Box and Fiddle
Year 19 No 06
March 1996
Price 70p
12 pages
7 month subscription £8.00
Editor – Ron Ramsay, 48 Hospitalfield Road, Arbroath, Angus, DD11 2LS
B&F Treasurer – Mrs Margaret Smith, Smeaton Farm Cottage, Dalkeith, Midlothian, EH22 2NL
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Can I remind readers that there is only one issue of the ‘B&F’ before the summer break. So please let me have a full list of Club diary, Dance Dates, adverts, etc to cover the summer months, so that when on holiday we know where the action is, that includes readers in the Falklands, Canada and New Zealand.
Charlie Todd has updated the Guest Artiste List (a mammoth task) and to make it completely up-to-date, he would be delighted if you could take the time to check the list and let him know of any alterations, deletions or additions, which will be published in due course.
I’m still open for suggestions for new ideas to improve the paper, perhaps a new Editor? Prize crossword? Captions with prizes? Agony Aunt column? – no, on second thoughts, cross that one out! – but let’s have your letters on your ‘news and views’ – now that sounds a reasonable heading!
Ron Ramsay
Tribute to Bill Hendry of Falkirk
by Grant Crawford
Friday, 22nd December, 1995, saw the passing of Bill Hendry, one of the most popular figures ever to have graced the Scottish Dance Music scene.
Bill was born in Dalmuir, Clydebank but like many children he was evacuated during the blitz to Grangemouth, where he was brought up by an aunt. His working life was also spent in Grangemouth where he worked for B.P. On taking early retirement, Bill was presented with a cheque which he used to purchase a beautiful white upright Yamaha piano which took pride of place in his home.
Although regarded as one of the finest pianists amongst fellow Scottish traditional musicians he was also regarded as one of the top jazz pianists. On one occasion before the start of a dance, Bill sat at the piano and played a Scottish waltz in the styles, of Tatum, Gardner, Shearing and Powell to name but four. In the late 1950s and early ‘60s Bill played in a “Modern Dance Trio” and through this trio came his introduction to the Scottish scene.
Andrew Rankine had been booked to play at a Grand Ball and although it was basically to be Scottish dance music the programme of dance included quicksteps, slow foxtrots and modern waltzes. In order that the dancers got the best, Andrew made a few phone calls and the result was the amalgamation of his own front line of Ron Gonnella and Jim Johnstone and the rhythm section consisting of the aforementioned modern trio, consisting of Bill on piano, Tommy McTague on bass and a young Bill Thom on drums. From this one dance came the birth of one of the finest dance bands ever. When asked how he could play two such diverse styles of music, Bill would explain that it was because both types of music had a natural swing, a fact also noted by no less than the great Duke Ellington.
Bill played with the Rankine band for many years, travelling the length and breadth of Britain until personal circumstances led to him having to leave the band. He then continued to work as a freelance musician with many bands before being asked to occupy the vacant piano stool in the band of a Stenhousemuir accordionist called Ian Holmes. Indeed this led to a partnership lasting over 30 years until Bill’s retirement from the scene in 1995. But such was the admiration for Bill that he was constantly being asked to play with many bands and the list of bands he played with reads like a “Who’s who” of Scottish Dance Music – John Carmichael, Bert Shorthouse, George Stirrat, Neil Barron, Lex Keith, Sandy Nixon (who composed a fine 6/8 march called “Bill Hendry of Falkirk”, as thanks for Bill filling in for his Dundee namesake on a gruelling trip to Shetland), George Meikle, Charlie Kirkpatrick and of course both Jimmy Shand Snr and Jnr.
Indeed, it is Bill on piano on the “Dancing Shands” video and recordings. While there are many fine recording on vinyl, cassette, CD and video of Bill playing with Scottish Dance Bands, sadly the closest example of him playing in the jazz idiom is on some “novelty” tracks on a few Bert Shorthouse records.
It was not just the famous and established names Bill chose to play with as he enjoyed having a tune with anyone. He was a man of honour and principle and once he had taken on an engagement he would honour that booking even though a more prestigious booking with a bigger name and fee was on offer.
Indeed, Bill played regularly with my own band for 5 years before joining someone called Jim Johnstone! Bill and Jim had, of course, played together in the Rankine band but Bill was delighted to renew a special friendship and always considered Jim as his friend rather than his boss. It seems appropriate that Bill decided to bow out of the band scene while in the company of someone who was there at the beginning. It was also appropriate that it was Jim who gave such a fitting tribute at the funeral.
Although considered a ‘band player’ Bill was also an excellent accompanist both to singers and fiddlers. Bill played on Pibroch MacKenzie’s second solo album and that recording is perhaps a measure of Bill’s musical ability. He recorded that album without a dot of music in front of him – quite a feat considering Bill had never met or heard Pibroch until a few hours before the session was due to start!
Bill also had his own ‘trade mark’ that anyone who had played with him would recognise. He had a habit of grunting in time to the music, a carryover from playing solo in hotels and piano bars when there was no drummer to keep time. (so that’s what drummers are for!) During a recording of “Take the Floor” the sound engineer halted the session midway as the microphones were picking up noises from the piano. A piano tuner was in an adjoining studio and was asked to check the piano. It was thought that the culprit was a squeaking sustain pedal. No fault was found and it was suggested that the tape was played back at volume to see if the noise could be sourced. The source was soon identified as not the piano but the pianist.
However, musicianship was only a fraction of the qualities Bill possessed. His sense of humour was as keen as his playing, although many of the examples are not suitable for publication. One example that can be told is of the occasion at a wedding when the hotel had to be evacuated due to a fire alarm. Once the all clear was given the band were first back into the function suite and Bill proceeded to play the company back in to a medley of suitable tunes- “Blaze Away”, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” etc
Bill was also a most generous man and his quality was shown to the full at a charity event organised by Radio Clyde. The raffle prizes were numerous and the members of the band had won several items. Bill had already won two prizes when another of his numbers was drawn. There were so many prizes the organisers refused to accept any offers of non-acceptance. The final prize Bill won was a pair of modern fashion earrings. After the raffle, Bill was approached by a young lady, whose voice can now be heard reading out traffic reports on national radio, asking Bill if he would sell her the earrings. She explained that they were part of a limited edition collection designed by a well known fashion guru and as she had the matching necklace and bracelet she would be willing to buy the earrings at full market value to complete the set. The girl’s face fell as Bill decline to sell but the smile soon reappeared when Bill told her she could have them as a gift as he had enjoyed her singing a few George Gershwin songs earlier in the evening.
Although the earrings were among the more valuable prizes of the evening, Bill was happy going home with a cook book that he could use to cook something different for his wife, Grace, and a cuddly toy for his new grandson, Craig.
