{"id":1162,"date":"2009-10-24T22:12:30","date_gmt":"2009-10-25T02:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s265039441.onlinehome.us\/philpaine\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2018-08-08T02:50:40","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T06:50:40","slug":"bill-lamey-full-circle-classic-house-sessions-of-traditional-cape-breton-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=1162","title":{"rendered":"Bill Lamey \u2014 Full Circle: Classic House Sessions of Traditional Cape Breton Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cape Bre\u00adton Island is for Canada\u2019s folk music what the Mis\u00adsis\u00adsip\u00adpi Delta is for Amer\u00adi\u00adca\u2019s. Dur\u00ading the infa\u00admous High\u00adland Clear\u00adances, the impov\u00ader\u00adished High\u00adlanders of Scot\u00adland were dri\u00adven off their land. Many of those who did not die of star\u00adva\u00adtion or expo\u00adsure (the clear\u00adances were often done in the dead of win\u00adter), were shipped off to Cana\u00adda in the \u201ccof\u00adfin boats\u201d, a cross\u00ading that many did not sur\u00advive. The for\u00admal\u00adi\u00adties of immi\u00adgra\u00adtion were a lit\u00adtle less strin\u00adgent: they were usu\u00adal\u00adly dumped on a des\u00ado\u00adlate beach with what\u00adev\u00ader mea\u00adger pos\u00adses\u00adsions they car\u00adried, and scat\u00adtered into the hills to build some crude shel\u00adter in which to live through the win\u00adter. If their care\u00adful\u00adly guard\u00aded hand\u00adfuls of pota\u00adtoes and oats took hold in the spring, they might live to be suc\u00adcess\u00adful pio\u00adneers in the new land. Cape Bre\u00adton Island was one of the most con\u00adve\u00adnient places for the cof\u00adfin ships to dump their human car\u00adgo, and it became a trans\u00adplant\u00aded reflec\u00adtion of High\u00adland Scot\u00adland. Though they inter\u00admar\u00adried with the French and native Mic\u00admac who were already there, amd with whom they shared the Catholic faith, the Gael\u00adic lan\u00adguage and high\u00adland folk music sur\u00advived. Gael\u00adic is now only spo\u00adken by hand\u00adful of elder\u00adly Cape Bre\u00adton\u00aders, today, but the music sim\u00adply gush\u00ades out of the place, like a mag\u00adi\u00adcal spring. All of Canada\u2019s folk music, from one end of the coun\u00adtry to the oth\u00ader, is infused with Celtic ele\u00adments, but it is in Cape Bre\u00adton that the influ\u00adence is most over\u00adwhelm\u00ading. Not sur\u00adpris\u00ading\u00adly, the island pro\u00adduces musi\u00adcians in num\u00adber far out of pro\u00adpor\u00adtion to its population.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the first record\u00ading stars of Cape Bre\u00adton music was Bill Lamey, whose ses\u00adsions are cap\u00adtured on reel-to-reel record\u00adings made in the 1950s. Cape Bre\u00adton fid\u00addlers had a net\u00adwork that record\u00aded and exchanged tapes by mail. The ear\u00adli\u00adest ses\u00adsions on this cd were intend\u00aded to be brought to Scot\u00adland to give the ances\u00adtral home\u00adland a taste of their lost kin\u2019s fid\u00addling. Some lat\u00ader record\u00adings from the 1960\u2019s and 1970\u2019s sup\u00adple\u00adment these. Many of the melodies are direct\u00adly trace\u00adable to known 17th and 16th cen\u00adtu\u00adry orig\u00adi\u00adnals. The cd\u2019s book\u00adlet describes Lamey\u2019s style: \u201cBil\u00adl\u2019s play\u00ading is char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adized by snap\u00adpy bow\u00ading with a strong attack. He had a way of keep\u00ading the sound going and build\u00ading great momen\u00adtum. The is a slight whip to each stoke of his bow. This con\u00adtributes much to the extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary dri\u00adve of his reels and the faster strath\u00adspeys. He also enlivened both his strah\u00adspeys and reels by sub\u00adtly vary\u00ading the rhythms of pairs of notes, all the while keep\u00ading a steady beat. Bil\u00adl\u2019s inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of airs had a rhyth\u00admic free\u00addom which is sel\u00addom found in the play\u00ading of today\u2019s gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion of fid\u00addlers, but is akin to old-style Gael\u00adic singing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cape Bre\u00adton Island is for Canada\u2019s folk music what the Mis\u00adsis\u00adsip\u00adpi Delta is for Amer\u00adi\u00adca\u2019s. Dur\u00ading the infa\u00admous High\u00adland Clear\u00adances, the impov\u00ader\u00adished High\u00adlanders of Scot\u00adland were dri\u00adven off their land. Many of those who did not die of star\u00adva\u00adtion or expo\u00adsure (the \u2026<\/p>\n

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