While on vacation in Nova Scotia, I had the opportunity to attend two concerts and two ceilidh’s (literally meaning party, or informal concert),and they were all great for different reasons. The first concert I saw was a performance by Men of the Deeps, a choir made up of working and retired coal miners from Cape Breton. The first requirement for entrance into the choir is experience as a coal miner; the second is the ability to sing. I was struck by the emotional connection the singers had with their material (featuring many mining songs of course). The tough, gritty, and often tragic nature of the miner’s life really came through in their singing; a performance by non-miners, no matter how technically perfect, just wouldn’t have been the same.
The next night, we saw a show called Lyrics & Laughter, put on by an ensemble of talented Cape Breton musicians. I was impressed by the musicianship, energy and versatility of the group; it seemed that everyone could play at least three or more instruments, and everyone in the group could do a mean step-dance as well. What I will remember most about this show though was something that I saw in the audience, not on stage: Throughout most of the show, there was a young girl (maybe three or four years old) who was on her feet for pretty well every musical number, dancing away, with a smile on her face that shone more brightly than any of the stage lights. I got the sense that she and her family were local residents, not tourists, and it was great to see the younger generation connecting with, and valuing their musical inheritance. I am more used to seeing kids chose music based on how repelled their parents are by it, so this was a welcome change! (I will return to this them at the end of this blog entry).
The last two nights of our vacation proper (before the drive home portion) was spent in Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Cape Breton Island. This is a part of Canada that has seen more than its fair share of tough times over the last few decades, as the coal mines began to be shut down, and fishery troubles began. It seems one bright spot has been the incredible musical tradition of Cape Breton, and how so many of the local population are intimately connected with it, and are working to preserve it and pass it on.
The first night, we drove down the road to the town of Mabou (the home of the Rankin Family, one of the more famous Canadian East Coast groups) to see a ceilidh featuring Buddy McMaster, a fiddling legend in Cape Breton. He is also the uncle of well-known fiddler Natalie McMaster. Though now in his eighties, and rather frail, he can still play a mean fiddle, and only got stronger as the night went one. One thing I was struck by was how all the energy of Buddy and the other fiddlers who played that night went into their playing — there was no jumping around, not a lot of facial expression, and very little movement, except the blur of fingers on the necks of fiddles, and the movement of bows on the strings. For each of the players, it was obvious that to them the music, and their personal connection with it, was the most important thing for them. The music industry is filled with Prima Donna’s, and it was great to see not one at any of the shows I attended.
I have saved the best for last, and this was a ceilidh I attended in Inverness itself last night (Thursday, August 23rd, 2007). This ceilidh featured no big names, no fancy stage, but to me it was the most meaningful. The players were all local kids and young adults, ranging in age from about seven years old, to university age, and to a person it was amazing to see the talent they showed, and how they were becoming instruments for preserving a precious musical tradition. I knew I was in for something special as soon as I got my ticket; I was handed a sheet of Gaelic lyrics for a song sing-along! It was easy enough to pick up the tune for singing along on the course, but I think my pronunciation left a bit to be desired. They were kind, and didn’t throw me out 
. It was nice so to see how many of the audience, numbering about 150 people I’d say, mainly local residents, were singing along in Gaelic. Later in the evening, a roughly eight or nine year old boy (who could also play a pretty mean piano) sang a song in Gaelic as well. This is a beautiful. but sadly endangered language, and it was great to see the efforts being made to preserve it.
All in all, for me the music will be the highlight of this vacation; these folks, who have had more than their share of misfortunes, could teach a lot of us about cultural preservation, and the absolute joy of making one’s own music.
Tags: Celtic, Cape Breton , Nova Scotia
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