Cape Breton Island is a rich breeding ground of musical talent. Throughout summer, the island's finest musicians, singers and dancers appear at concerts, music festivals and ceilidhs all over the island, particularly on the west coast.
BY JACQUES COULON
"It took grit and optimism to live on Cape Breton Island 100 years ago," the owner of Morrison’s Pioneer Restaurant in the hamlet of Cape North once told us. His parents had grown up in an era when there were no roads, when boats were the only way to get between the coastal villages of Neil’s Harbour, New Haven, Dingwall and Bay St. Lawrence. Even the Cabot Trail wasn't built until 1932, and then not paved for another 20 years after that.
But this sort of isolation is precisely what helped Cape Breton's Acadian and Scottish communities hold on to their cultural traditions, especially their music. For performers and audiences alike, traditional music today represents a powerful link to their shared heritage, and a way of keeping the past alive.
Acadian Tunes
Chéticamp, one of the three largest Acadian communities in Nova Scotia, was first settled in 1785 by a small group of fishermen who came to be known affectionately as Les Quatorze Vieux (loosely, "14 old men"). When they sailed into the natural harbour here, each had a fiddle in his gear – which just goes to show that the love of music has a very long history in Cape Breton communities. Fishing has declined over the decades, but the music plays on, loud and clear.
In summer the Conseil des arts de Chéticamp presents a series of concerts, while the Doryman Beverage room (near the port) and Le Gabriel Restaurant both offer live music nightly. The evening we were in Chéticamp, several big-name musicians were appearing in the Doryman's salon: Natalie MacMaster, local celebrity Donnie LeBlanc and the young Marc Boudreau. And Rita MacNeil, Theresa MacLellan – the "queen of Cape Breton" – and her sister, Marie, a pianist, were all scheduled to appear in the coming weeks.
Celtic Bastion
The little fishing community of Judique was founded in the 1760s and has been a stronghold of Scottish and Celtic culture ever since. Back then, the tough Scottish Highlanders who were skilled sailors gave the town a bad reputation: the burly Highlanders delighted in provoking the dancers at local balls, and the evenings would invariably end in brawls.
But that's all in the past. Nowadays, the Judique Community Centre and the Kintyre Farm offer civilized concerts from May to late August, with appearances by the likes of Natalie MacMaster, her uncle and mentor Buddy MacMaster, and Mary Graham, all of whom grew up in Judique.
Also in Judique, the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre takes visitors back through the history of traditional music on Cape Breton Island via recordings, photos, family archives and biographies of leading musicians.
Land of Ceilidhs
Mabou, another vibrant centre of Gaelic culture, lies about 30 kilometres northeast of Judique. Gaelic is still taught at the local school, which seems surprising until you visit the An Drochaid (The Bridge) history and folklore museum, where you learn that as recently as the 1930s, more than 60,000 Gaelic-speakers lived in Nova Scotia.
Mabou is also home to the famous Rankin family. John Morris Rankin, the best known of this gifted musical family, died in a car accident in January of 2000. Seventy fiddlers from all over Cape Breton came to pay their last respects at his funeral at St. Mary’s Church in Mabou.
But perhaps more than anything, Mabou, Glencoe Mills, West Mabou and the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in St. Ann’s are all renowned for their summertime ceilidhs.
The ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee"), which translates roughly as "improvised party" or "gathering of friends," was historically an important element of social life in Cape Breton's Scottish communities. You didn't just attend a ceilidh in a neighbour's home; you literally participated in a ceilidh. In other words, everyone who could contributed to the entertainment, whether fiddling, piano playing, singing, dancing or storytelling.
Storytellers held a special place in what was still a largely oral culture. The best of them could stretch the suspense over many evenings, with enthralled audiences returning night after night to hear the next serial of the tale. Today's ceilidhs attract many enthusiasts, particularly in villages like Judique and Mabou that lie along the aptly named Ceilidh Trail, a 107-kilometre segment of Route 19 between the Canso Causeway and the Cabot Trail.
The Ceilidh Trail is also where you'll find the most popular event on Cape Breton's entire west coast – the Broad Cove Scottish Concert. Held every July at Broad Cove, between Inverness and Dunvegan, this open-air concert at the edge of the sea draws thousands of fans to see dozens of performers.
Beyond the Ceilidh Trail
Iona, at the geographical centre of the Cape Breton highlands, is home to the Highland Village, a living history museum and cultural centre that celebrates the Gaelic experience in Nova Scotia. The annual Highland Village Day concert, a daylong event in August with performances by popular musicians, is always a big hit.
The museum boutique sells music by the Gillis Sisters, the Lighthouse Sisters, the Men of the Deeps and other bands beloved by connoisseurs. And the nearby Highland Heights Inn (open only during tourist season) on Route 223 presents Celtic concerts on summer evenings.
Forty kilometres north of Iona, musicians, singers and dancers appear nightly at the Normaway Inn in Margaree Valley. Some are established acts while others are young, up-and-coming talents, some of whom come from far-flung corners of the continent.
Throughout summer, strains of music fill the air in many other villages and towns as performers take to the stage in church halls, at colleges and at Canadian Legion branches across Cape Breton Island. In fact there are few places on the island where you can't catch a Gaelic-flavoured concert. Even the Ben Eoin ski resort and Ben Eoin Provincial Park (30 kilometres southwest of Sydney on Route 4) co-host a music festival in mid-August.