Another young lady also received a ‘gift’ from Bill but was not so appreciative. The girl in question was one of twins having a 21st birthday party. When she bent over to blow out her share of the 42 candles on the cake, her heavily lacquered hair touched a candle and caught fire. Bill had the presence of mind to throw his glass of cola over her, dousing the flames. Rather than being thankful that Bill had saved her from possible serious injury all she could do was scream that he had ruined her new dress. Her parents, who were grateful but embarrassed by their daughter’s behaviour, led her away to get changed. Then the girl returned, Bill’s sense of humour came to the fore once more playing “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” much to the amusement of those who appreciated the subtlety of Bill’s choice of music.
Perhaps the most amusing incident in which Bill was involved was in that of the “Disappearing Band”. A couple were getting married in Spean Bridge and tried to engage Iain MacPhail and his full six piece broadcasting band. However, Iain was already engaged but passed on Sandy Nixon’s phone number. Now Sandy works only as a five piece, so that was one lost musician already. Sandy was also already booked but passed on my number. I work as a four so that would mean two musicians down. The wedding was to be held in early December and this led to a little problem – the Edinburgh Flu Epidemic. The evening before the wedding two members of the band called off because of flu. Despite numerous phone calls into the small hours of the morning replacement could not be found. After a quick call explaining the circumstances to the bridegroom it was agreed that a two-piece band was better than no band at all. The reception was in a marquee in the grounds of a large house and that meant there was no available power supply for the band. I was told I could take a long extension cable from the kitchen and lead it to the tent. As it was extremely dark with no outside lighting I could not see where I was walking and ended up falling down an uncovered manhole breaking my leg. As I was then transported to Belford Hospital it left Bill to do a solo job.
Bill was a nervous wreck – not at the thought of playing but at having to announce the dances through a microphone. I discharged myself from hospital, plaster on leg, and returned to hear the most amazing Dashing White Sergeant set ever played. Bill managed to play melody, chords and bas all on his own due to his technique. There is also a middle part to the story which had Bill in stitches of laughter. The event also just happened to take place during the Ambulance Strike, so in order that I could be transported safely the 15 miles to Fort William, the assembled guests were asked “is there a doctor or nurse in the company?” I was then told I was “lucky” as it just happened that a retired matron of Belford Hospital, a lady of at least 80, was in the company. She came forward and asked the caterers if they had some tea towels and old wooden vegetable boxes which could be broken to make a splint to stabilise my broken leg. Every time she bound the wooden splint on my leg I let out a scream due to the pain. I was told to be brave and put up with the pain but Bill could see the real reason for the pain. The sill woman hadn’t removed the pins from the wood and every time she bound me the pins were piercing my flesh!
On reflection I doubt if any other pianist could have coped with that situation. It also showed Bill’s ability to make a Crumar Elecronic Piano sound like an ‘old steam piano’. Bill was never one to run away from modern technology and indeed was amongst the first to purchase a digitally sampled piano. By his own admission he never quite got to grips with the operation of these computerised keyboards and many’s the time he would break into “French” after accidentally hitting the Demo button interrupting a set of Gaelic waltzes with some pre-programmed electronic multi-tracked composition.
Away from the music, Bill had a liking for motorbikes and when he was younger he used to race them and attend the Isle of Man TT.
His real love however, was his family. Wife Grace, son, David, daughter-in-law Maureen and grandsons David Jnr and Craig. He was very proud of the fact that son, David is an accomplished musician and elder grandson, David was also going to be a chip off he old block.
It was testament to the regard and respect with which he was held that it was standing room only in the crematorium, and despite several inches of snow that covered Scotland, many friends and colleagues had travelled from all over the country to Falkirk. Mourners entered to the sound on 2/4 Pipe Marches, his favourite, and left to the piano playing of Bill’s hero, Art Tatum.
While we in the Scottish music scene mourn the loss of a fine pianist, the loss we feel pales into insignificance when compared to the loss of a husband, father and grandfather that his family have to bear. All our thoughts and sympathies are with them.
On a personal note Bill taught me a lot about life and added to my musical education, introducing me to a different world of music. I feel very privileged to have played alongside a musician of Bill’s standard, but honoured to have had him as a friend.
He will be sadly missed by all who knew him but our lives are all the better for knowing WILLIAM CLYDE HENDRY, musician, friend but most of all Gentlemen
Harry G. Nicoll - Obituary
by
The members of Banchory S&R Society were saddened when their oldest living member, Mr Harry G. Nicoll, formerly of ‘Bracodene’, Milltimber, died just four months short of his 100th birthday.
Harry was an extremely talented fiddle player who was popular with the orchestra members both old and young. He would have been one of the last remaining fiddlers to have played with the legendary James Scott Skinner and frequently had musical evenings in the company of the late Hector McAndrew.
A blacksmith to trade he had also been a farmer and was an expert ploughman. During the war years, Harry was mine host of the Strathbogie Hotel in Huntly and at that time was involved with the Strathbogie S&R Society and was in demand as a soloist at concerts all over the North-East of Scotland.
Mr Nicoll rarely missed a practice or a concert and toured in Germany with the Banchory S&R Society. His knowledge of traditional bowing will be missed but above all his good company and wit will never be forgotten.
Mr Nicoll was a proud father and grandfather. His son, Harry and daughter, Moira, have followed him into the licensed trade. Harry Jnr, in the Dutch Mill in Aberdeen, and daughter Moira in Macduff.
The Fiddle Soundpost
by Dr Kevin McCann M.D., D.P.H.
Every fiddle player knows the Soundpost, a small stick of spruce wedged between the top and back plates of a violin, plays an important role in the performance of the instrument. But simple as it is, the post’s function is quite complex and little understood.
About ¼ inch in diameter, the soundpost stands upright just behind the treble foot of the bridge. Often called the ‘soul’ of the fiddle, its main purpose seems to be to harmonise the vibrations of the top and back.
Structurally, a fiddle’s arching along can support the bridge but played without the post, its tone is hollow and rough sounding. Replacing the post puts the tone back into focus.
The post’s resistance to the treble foot of the bridge also serves as a pirot by which the bridges vibrations pump the bass bar. The relative position of the post to the bridge, F F – holes, and bar can be critical. Moving the post towards the bridge usually makes the tone tighter and more focused, whereas going back from the bridge makes it more open and hollow. Placing a shorter post further towards the edge can give more depth to the bass strings. This was the practice of the late Tommy Coen of Salthill, best remembered for his composition of that great reel ‘Christmas Eve’.
Tommy was one of the best air players I ever heard and could play nearly all of Fritz Kreisler’s compositions as well as hundreds of reels and jigs played in the characteristic Galway ‘laid back’ style.
