Miramichi Fire, The

Kind of Tune
reel
Pronunciation Guide
mi-ra-mi-SHEE
Place of Origin
New Brunswick

The Mirimichi Fire is a rousing, lively tune that is particularly popular among fiddlers west of Charlottetown. It is one of the most variable tunes in the repertoire, and versions differ in great detail – not only among regional styles – but from player to player. There seem to be roughly three major "approaches" to the tune, which I'll refer to respectively as the Eastern, East Prince, and West Prince variants.

Eastern variant (Hughes, Smith): relatively sedate feel, some of the more notey segments are somewhat telescoped relative to the western versions.

East-Prince variant (Biggar, Jones, Poirier, Robinson, Silliker, Sonier): somewhat more up-tempo, notey phrases fully articulated

West-Prince variant (Eddy Arsenault, Edward P Arsenauolt, Baglole, Joseph Doucette, Pat Doucette, Pitre): most up-tempo version; some notey phrases altered to allow for insistent bowing accents

The Great Miramichi Fire of October 1825 originated in the the Miramichi River Valley and raged through much of northern New Brunswick; it ultimately consumed roughly 16,000 square kilometers of forest land, destroyed several communities wholesale, and leveled a substantial proportion of Fredericton. According to oral tradition, the fire was so bright that it was visible from the west-facing shore of Prince County, some 100 km distant.

Notation for this tune as played by Andrew Jones is in Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island.

Tune Selections

Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Edward P Arsenault, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Marie Gallant Arsenault, pno; Ken Perlman, bjo Evangeline Coast / East Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Joseph Doucette, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Vincent Doucette, gtr West Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Pat Doucette, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Ernie Gallant, gtr West Prince info
Miramichi Fire / Joys of Québec Musician: Alton Silliker, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Florence Silliker Young, pno; Eugene Gallant, gtr West Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Tony Smith, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Alfred Gallant, gtr Western Queens info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Eddy Arsenault, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Amand Arsenault, gtr; Ken Perlman, bjo Evangeline Coast / East Prince info
Pride of the Ball / Miramichi Fire Musician: Elmer Robinson, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: John Cousins, gtr; Ken Perlman, bjo West Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Andrew Jones, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Ken Perlman, bjo West Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Zélie-Anne Arsenault Poirier, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Jacques Arsenault, gtr Evangeline Coast / East Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Ervan Sonier, Musician: Toussaint Arsenault, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Anne-Marie Gallant Arsenault, pno Evangeline Coast / East Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Sidney Baglole, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Margaret Ross MacKinnon, pno West Prince info
The Miracmichi Fire / Paddy on the Turnpike, A/Setting Musician: Jackie Biggar, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Ken Perlman, bjo West Prince info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Emmett Hughes, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Gary Hughes, pno Eastern Queens info
Miramichi Fire, The Musician: Dennis Pitre, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Vincent Doucette, gtr West Prince info

Videos

Accompanied by: Ken Perlman, banjo
Accompanied by: John Cousins, gtr; Ken Perlman banjo
Accompanied by: John Cousins, gtr; Ken Perlman, banjo