When I arose a few minutes before 9h, there was still no power at the motel. The wind had buffeted the building all night long and some rain had fallen, judging by the driveway. It was cool in the room with no heat; the outside temperature was +7 (45), a light rain was still falling, and the wind was howling. I had breakfast at Vi’s and found the tea especially to be a great restorative, as I was chilled.
I had a ticket for Sounds and Supper by the Sea at Lower L’Ardoise, an annual event featuring a cèilidh at 13h and a lobster dinner at 15h, but I also had a ticket for the Fiddlers’ Homecoming: 50 Years at the Doryman concert at Chéticamp at 19h30. I knew when I bought the two tickets that it would be a tight drive from Lower L’Ardoise to Chéticamp, 2h25 according to Google Maps, but I hadn’t counted on the possibility that there might be weather and road problems too. What I learned from checking the internet was that the roads were bad, with some washed out in Richmond County (in which Lower L’Ardoise is situated); schools had been cancelled; power was out to 50,000 homes (a significant fraction, given that the population of Cape Breton is only 135,000); and serious flooding had occurred in Sydney and the eastern half of Cape Breton Island. It very much looked as if I were going to have to choose between the two and, given that the concert tonight was a tribute to the late Arthur Muise, Joe Cormier, and Marc Boudreau, I prioritized it over the afternoon, though very regretfully as it would be the first one I would miss since they started a few years ago. Accordingly, I texted my friends with whom I had planned to spend the afternoon that I would not be attending and let my friends in Lower L’Ardoise also know. (I later learned that there was no problem getting to and from Lower L’Ardoise and that the afternoon was a great success, as it always is.)
Instead of a rushed day, I now had a leisurely afternoon to spend in less than ideal weather, though it had improved somewhat while I was at breakfast. I drove out Highway 395 and stopped for photos of a very angry Lake Ainslie at the Trout River bridge. A lovely tree in full fall colours was a bit ravaged at the top from the winds of the past days, but surprisingly, given the strength of the winds, the rest was pretty much intact and so it proved elsewhere as well. I texted friends in Scotsville to see if they were up to an impromptu visit; they were, so I drove out Lakeview Drive, badly rutted from the run-off, and took some photos there; a few patches of blue sky were visible, but the sun was not yet successful in shining through the heavy overcast. I then drove back to my friends’ and had a good visit with them. I left them at 14h and continued north on Highway 395, where the paving of the road from Scotsville to just beyond Kiltarlity Road had been completed, but the traffic was still one-lane in places where guardrails were being installed; what a welcome change from the horror that that section has been in recent years! The colours were quite nice in Upper Margaree, even without any direct sun, as they were in the “Red Stretch” from Southwest Margaree to Margaree Forks. I took the East Margaree Road to East Margaree and stopped for more photos, but the light was poor; I was amazed to see the Margaree River out of its banks—a lot of water had clearly fallen here. I stopped at the look-off in Terre-Noire and worked some on yesterday’s and today’s notes and took a few more photos—the sun by now had successfully pierced the overcast to the south, though the light was still far from ideal for photography. I continued on to Chéticamp, where I checked in to my room and read until it was time for supper, by which time the sun had made its way there.
but the bottom is still intact and the colours are bright.
From highway 395 at the Trout River bridge.
from Lakeview Drive
I went to dinner at le Gabriel, where I had my usual feast of chowder, green salad, and coquilles St-Jacques, with which I had rice and al dente veggies (beans, carrots, and yellow peppers); I continued working on today’s notes between courses. I then drove to the Place des Arts, stopping for a photo of a pretty sunset I failed to capture at its brightest, and finished the notes to this point in the car before going in to the concert.