A longer post nearer the centre can often conversely, even out the tone of the strings. This was the practice of the late Sean McLoughlin of Armoy, Co. Antrim, affectionately known by his friends and admirers as ‘Laramie’ because he frequently dressed as a cowboy and was a dab hand at Country and Western songs and music and was a fine guitar player.
These are only the most basic generalizations. Other factors such as the tightness with which the post is put into place; the mass of the post itself; the relative tuning of the top and black plates; and the shape of the archings all have a bearing on how the post relates to these variables.
It is impossible to give definite rules for proper soundpost adjustment, but there are a few rules of thumb that can be a good starting point.
a) The post should stand behind the bridge by a distance equal to the thickness of the top at that point.
b) It should be aligned with the treble foot of the bridge in the same was the bass bar is aligned under the left foot of the bridge.
c) It should stand vertically, its end grain aligned perpendicularly to the grain of the top, ends fitting perfectly to the plates and placed with only as much pressure as necessary to keep it from falling when the strings are off. One should beware of tinkering unnecessarily with the post as every movement will require a period of readjustment to the new equilibrium which has been set up.
Also, beware of damaging F F – holes. Try always to work through the treble side to keep any accidental damage to one hole. Especially on historical instruments it is important to leave the hole untouched, as evidence of the maker artistry.
Finally, I wish to pay a tribute to two fine violin repairers and enthusiasts from whom I learned everything I know about violins and violin repair ; namely, the later Master O’Neill of Ederney and the late Brian O’Donnell of Belfast, the latter who not along did so much to keep fiddles in shape but worked like a Trojan to further the cause of Comhaltas.
The Fiddlers of Cape Breton
by Dr Kevin McCann M.D., D.P.H.
One cold December’s day in 1965 whilst driving to my clinic situated in the remote Settlement on the West Coast of Newfoundland, on the Gulf of St Lawrence, I was very pleasantly surprised and interested to hear some very fine fiddle music being played on the car radio.
It was announced that the music was played by a Winston ‘Scotty’ Fitzgerald and that the radio station was located in the town of Sydney, Cape Breton, part of the adjoining province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The whole incident was so unexpected and pleasing that I can still remember some of the tunes played that morning. They were mostly Scottish tunes, some of which I recognised. They were ‘Mrs Scott Skinner’ – slow air, ‘The Smith’s a Gallant Fireman’, reel ‘Johnny Cope’, march, ‘Paddy on the Turnpike’, reel, also known in Ireland as ‘The Mills are Grinding’, ‘The Flowers of Limerick’ ; the final tune being ‘The Banks Hornpipe’.
I had never previously heard of Winston Fitzgerald, usually known as ‘Scotty’ Fitzgerald, so I wasted no time finding out all about Scotty and Cape Breton Island.
I discovered that Cape Breton was situated 100 miles from Newfoundland separated by the Cabot Straight which connects the Gulf of St Lawrence from the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Breton Island was separated from Nova Scotia by a narrow strip of ocean about ¼ mile wide until £100 years ago when a Causeway was built connecting the two by road and rail.
Cape Breton Island is about two thirds the size of Ireland and has a population of about 150,000. It is truly a beautiful country, with a varied coastline with alternating rugged cliffs, rocky shores and sandy beaches, quite like Ireland. There are also numerous salmon and trout rivers. Inland the country is a mixture of farmland and extensive forests of spruce, pine, larch, birch and maple and needless to say has a great attraction for visitors from other parts of Canada and the USA who come to enjoy its scenery, its fishing and hunting, its friendly people and its music and song.
HIGHLAND CLEARANCES
The population is mainly of Scottish Highland and Western Isles of Scotland origin who migrated here during the latter half of the 18th century and early 19th century. The rest of the people are of Irish, English and French descent plus a large indigenous native Indian Min Mac Indian population.
Unlike the Irish who had to leave Ireland due to famine, the Scots were forced of their crofts and estates by Scottish landowners who forced 500,000 people off their land in the notorious ‘Highland Clearances’ for the purpose of rearing sheep and formation of game reserves.
The most notorious character by far who partook in the Clearances was the First Duke of Sutherland who ‘cleared’ some 15,000 residents from his one million acre estate to make way for sheep farming in the early 19th century. There is no doubt that the Vlearances contributed to the destruction of communities in the Highlands and Islands from which they never fully recovered.
With them when they left Scotland, the emigrants brought their Gaelic language, their music, oral tradition, religion, their work ethic and by communal effort cleared the forests, created farms and developed a thriving fishery and farm culture.
During the long snowy winter days and nights they passed the time ‘ceilidhing’ with their neighbours, story telling, card playing, playing music on bagpipes and fiddle, lilting and singing and thereby kept their music alive and well, and so it is today.
The Gaelic did not fare so well and is rarely spoken today. I heard it spoken by a few dozen older folk in the Cape Breton Highlands and have grave doubts about its survival.
On visiting Cape Breton in May, 1966, I was amazed and pleasantly surprised to learn that there were literally hundreds of fiddlers on the Island, young and old, men, women and children. Apart from tunes of Scottish origin all the music was strange to me. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of airs, reels, jigs, strathspeys and marches being played in Cape Breton today that have never been heard in Ireland or Scotland. This is mainly due to the fact that numerous musicians are also composers and there seem to be new tunes appearing every week.
SCOTTY FITZGERALD
The first person I looked up when I got to Sydney was Scotty Fitzgerald and found him to be a quiet, unassuming, friendly knowledgeable man who loved his music and his native Cape Breton. He informed me that he had spent his early years in Boston and had received a few violin lessons there but developed much of his musical ability himself by dint of many hours of solo practice and playing with others who were numerous in Boston in his youth and who are still numerous in Cape Breton.
A neighbour of his, a fiddler of note, was Johnny Willmott who had spent most of his early life in America in the Boston area and on the Canadian mainland in Toronto where he met and played with numerous Irish fiddlers and played with James Morrison, met Michael Coleman and was a great admirer of both and played a lot of their music for me during my visit to him.
Cape Breton music is conventionally considered Scottish in origin and flavour but there is a pocket of distinctly Irish influence in its repertoire and performance style.
Paul Cranford, Editor and principal writer of the fine Cape Breton Newsletter ‘Silver Apple News’ has done some research on the musical linkages between Ireland and Cape Breton Island, particularly The North Side Irish Style. He states, “although the general consensus has it that Cape Breton music is ‘pure’ old style Scottish dance music, any survey of the repertoire of the 20th century fiddlers who recorded on the first Cape Breton 78’s – reveals a significant percentage of Irish Jigs, Reels and Hornpipes”.
