French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 settlers brought music with them when inhabiting what is now Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 and other areas throughout Canada. Since the arrival of French music

Music of France

France has a wide variety of indigenous folk music, as well as styles played by immigrants from Africa, Latin America and Asia. In the field of classical music, France has produced a number of legendary composers, while modern pop music has seen the rise of popular French hip hop, techno/funk,...

 in Canada, there has been much intermixing with the Celtic music

Celtic music

Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

 of Anglo-Canada.

French-Canadian folk music is generally performed to accompany dances such as the jig

Jig

The Jig is a form of lively folk dance, as well as the accompanying dance tune, originating in England in the 16th century and today most associated with Irish dance music and Scottish country dance music...

, jeux dansé, ronde, cotillion

Cotillion

In American usage, a cotillion is a formal ball and social gathering, often the venue for presenting débutantes during the débutante season – usually May through December. Cotillions are also used as classes to teach social etiquette, respect and common morals for the younger ages with the...

, and quadrille

Quadrille

Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...

. The fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

 is perhaps the most common instrument utilized and is used by virtuosos such as Jean Carignan

Jean Carignan

Jean Carignan, was a Canadian fiddler.Born in Lévis, Québec on December 7, 1916. He was a well-known fiddler from Quebec. Joseph Allard, Michael Coleman, and J. Scott Skinner are all brilliant traditional fiddlers whose music Carignan studied. Carignan was a friend of famous violinist and...

, Jos Bouchard, and Joseph Allard

Joseph Allard (fiddler)

Joseph Allard was a Canadian fiddler and composer. He occasionally recorded under the pseudonym Maxime Toupin. Allard made many popular recordings, including Reel de l'Aveugle, Reel de Chateauguay, Reel de Jacques Cartier, and Reel du voyageur...

.