was revered by collectors and musicians for his knowledge of the core fiddle repertory of the river Grande-Vallée area of the peninsula.