Cape Breton’s above mentioned Johnny Willmott (1916-93) who played with outstanding Irish musicians as Kerry fiddler Paddy Cronin, and Massachusetts’s born accordionist Joe Derrane, was originally the most prominent of Cape Breton fiddlers who went for the Irish music and style. Paddy Cronin was heard to say that “Johnny was the liveliest Irish jig player he ever encountered”.
Cape Breton and Donegal are indirectly connected through the influence of Scottish traditional music on their fiddle repertoire and styles. In Ireland, the strathspey that is so prevalent in Scotland and Cape Breton, is only found as a musical form in Donegal where it is adapted to a local dance form called a ‘Highland’. In eastern Northern Ireland, particularly in Co. Antrim the strathspey is played as such as in Scotland.
Cape Breton and Northern Ireland also share other traditional similarities, including single-stroke bowings, the preference of paired fiddlers to play together in octaves, and an overall staccato sound. Small wonder then, why the largely Donegal-based repertoire of Altan has embraced some Cape Breton tunes in recent years.
In the thirty years since I first visited Cape Breton I have met many fiddlers, young and old, good and very good and of many different styles.
WINNIE CHAFE
One of the most striking and pleasing players I met in the coal-mining town of Glace Bay, a fifth generation descendant of the MacMullan Clan, originally from the Isle of Uist, Scotland was Winnie Chafe.
She was one of that rare breed, a classically trained player who could play Bach, Beethoven and Mozart on the one hand and then at a ceilidh play Scottish dance music of the finest kind. She played with San Francisco Symphony in her early days and returned to Cape Breton to marry and play traditional music.
She made a grand recording of Cape Breton music in her local church of St. Michael’s, Glace Bay, accompanied by daughter Michelle on the magnificent pipe organ there and a finer combination it would be difficult to hear. It brings to my mind Liam Og O Floinn’s pipes in Dun Laoghaire Church accompanied by the late Seamus Ennis’ daughter Catherine on the magnificent pipe organ there.
I visit Cape Breton yearly if possible and have met most of the musicians there and have spent many hours at the numerous ceilidhs and house parties listening to great music.
Although there is no organisation in place in Cape Breton, such as CCE, to promote the traditional music, the innate love of their traditional music keeps the music alive and vibrant and many new young players appear on the scene there yearly.
TWO NOTABLES
The two notables are Natalie MacMaster, a niece of Buddy MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaacs who can play jazz, pop and traditional music on the fiddle and is in great demand all over Canada.
Every summer there are numerous Festivals, competitions and sporting events featuring pipers, pipe bands, singers and athletic events based on Scottish sport such as ‘Tossing the Caber’.
There are far too many fiddlers and singers of note to detail in this article but I will mention a few of the more outstanding players in action today.
The first to come to mind would be Teresa MacLelland, a fine strong fiddler and her sister Marie who accompanies her on piano. Both have been prominent on the Cape Breton scene since I came to Canada. The number one fiddler on the Island in my opinion is Kyle MacNeill who heads the ‘Barra Mac Neill’ group and whose forbears came from the Isle of Barra.
Kyle, who has classical training, can play Irish, Scottish and Cape Breton music with equal facility. He is a great air player and is the only fiddler I know in Cape Breton who can play rolls in his music as well as any Irish player. He told me his first love is ceili band music.
His sister Lucy, is also a fine fiddle player, singer and harpist. Another brother, Ryan’ plays bodrhan and Uilleann pipes and Seamus plays piano accordion, the only accordion player in Cape Breton.
Bert (Buddy) MacMaster
Last, but not least, I must mention Buddy MacMaster, aged 70, and considered by most to be the ‘Dean’ or ‘Grandaddy’ of Cape Breton fiddling and uncle of Natalie who can fiddle and dance simultaneously. I believe Natalie played in Cork, Ireland, at the ‘Feis Cois Laoi’.
The piano is a popular instrument for playing Cape Breton music and the chief exponent is Doug McPhee who can make the piano ‘hop’ when he plays and has composed scores of tunes, marches and airs, strathspeys, reels and jigs.
On the subject of composing, one would have to give pride of place to the late Dan R. MacDonald, a great fiddler, now alas deceased who composed at least 2,000 tunes, some of which are available in two music collections containing MacDonald’s music. Having seen the collections and having heard hundreds of them played I can safely say that there’s not a dud tune in the whole lot. A great admirer of Dan R’s music is Larry Gavin of Tulla who knows and likes Cape Breton music and plays it most capably on his accordion.
Cape Bretoners and fiddle enthusiasts have a great affection for Irish music, and have L.P.s and tapes of the most prominent players. The number one player of Irish music on fiddle is Sean McGuire, closely followed by Seamus Connolly and last but not least Cape Breton musicians are stone mad on Mary Bergin’s tin whistle playing and I have heard every tune she recorded on her L.P. played by Cape Breton fiddlers, particularly Jerry Holland a very fine fiddler from Margaree in the Cape Breton Highlands.
Some Gaelic songs are still sung in Cape Breton, particularly by the Rankin family who have a large collection of Hebridean Gaelic songs in their repertoire.
To return to the quality and type of music played, most experts on Scottish traditional music believe that the Cape Breton music is far more traditional than that played by fiddlers in Scotland today. Because of this Buddy MacMaster has for many years been traveling to the Isle of Skye giving fiddlers there workshops characterizing Cape Breton fiddle playing.
That great Scots fiddle player and student of Scottish traditional fiddle music, Alasdair Fraser, believes that Scottish fiddle music, particularly that composed by James Scott Skinner has become too classical and stilted and lacks the spontaneity and verve of the Cape Breton music which hasn’t changed for 200 years since it arrived there from Scotland.
Be that as it may, there is a very real increase in interest by Scottish fiddlers in Cape Breton music and Cape Breton fiddle groups are frequent and popular visitors to Scotland and there is now a much closer liaison between the two musical cultures than there was thirty years ago.
In Ireland Maura O’Keeffe is a great Cape Breton music enthusiast and from John Gordon of Beleek to Sean McGuire in Co. Antrim, Cape Breton music is included in their repertoire.
MUSIC COLLECTIONS
There are numerous collections of Cape Breton music extant, too numerous to name here but if any Irish enthusiast wants to dig further into Cape Breton music the best person to contact would be Danny Fraser, 1121 West Mount Road, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.
He is a fine player and an avid collector of tunes and collections of tunes and knows every fiddler in Cape Breton. He is a fine character, a type common to Cape Breton.
Finally, I believe that closer contact between Cape Breton, Irish and Scottish fiddlers can only be of benefit to them all.
