It is difficult to determine what the Island repertoire might have been at any given point in the past. We do have a couple of documents, however, that shed some light on the subject.
In the Guardian's coverage of the Great Fiddle Contest of 1926, the reporter makes mention of the following tunes. Because radio was just beginning to appear on the Island at this time, this list offers a glimpse of what the fiddle repertoire was like prior to the media age.
Caber Feidh
College Hornpipe
Devil's Dream
Fisher's Hornpipe
Flowers of Edinburgh
Johnny Cope
Lord McDonald's Reel
Miss McLeod's Reel (i.e., Mrs. McLeod of Rasay)
Old Man and Old Woman
Paddy on the Turnpike
Pigeon on the Gatepost
Queens Marriage (an alternative name for Pride of the Ball)
Scoldin' Wife (possibly Growlin' Old Man & Cacklin' Old Woman)
Soldier's Joy
Speed the Plow
In a hand-written document now stored at the PEI Archives, fiddler George Chappelle listed some of the tunes he played regularly on his radio show in the late 1930s, just prior to the Don Messer era. Because Messer had such a strong influence on Island repertoire after 1939, it is important to know which tunes were in circulation before that date. Here are the tunes Chappelle listed:
Big John MacNeil
Drunken Piper, The
Father O'Flynn
Irish Washerwoman
Larry' O'Gaff
Maid Behind the Bar, The
Miramichi Fire, The
Money Musk
Ottawa [Valley] Reel, The
Paddy on the Turnpike
St. Anne's Reel
The Don Messer Legacy
Here are some of the many tunes introduced to the PEI repertoire as a result of Don Messer's live performances, broadcasts, and recordings.
Blue Mountain Hornpipe by Cec MacEachern
Bowin' the Strings by Ned Landry
Cotton-Eyed Joe
Country Waltz
Dawn Waltz, The by Don Messer
Johnny Wagoner
Little Burnt Potato
Londonderry Hornpipe
Lord Alexander
Mother's Reel
Mouth of the Tobique
Parry Sound Reel
Rippling Water Jig, The
Rock Valley Jig
Rubber Dolly
Silver & Gold
Smile a While by Don Messer
Walkin Uptown
Whalen's Breakdown
White River Stomp
The Cape Breton Influence
Here are some tunes that were first introduced to the PEI repertoire through Cape Breton recordings and broadcasts.
Anne MacQuarrie's Reel by Donald Angus Beaton
Anne Marie MacDonald's Jig by Joey Beaton
Brenda Stubbert. by Jerry Holland
Cape Breton Symphony's Welcome to the Shetlands, The by Willie Hunter
Dancing Fingers
Dismissal, The by Sandy MacLean.
Donald Cameron's Reel by Dan R MacDonald
Dusky Meadow Strathspey
Fr. Francis Cameron by John Campbell
Garmot Smiddy by Dan R. MacDonald
Glennfiddich Strathspey by Carl MacKenzie
Glencoe March, The by Dan R MacDonald
Goldenrod Jig by Wilfred Gillis
Heather on the Hill by Dan R MacDonald
Hughie Shortie's Reel by Johnny Wilmot
Jimmy MacKinnon of Smelt Brook
John Angus Beaton Strathspey by Kinnon Beaton
Johnny Muise's Reel by Jerry Holland
Joys of Mabou Mines, The
Judique Jig
Judique Reel
Margaree Reel
Mortgage Burn, The Gordon MacLean
Miss Mary Stephanie MacLean by Dan R. MacDonald
My Great Friend John Morris by Brenda Stubbert
Mrs. Beattie Wallace by Dan R MacDonald
Polo March, The
Regina Stubbert's Jig by Brenda Stubbert
Robert Stubbert by Jerry Holland
Sandy MacIntyre's March by Donald Angus Beaton
Sandy MacIntyre's Trip to Boston by John Campbell
Sister Dolena Beaton by Howie MacDonald
Space Available by Marcel Doucet
Stan's Jig by Stan Chapman
Stella's Trip to Kamloops by Patricia Chafe
Southern Melody
Sweetness of Mary, The by Joan MacDonald Boes
Theresa MacLellan Reel by Elmer Briand
Trip to Windsor by Dan R MacDonald
West Mabou Reel