Quigley has given us a compelling portrait of a master of the bow from French Newfoundland and an innovative study of musical creativity. . . . Through direct observation, detailed documentation, personal participation, and careful analysis, Quigley uses the methods of folklore, anthropology, and ethnomusicology to enhance and enliven our understanding of this fiddler and his significance.

—Journal of Folklore Research

Compulsive and absorbing . . . an outstanding achievement, marrying the often mutually exclusive worlds of intellectual analysis and musical creativity. . . . [Quigley] does not just ‘write about,’ but rather evokes, a man’s musical spirit. . . . Throughout, Quigley is the perfect researcher, always aware of the impact of his own involvement but never obsessed with his own interpretations and insights. He provides a clear and undistorted medium for Benoit’s wisdom.

—Folk Music Journal

A very solid piece of scholarship . . . perhaps its greatest goodness (and this is a book with many virtues) is how closely the author listened to a very talented man.

—Western Folklore

An enormously ingratiating volume . . . Quigley’s narrative is warm, lucid, and meticulously documented, and Benoit comes across as a charming and fascinating friend we would each like to have visited. . . . An important addition to the growing literature on American fiddling, to the biography of nonfamous people, and to the broad sweep of American musical culture.

—American Music

An informed and engaging study of one of Newfoundland’s most revered musicians. . . . In much of Music from the Heart, Quigley integrates his own commentary with that of Benoit through the inclusion of excerpts from his and others’ field tapes. . . . With this innovative perspective and its combination of musical and contextual analyses, Quigley’s book is a welcome addition to folklore and ethnomusicological studies centered around individual musical experience, as well as to the burgeoning literature on Newfoundland identity.

—Canadian Journal for Traditional Music