Book Review
The Jim Johnstone Collection – Deeay Music, Forfar
Puirt A Eilean Leodhais Book 3 – Ian Crichton
Take the Floor – Repeat Broadcasts
2nd Mar 96 – John Renton SDB
9th Mar 96 – Wayne Robertson SDB
16th Mar 96 – Bill Black SDB
23rd Mar 96 – Dennis Morrison SDB OB from Haddo House
CLUB DIARY
B&F Treasurer – Mrs Margaret Smith, Smeaton Farm Cottage, Dalkeith, Midlothian, EH22 2NL
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Can I remind readers that there is only one issue of the ‘B&F’ before the summer break. So please let me have a full list of Club diary, Dance Dates, adverts, etc to cover the summer months, so that when on holiday we know where the action is, that includes readers in the Falklands, Canada and New Zealand.
Charlie Todd has updated the Guest Artiste List (a mammoth task) and to make it completely up-to-date, he would be delighted if you could take the time to check the list and let him know of any alterations, deletions or additions, which will be published in due course.
I’m still open for suggestions for new ideas to improve the paper, perhaps a new Editor? Prize crossword? Captions with prizes? Agony Aunt column? – no, on second thoughts, cross that one out! – but let’s have your letters on your ‘news and views’ – now that sounds a reasonable heading!
Ron Ramsay
Tribute to Bill Hendry of Falkirk
by Grant Crawford
Friday, 22nd December, 1995, saw the passing of Bill Hendry, one of the most popular figures ever to have graced the Scottish Dance Music scene.
Bill was born in Dalmuir, Clydebank but like many children he was evacuated during the blitz to Grangemouth, where he was brought up by an aunt. His working life was also spent in Grangemouth where he worked for B.P. On taking early retirement, Bill was presented with a cheque which he used to purchase a beautiful white upright Yamaha piano which took pride of place in his home.
Although regarded as one of the finest pianists amongst fellow Scottish traditional musicians he was also regarded as one of the top jazz pianists. On one occasion before the start of a dance, Bill sat at the piano and played a Scottish waltz in the styles, of Tatum, Gardner, Shearing and Powell to name but four. In the late 1950s and early ‘60s Bill played in a “Modern Dance Trio” and through this trio came his introduction to the Scottish scene.
Andrew Rankine had been booked to play at a Grand Ball and although it was basically to be Scottish dance music the programme of dance included quicksteps, slow foxtrots and modern waltzes. In order that the dancers got the best, Andrew made a few phone calls and the result was the amalgamation of his own front line of Ron Gonnella and Jim Johnstone and the rhythm section consisting of the aforementioned modern trio, consisting of Bill on piano, Tommy McTague on bass and a young Bill Thom on drums. From this one dance came the birth of one of the finest dance bands ever. When asked how he could play two such diverse styles of music, Bill would explain that it was because both types of music had a natural swing, a fact also noted by no less than the great Duke Ellington.
Bill played with the Rankine band for many years, travelling the length and breadth of Britain until personal circumstances led to him having to leave the band. He then continued to work as a freelance musician with many bands before being asked to occupy the vacant piano stool in the band of a Stenhousemuir accordionist called Ian Holmes. Indeed this led to a partnership lasting over 30 years until Bill’s retirement from the scene in 1995. But such was the admiration for Bill that he was constantly being asked to play with many bands and the list of bands he played with reads like a “Who’s who” of Scottish Dance Music – John Carmichael, Bert Shorthouse, George Stirrat, Neil Barron, Lex Keith, Sandy Nixon (who composed a fine 6/8 march called “Bill Hendry of Falkirk”, as thanks for Bill filling in for his Dundee namesake on a gruelling trip to Shetland), George Meikle, Charlie Kirkpatrick and of course both Jimmy Shand Snr and Jnr.
Indeed, it is Bill on piano on the “Dancing Shands” video and recordings. While there are many fine recording on vinyl, cassette, CD and video of Bill playing with Scottish Dance Bands, sadly the closest example of him playing in the jazz idiom is on some “novelty” tracks on a few Bert Shorthouse records.
It was not just the famous and established names Bill chose to play with as he enjoyed having a tune with anyone. He was a man of honour and principle and once he had taken on an engagement he would honour that booking even though a more prestigious booking with a bigger name and fee was on offer.
Indeed, Bill played regularly with my own band for 5 years before joining someone called Jim Johnstone! Bill and Jim had, of course, played together in the Rankine band but Bill was delighted to renew a special friendship and always considered Jim as his friend rather than his boss. It seems appropriate that Bill decided to bow out of the band scene while in the company of someone who was there at the beginning. It was also appropriate that it was Jim who gave such a fitting tribute at the funeral.
Although considered a ‘band player’ Bill was also an excellent accompanist both to singers and fiddlers. Bill played on Pibroch MacKenzie’s second solo album and that recording is perhaps a measure of Bill’s musical ability. He recorded that album without a dot of music in front of him – quite a feat considering Bill had never met or heard Pibroch until a few hours before the session was due to start!
Bill also had his own ‘trade mark’ that anyone who had played with him would recognise. He had a habit of grunting in time to the music, a carryover from playing solo in hotels and piano bars when there was no drummer to keep time. (so that’s what drummers are for!) During a recording of “Take the Floor” the sound engineer halted the session midway as the microphones were picking up noises from the piano. A piano tuner was in an adjoining studio and was asked to check the piano. It was thought that the culprit was a squeaking sustain pedal. No fault was found and it was suggested that the tape was played back at volume to see if the noise could be sourced. The source was soon identified as not the piano but the pianist.
However, musicianship was only a fraction of the qualities Bill possessed. His sense of humour was as keen as his playing, although many of the examples are not suitable for publication. One example that can be told is of the occasion at a wedding when the hotel had to be evacuated due to a fire alarm. Once the all clear was given the band were first back into the function suite and Bill proceeded to play the company back in to a medley of suitable tunes- “Blaze Away”, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” etc
Bill was also a most generous man and his quality was shown to the full at a charity event organised by Radio Clyde. The raffle prizes were numerous and the members of the band had won several items. Bill had already won two prizes when another of his numbers was drawn. There were so many prizes the organisers refused to accept any offers of non-acceptance. The final prize Bill won was a pair of modern fashion earrings. After the raffle, Bill was approached by a young lady, whose voice can now be heard reading out traffic reports on national radio, asking Bill if he would sell her the earrings. She explained that they were part of a limited edition collection designed by a well known fashion guru and as she had the matching necklace and bracelet she would be willing to buy the earrings at full market value to complete the set. The girl’s face fell as Bill decline to sell but the smile soon reappeared when Bill told her she could have them as a gift as he had enjoyed her singing a few George Gershwin songs earlier in the evening.
Although the earrings were among the more valuable prizes of the evening, Bill was happy going home with a cook book that he could use to cook something different for his wife, Grace, and a cuddly toy for his new grandson, Craig.