Musically speaking, there's ample reason for a trip to Cape Breton Island. Or indeed several trips. You'll often hear local bagpipers asking the musical question Will Ye No Come Back Again?
source: Canadian Tourism Commision
This reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor has it been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Click here for more information on Nova Scotia
BY JACQUES COULON
"It took grit and optimism to live on Cape Breton Island 100 years ago," the owner of Morrison’s Pioneer Restaurant in the hamlet of Cape North once told us. His parents had grown up in an era when there were no roads, when boats were the only way to get between the coastal villages of Neil’s Harbour, New Haven, Dingwall and Bay St. Lawrence. Even the Cabot Trail wasn't built until 1932, and then not paved for another 20 years after that.
But this sort of isolation is precisely what helped Cape Breton's Acadian and Scottish communities hold on to their cultural traditions, especially their music. For performers and audiences alike, traditional music today represents a powerful link to their shared heritage, and a way of keeping the past alive.
Acadian Tunes
Chéticamp, one of the three largest Acadian communities in Nova Scotia, was first settled in 1785 by a small group of fishermen who came to be known affectionately as Les Quatorze Vieux (loosely, "14 old men"). When they sailed into the natural harbour here, each had a fiddle in his gear – which just goes to show that the love of music has a very long history in Cape Breton communities. Fishing has declined over the decades, but the music plays on, loud and clear.
In summer the Conseil des arts de Chéticamp presents a series of concerts, while the Doryman Beverage room (near the port) and Le Gabriel Restaurant both offer live music nightly. The evening we were in Chéticamp, several big-name musicians were appearing in the Doryman's salon: Natalie MacMaster, local celebrity Donnie LeBlanc and the young Marc Boudreau. And Rita MacNeil, Theresa MacLellan – the "queen of Cape Breton" – and her sister, Marie, a pianist, were all scheduled to appear in the coming weeks.
Celtic Bastion
The little fishing community of Judique was founded in the 1760s and has been a stronghold of Scottish and Celtic culture ever since. Back then, the tough Scottish Highlanders who were skilled sailors gave the town a bad reputation: the burly Highlanders delighted in provoking the dancers at local balls, and the evenings would invariably end in brawls.
But that's all in the past. Nowadays, the Judique Community Centre and the Kintyre Farm offer civilized concerts from May to late August, with appearances by the likes of Natalie MacMaster, her uncle and mentor Buddy MacMaster, and Mary Graham, all of whom grew up in Judique.
Also in Judique, the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre takes visitors back through the history of traditional music on Cape Breton Island via recordings, photos, family archives and biographies of leading musicians.
Land of Ceilidhs
Mabou, another vibrant centre of Gaelic culture, lies about 30 kilometres northeast of Judique. Gaelic is still taught at the local school, which seems surprising until you visit the An Drochaid (The Bridge) history and folklore museum, where you learn that as recently as the 1930s, more than 60,000 Gaelic-speakers lived in Nova Scotia.
Mabou is also home to the famous Rankin family. John Morris Rankin, the best known of this gifted musical family, died in a car accident in January of 2000. Seventy fiddlers from all over Cape Breton came to pay their last respects at his funeral at St. Mary’s Church in Mabou.
But perhaps more than anything, Mabou, Glencoe Mills, West Mabou and the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in St. Ann’s are all renowned for their summertime ceilidhs.
The ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee"), which translates roughly as "improvised party" or "gathering of friends," was historically an important element of social life in Cape Breton's Scottish communities. You didn't just attend a ceilidh in a neighbour's home; you literally participated in a ceilidh. In other words, everyone who could contributed to the entertainment, whether fiddling, piano playing, singing, dancing or storytelling.
Storytellers held a special place in what was still a largely oral culture. The best of them could stretch the suspense over many evenings, with enthralled audiences returning night after night to hear the next serial of the tale. Today's ceilidhs attract many enthusiasts, particularly in villages like Judique and Mabou that lie along the aptly named Ceilidh Trail, a 107-kilometre segment of Route 19 between the Canso Causeway and the Cabot Trail.
The Ceilidh Trail is also where you'll find the most popular event on Cape Breton's entire west coast – the Broad Cove Scottish Concert. Held every July at Broad Cove, between Inverness and Dunvegan, this open-air concert at the edge of the sea draws thousands of fans to see dozens of performers.
Beyond the Ceilidh Trail
Iona, at the geographical centre of the Cape Breton highlands, is home to the Highland Village, a living history museum and cultural centre that celebrates the Gaelic experience in Nova Scotia. The annual Highland Village Day concert, a daylong event in August with performances by popular musicians, is always a big hit.
The museum boutique sells music by the Gillis Sisters, the Lighthouse Sisters, the Men of the Deeps and other bands beloved by connoisseurs. And the nearby Highland Heights Inn (open only during tourist season) on Route 223 presents Celtic concerts on summer evenings.
Forty kilometres north of Iona, musicians, singers and dancers appear nightly at the Normaway Inn in Margaree Valley. Some are established acts while others are young, up-and-coming talents, some of whom come from far-flung corners of the continent.
Throughout summer, strains of music fill the air in many other villages and towns as performers take to the stage in church halls, at colleges and at Canadian Legion branches across Cape Breton Island. In fact there are few places on the island where you can't catch a Gaelic-flavoured concert. Even the Ben Eoin ski resort and Ben Eoin Provincial Park (30 kilometres southwest of Sydney on Route 4) co-host a music festival in mid-August.
Musically speaking, there's ample reason for a trip to Cape Breton Island. Or indeed several trips. You'll often hear local bagpipers asking the musical question Will Ye No Come Back Again?
source: Canadian Tourism Commision
This reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor has it been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Click here for more information on Nova Scotia
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