The concert began with Howie MacDonald on fiddle, Hilda Chiasson on keyboard, and Chris Babineau on guitar; they gave us a great march/strathspeys/reels set dedicated to the late Arthur Muise. The emcee, Napoléon Chiasson, then came out and introduced the show. The three continued with a second march/strathspeys/reels set that began with Wilfred Gillis’ march Welcome to the Trossacks; fantastic playing by all. They next played a waltz by Kimberley Holmes whose title I didn’t get, followed by reels played way fast—music for listening, not for dancing. The next set had two tunes new to me, one Donny LeBlanc wrote and the second Howie wrote for the 50th anniversary of the Doryman, both of which I enjoyed. They concluded with a set of jigs, including Howie’s tunes Annemarie Barry’s and Francis Aucoin’s. Next up were Fin Moore on bellows pipes, Sarah Hoy on fiddle, and Mike Vass on guitar; their first set included a Scottish reel and a tune Fin wrote. With Mike on fiddle making dual fiddles, they next played Angus G MacLeod, a Scottish pipe march or slow air composed by Pipe Major Donald MacLeod. Andrea Beaton joined them on fiddle and Mike returned to guitar for a set of jigs, including The Rock and a Wee Pickle Tow¹. The next set was dedicated to Angus Grant and Marc Boudreau; it began with a dual fiddles solo at the start and was followed by a slow march played as a lament and then reels. Amélie Larade, a fantastic young dancer (she is now fourteen) whom I hadn’t seen in a few years, closed out the first half of the concert with a great step dance to music provided by the four on stage.
After the break, Colin Grant on fiddle and Chris Babineau on guitar played a set beginning with a march or air I think Colin wrote and followed it with reels associated with Arthur Muise and Joe Cormier. The next set was of tunes associated with Marc Boudreau along with a tune Colin made in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Doryman, sent out to Marc’s family, who were present at the concert; in the middle of the set, Hilda came on stage and sat down at the keyboard and joined in. Andrea then replaced Colin and, on Marc’s fiddle, played O’er the Muir, Amang the Heather and continued with jigs. She next played a set full of tunes Marc loved to play: King George IVth Strathspey, King George V, Marry Me Now, King’s Reel, Missing Marc (the reel she wrote at the time of Marc’s passing that he, of course, never heard), and Dillon Brown’s Fancy (thanks to Celtic Colours, this whole amazing set can be heard here—note the Canadian flag on the fiddle she is playing, which identifies it as Marc’s). Next up were Donny LeBlanc on fiddle, Hilda on keyboard, and Gélas Larade on guitar; they gave us a march/strathspeys/reels set of tunes associated with Arthur Muise, a set of jigs, and another march/strathspeys/reels set; I was particularly taken with Gélas’ superb guitar (I don’t get to hear him very often). JP Cormier on fiddle, with Hilda on keyboard and Chris on guitar, played a set of fine tunes on Joe Cormier’s fiddle and followed it with another set of tunes that JP’s father, Joe’s brother, loved to hear Joe play. For the finale, everyone returned to the stage with Mike on fiddle; Fin and Hilda first played a duet and then all the others came in for a rousing blast o’ tunes, a wonderful conclusion to a fantastic concert. With three great musicians to mourn and celebrate, along with commemorating the 50th anniversary of the storied Doryman and the major rôle it has played in Cape Breton music over those years, it was a very emotional evening and the music much more than rose to the occasion.
After the concert was over, I drove to the Doryman, where the remembrances continued in a less formal atmosphere with music from several musicians as a tribute to the honourees and to the Doryman. When I arrived at 22h30, I was lucky to find a seat as the place was already full and would soon be packed. Robert Deveaux on fiddle was playing with Kathleen Leblanc-Poirier on keyboard and Mary Beth Carty on guitar. Dawn Beaton on fiddle, with Kathleen on keyboard and Chris Babineau on guitar were the next to play. Donny LeBlanc on fiddle with Hilda Chiasson on keyboard and Chris on guitar next took the stage. They were followed by Howie MacDonald on fiddle, Hilda on keyboard, and Mary Beth on guitar; during his sets, Kathleen and another lady step danced and Faded Love drew two couples to the floor waltzing. Colin Grant on fiddle with Jason Roach on keyboard and Chris on guitar concluded the evening, which ended a few minutes before 1h; Hilda step danced during one of their sets. I was delighted to have a chance to chat once more with Marc’s parents and partner; his tragic loss is deeply felt by all.
After the session at the Doryman, I drove the short distance down the street to the motel and, not ready to sleep, worked some more on the day’s notes and then read. I got to bed about 2h.
¹ Andrew Kuntz in his superb encyclopædic compendium of fiddle tunes, under the entry “ROCK AND THE/A WEE PICKLE TOW, THE/A”, explains the title thus: “a rock is a distaff, a device that holds the flax strick or the fiber for spinning. It is called a rock because the weight, or whorl, was frequently a shaped and pierced rock. A ‘wee pickle tow’ is a small piece of prepared short flax fibers combed from longer fibers called ‘line’. Thus it was a spinning song, the tune of which proved popular and served many purposes over the years.”↩