Another young lady also received a ‘gift’ from Bill but was not so appreciative. The girl in question was one of twins having a 21st birthday party. When she bent over to blow out her share of the 42 candles on the cake, her heavily lacquered hair touched a candle and caught fire. Bill had the presence of mind to throw his glass of cola over her, dousing the flames. Rather than being thankful that Bill had saved her from possible serious injury all she could do was scream that he had ruined her new dress. Her parents, who were grateful but embarrassed by their daughter’s behaviour, led her away to get changed. Then the girl returned, Bill’s sense of humour came to the fore once more playing “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” much to the amusement of those who appreciated the subtlety of Bill’s choice of music.
Perhaps the most amusing incident in which Bill was involved was in that of the “Disappearing Band”. A couple were getting married in Spean Bridge and tried to engage Iain MacPhail and his full six piece broadcasting band. However, Iain was already engaged but passed on Sandy Nixon’s phone number. Now Sandy works only as a five piece, so that was one lost musician already. Sandy was also already booked but passed on my number. I work as a four so that would mean two musicians down. The wedding was to be held in early December and this led to a little problem – the Edinburgh Flu Epidemic. The evening before the wedding two members of the band called off because of flu. Despite numerous phone calls into the small hours of the morning replacement could not be found. After a quick call explaining the circumstances to the bridegroom it was agreed that a two-piece band was better than no band at all. The reception was in a marquee in the grounds of a large house and that meant there was no available power supply for the band. I was told I could take a long extension cable from the kitchen and lead it to the tent. As it was extremely dark with no outside lighting I could not see where I was walking and ended up falling down an uncovered manhole breaking my leg. As I was then transported to Belford Hospital it left Bill to do a solo job.
Bill was a nervous wreck – not at the thought of playing but at having to announce the dances through a microphone. I discharged myself from hospital, plaster on leg, and returned to hear the most amazing Dashing White Sergeant set ever played. Bill managed to play melody, chords and bas all on his own due to his technique. There is also a middle part to the story which had Bill in stitches of laughter. The event also just happened to take place during the Ambulance Strike, so in order that I could be transported safely the 15 miles to Fort William, the assembled guests were asked “is there a doctor or nurse in the company?” I was then told I was “lucky” as it just happened that a retired matron of Belford Hospital, a lady of at least 80, was in the company. She came forward and asked the caterers if they had some tea towels and old wooden vegetable boxes which could be broken to make a splint to stabilise my broken leg. Every time she bound the wooden splint on my leg I let out a scream due to the pain. I was told to be brave and put up with the pain but Bill could see the real reason for the pain. The sill woman hadn’t removed the pins from the wood and every time she bound me the pins were piercing my flesh!
On reflection I doubt if any other pianist could have coped with that situation. It also showed Bill’s ability to make a Crumar Elecronic Piano sound like an ‘old steam piano’. Bill was never one to run away from modern technology and indeed was amongst the first to purchase a digitally sampled piano. By his own admission he never quite got to grips with the operation of these computerised keyboards and many’s the time he would break into “French” after accidentally hitting the Demo button interrupting a set of Gaelic waltzes with some pre-programmed electronic multi-tracked composition.
Away from the music, Bill had a liking for motorbikes and when he was younger he used to race them and attend the Isle of Man TT.
His real love however, was his family. Wife Grace, son, David, daughter-in-law Maureen and grandsons David Jnr and Craig. He was very proud of the fact that son, David is an accomplished musician and elder grandson, David was also going to be a chip off he old block.
It was testament to the regard and respect with which he was held that it was standing room only in the crematorium, and despite several inches of snow that covered Scotland, many friends and colleagues had travelled from all over the country to Falkirk. Mourners entered to the sound on 2/4 Pipe Marches, his favourite, and left to the piano playing of Bill’s hero, Art Tatum.
While we in the Scottish music scene mourn the loss of a fine pianist, the loss we feel pales into insignificance when compared to the loss of a husband, father and grandfather that his family have to bear. All our thoughts and sympathies are with them.
On a personal note Bill taught me a lot about life and added to my musical education, introducing me to a different world of music. I feel very privileged to have played alongside a musician of Bill’s standard, but honoured to have had him as a friend.
He will be sadly missed by all who knew him but our lives are all the better for knowing WILLIAM CLYDE HENDRY, musician, friend but most of all Gentlemen
Harry G. Nicoll - Obituary
by
The members of Banchory S&R Society were saddened when their oldest living member, Mr Harry G. Nicoll, formerly of ‘Bracodene’, Milltimber, died just four months short of his 100th birthday.
Harry was an extremely talented fiddle player who was popular with the orchestra members both old and young. He would have been one of the last remaining fiddlers to have played with the legendary James Scott Skinner and frequently had musical evenings in the company of the late Hector McAndrew.
A blacksmith to trade he had also been a farmer and was an expert ploughman. During the war years, Harry was mine host of the Strathbogie Hotel in Huntly and at that time was involved with the Strathbogie S&R Society and was in demand as a soloist at concerts all over the North-East of Scotland.
Mr Nicoll rarely missed a practice or a concert and toured in Germany with the Banchory S&R Society. His knowledge of traditional bowing will be missed but above all his good company and wit will never be forgotten.
Mr Nicoll was a proud father and grandfather. His son, Harry and daughter, Moira, have followed him into the licensed trade. Harry Jnr, in the Dutch Mill in Aberdeen, and daughter Moira in Macduff.
The Fiddle Soundpost
by Dr Kevin McCann M.D., D.P.H.
Every fiddle player knows the Soundpost, a small stick of spruce wedged between the top and back plates of a violin, plays an important role in the performance of the instrument. But simple as it is, the post’s function is quite complex and little understood.
About ¼ inch in diameter, the soundpost stands upright just behind the treble foot of the bridge. Often called the ‘soul’ of the fiddle, its main purpose seems to be to harmonise the vibrations of the top and back.
Structurally, a fiddle’s arching along can support the bridge but played without the post, its tone is hollow and rough sounding. Replacing the post puts the tone back into focus.
The post’s resistance to the treble foot of the bridge also serves as a pirot by which the bridges vibrations pump the bass bar. The relative position of the post to the bridge, F F – holes, and bar can be critical. Moving the post towards the bridge usually makes the tone tighter and more focused, whereas going back from the bridge makes it more open and hollow. Placing a shorter post further towards the edge can give more depth to the bass strings. This was the practice of the late Tommy Coen of Salthill, best remembered for his composition of that great reel ‘Christmas Eve’.
Tommy was one of the best air players I ever heard and could play nearly all of Fritz Kreisler’s compositions as well as hundreds of reels and jigs played in the characteristic Galway ‘laid back’ style.
A longer post nearer the centre can often conversely, even out the tone of the strings. This was the practice of the late Sean McLoughlin of Armoy, Co. Antrim, affectionately known by his friends and admirers as ‘Laramie’ because he frequently dressed as a cowboy and was a dab hand at Country and Western songs and music and was a fine guitar player.
These are only the most basic generalizations. Other factors such as the tightness with which the post is put into place; the mass of the post itself; the relative tuning of the top and black plates; and the shape of the archings all have a bearing on how the post relates to these variables.
It is impossible to give definite rules for proper soundpost adjustment, but there are a few rules of thumb that can be a good starting point.
a) The post should stand behind the bridge by a distance equal to the thickness of the top at that point.
b) It should be aligned with the treble foot of the bridge in the same was the bass bar is aligned under the left foot of the bridge.
c) It should stand vertically, its end grain aligned perpendicularly to the grain of the top, ends fitting perfectly to the plates and placed with only as much pressure as necessary to keep it from falling when the strings are off. One should beware of tinkering unnecessarily with the post as every movement will require a period of readjustment to the new equilibrium which has been set up.
Also, beware of damaging F F – holes. Try always to work through the treble side to keep any accidental damage to one hole. Especially on historical instruments it is important to leave the hole untouched, as evidence of the maker artistry.
Finally, I wish to pay a tribute to two fine violin repairers and enthusiasts from whom I learned everything I know about violins and violin repair ; namely, the later Master O’Neill of Ederney and the late Brian O’Donnell of Belfast, the latter who not along did so much to keep fiddles in shape but worked like a Trojan to further the cause of Comhaltas.
The Fiddlers of Cape Breton
by Dr Kevin McCann M.D., D.P.H.
One cold December’s day in 1965 whilst driving to my clinic situated in the remote Settlement on the West Coast of Newfoundland, on the Gulf of St Lawrence, I was very pleasantly surprised and interested to hear some very fine fiddle music being played on the car radio.
It was announced that the music was played by a Winston ‘Scotty’ Fitzgerald and that the radio station was located in the town of Sydney, Cape Breton, part of the adjoining province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The whole incident was so unexpected and pleasing that I can still remember some of the tunes played that morning. They were mostly Scottish tunes, some of which I recognised. They were ‘Mrs Scott Skinner’ – slow air, ‘The Smith’s a Gallant Fireman’, reel ‘Johnny Cope’, march, ‘Paddy on the Turnpike’, reel, also known in Ireland as ‘The Mills are Grinding’, ‘The Flowers of Limerick’ ; the final tune being ‘The Banks Hornpipe’.
I had never previously heard of Winston Fitzgerald, usually known as ‘Scotty’ Fitzgerald, so I wasted no time finding out all about Scotty and Cape Breton Island.
I discovered that Cape Breton was situated 100 miles from Newfoundland separated by the Cabot Straight which connects the Gulf of St Lawrence from the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Breton Island was separated from Nova Scotia by a narrow strip of ocean about ¼ mile wide until £100 years ago when a Causeway was built connecting the two by road and rail.
Cape Breton Island is about two thirds the size of Ireland and has a population of about 150,000. It is truly a beautiful country, with a varied coastline with alternating rugged cliffs, rocky shores and sandy beaches, quite like Ireland. There are also numerous salmon and trout rivers. Inland the country is a mixture of farmland and extensive forests of spruce, pine, larch, birch and maple and needless to say has a great attraction for visitors from other parts of Canada and the USA who come to enjoy its scenery, its fishing and hunting, its friendly people and its music and song.
HIGHLAND CLEARANCES
The population is mainly of Scottish Highland and Western Isles of Scotland origin who migrated here during the latter half of the 18th century and early 19th century. The rest of the people are of Irish, English and French descent plus a large indigenous native Indian Min Mac Indian population.
Unlike the Irish who had to leave Ireland due to famine, the Scots were forced of their crofts and estates by Scottish landowners who forced 500,000 people off their land in the notorious ‘Highland Clearances’ for the purpose of rearing sheep and formation of game reserves.
The most notorious character by far who partook in the Clearances was the First Duke of Sutherland who ‘cleared’ some 15,000 residents from his one million acre estate to make way for sheep farming in the early 19th century. There is no doubt that the Vlearances contributed to the destruction of communities in the Highlands and Islands from which they never fully recovered.
With them when they left Scotland, the emigrants brought their Gaelic language, their music, oral tradition, religion, their work ethic and by communal effort cleared the forests, created farms and developed a thriving fishery and farm culture.
During the long snowy winter days and nights they passed the time ‘ceilidhing’ with their neighbours, story telling, card playing, playing music on bagpipes and fiddle, lilting and singing and thereby kept their music alive and well, and so it is today.
The Gaelic did not fare so well and is rarely spoken today. I heard it spoken by a few dozen older folk in the Cape Breton Highlands and have grave doubts about its survival.
On visiting Cape Breton in May, 1966, I was amazed and pleasantly surprised to learn that there were literally hundreds of fiddlers on the Island, young and old, men, women and children. Apart from tunes of Scottish origin all the music was strange to me. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of airs, reels, jigs, strathspeys and marches being played in Cape Breton today that have never been heard in Ireland or Scotland. This is mainly due to the fact that numerous musicians are also composers and there seem to be new tunes appearing every week.
SCOTTY FITZGERALD
The first person I looked up when I got to Sydney was Scotty Fitzgerald and found him to be a quiet, unassuming, friendly knowledgeable man who loved his music and his native Cape Breton. He informed me that he had spent his early years in Boston and had received a few violin lessons there but developed much of his musical ability himself by dint of many hours of solo practice and playing with others who were numerous in Boston in his youth and who are still numerous in Cape Breton.
A neighbour of his, a fiddler of note, was Johnny Willmott who had spent most of his early life in America in the Boston area and on the Canadian mainland in Toronto where he met and played with numerous Irish fiddlers and played with James Morrison, met Michael Coleman and was a great admirer of both and played a lot of their music for me during my visit to him.
Cape Breton music is conventionally considered Scottish in origin and flavour but there is a pocket of distinctly Irish influence in its repertoire and performance style.
Paul Cranford, Editor and principal writer of the fine Cape Breton Newsletter ‘Silver Apple News’ has done some research on the musical linkages between Ireland and Cape Breton Island, particularly The North Side Irish Style. He states, “although the general consensus has it that Cape Breton music is ‘pure’ old style Scottish dance music, any survey of the repertoire of the 20th century fiddlers who recorded on the first Cape Breton 78’s – reveals a significant percentage of Irish Jigs, Reels and Hornpipes”.
Cape Breton’s above mentioned Johnny Willmott (1916-93) who played with outstanding Irish musicians as Kerry fiddler Paddy Cronin, and Massachusetts’s born accordionist Joe Derrane, was originally the most prominent of Cape Breton fiddlers who went for the Irish music and style. Paddy Cronin was heard to say that “Johnny was the liveliest Irish jig player he ever encountered”.
Cape Breton and Donegal are indirectly connected through the influence of Scottish traditional music on their fiddle repertoire and styles. In Ireland, the strathspey that is so prevalent in Scotland and Cape Breton, is only found as a musical form in Donegal where it is adapted to a local dance form called a ‘Highland’. In eastern Northern Ireland, particularly in Co. Antrim the strathspey is played as such as in Scotland.
Cape Breton and Northern Ireland also share other traditional similarities, including single-stroke bowings, the preference of paired fiddlers to play together in octaves, and an overall staccato sound. Small wonder then, why the largely Donegal-based repertoire of Altan has embraced some Cape Breton tunes in recent years.
In the thirty years since I first visited Cape Breton I have met many fiddlers, young and old, good and very good and of many different styles.
WINNIE CHAFE
One of the most striking and pleasing players I met in the coal-mining town of Glace Bay, a fifth generation descendant of the MacMullan Clan, originally from the Isle of Uist, Scotland was Winnie Chafe.
She was one of that rare breed, a classically trained player who could play Bach, Beethoven and Mozart on the one hand and then at a ceilidh play Scottish dance music of the finest kind. She played with San Francisco Symphony in her early days and returned to Cape Breton to marry and play traditional music.
She made a grand recording of Cape Breton music in her local church of St. Michael’s, Glace Bay, accompanied by daughter Michelle on the magnificent pipe organ there and a finer combination it would be difficult to hear. It brings to my mind Liam Og O Floinn’s pipes in Dun Laoghaire Church accompanied by the late Seamus Ennis’ daughter Catherine on the magnificent pipe organ there.
I visit Cape Breton yearly if possible and have met most of the musicians there and have spent many hours at the numerous ceilidhs and house parties listening to great music.
Although there is no organisation in place in Cape Breton, such as CCE, to promote the traditional music, the innate love of their traditional music keeps the music alive and vibrant and many new young players appear on the scene there yearly.
TWO NOTABLES
The two notables are Natalie MacMaster, a niece of Buddy MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaacs who can play jazz, pop and traditional music on the fiddle and is in great demand all over Canada.
Every summer there are numerous Festivals, competitions and sporting events featuring pipers, pipe bands, singers and athletic events based on Scottish sport such as ‘Tossing the Caber’.
There are far too many fiddlers and singers of note to detail in this article but I will mention a few of the more outstanding players in action today.
The first to come to mind would be Teresa MacLelland, a fine strong fiddler and her sister Marie who accompanies her on piano. Both have been prominent on the Cape Breton scene since I came to Canada. The number one fiddler on the Island in my opinion is Kyle MacNeill who heads the ‘Barra Mac Neill’ group and whose forbears came from the Isle of Barra.
Kyle, who has classical training, can play Irish, Scottish and Cape Breton music with equal facility. He is a great air player and is the only fiddler I know in Cape Breton who can play rolls in his music as well as any Irish player. He told me his first love is ceili band music.
His sister Lucy, is also a fine fiddle player, singer and harpist. Another brother, Ryan’ plays bodrhan and Uilleann pipes and Seamus plays piano accordion, the only accordion player in Cape Breton.
Bert (Buddy) MacMaster
Last, but not least, I must mention Buddy MacMaster, aged 70, and considered by most to be the ‘Dean’ or ‘Grandaddy’ of Cape Breton fiddling and uncle of Natalie who can fiddle and dance simultaneously. I believe Natalie played in Cork, Ireland, at the ‘Feis Cois Laoi’.
The piano is a popular instrument for playing Cape Breton music and the chief exponent is Doug McPhee who can make the piano ‘hop’ when he plays and has composed scores of tunes, marches and airs, strathspeys, reels and jigs.
On the subject of composing, one would have to give pride of place to the late Dan R. MacDonald, a great fiddler, now alas deceased who composed at least 2,000 tunes, some of which are available in two music collections containing MacDonald’s music. Having seen the collections and having heard hundreds of them played I can safely say that there’s not a dud tune in the whole lot. A great admirer of Dan R’s music is Larry Gavin of Tulla who knows and likes Cape Breton music and plays it most capably on his accordion.
Cape Bretoners and fiddle enthusiasts have a great affection for Irish music, and have L.P.s and tapes of the most prominent players. The number one player of Irish music on fiddle is Sean McGuire, closely followed by Seamus Connolly and last but not least Cape Breton musicians are stone mad on Mary Bergin’s tin whistle playing and I have heard every tune she recorded on her L.P. played by Cape Breton fiddlers, particularly Jerry Holland a very fine fiddler from Margaree in the Cape Breton Highlands.
Some Gaelic songs are still sung in Cape Breton, particularly by the Rankin family who have a large collection of Hebridean Gaelic songs in their repertoire.
To return to the quality and type of music played, most experts on Scottish traditional music believe that the Cape Breton music is far more traditional than that played by fiddlers in Scotland today. Because of this Buddy MacMaster has for many years been traveling to the Isle of Skye giving fiddlers there workshops characterizing Cape Breton fiddle playing.
That great Scots fiddle player and student of Scottish traditional fiddle music, Alasdair Fraser, believes that Scottish fiddle music, particularly that composed by James Scott Skinner has become too classical and stilted and lacks the spontaneity and verve of the Cape Breton music which hasn’t changed for 200 years since it arrived there from Scotland.
Be that as it may, there is a very real increase in interest by Scottish fiddlers in Cape Breton music and Cape Breton fiddle groups are frequent and popular visitors to Scotland and there is now a much closer liaison between the two musical cultures than there was thirty years ago.
In Ireland Maura O’Keeffe is a great Cape Breton music enthusiast and from John Gordon of Beleek to Sean McGuire in Co. Antrim, Cape Breton music is included in their repertoire.
MUSIC COLLECTIONS
There are numerous collections of Cape Breton music extant, too numerous to name here but if any Irish enthusiast wants to dig further into Cape Breton music the best person to contact would be Danny Fraser, 1121 West Mount Road, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.
He is a fine player and an avid collector of tunes and collections of tunes and knows every fiddler in Cape Breton. He is a fine character, a type common to Cape Breton.
Finally, I believe that closer contact between Cape Breton, Irish and Scottish fiddlers can only be of benefit to them all.
Book Review
The Jim Johnstone Collection – Deeay Music, Forfar
Puirt A Eilean Leodhais Book 3 – Ian Crichton
Take the Floor – Repeat Broadcasts
2nd Mar 96 – John Renton SDB
9th Mar 96 – Wayne Robertson SDB
16th Mar 96 – Bill Black SDB
23rd Mar 96 – Dennis Morrison SDB OB from Haddo House
CLUB DIARY