I arose a bit after 9h15. The sky was blue with a fair number of white clouds, which would burn off later in the day, and it was fairly mild, +14 (57). After breakfast at Sandeannies, I drove up to friends on Rocky Ridge, where I picked up the can of bear spray I had left with them last month and chatted for a while. I then took care of an errand in Mabou and picked up some car food at the Freshmart. I drove past a friend’s in West Mabou, but it looked like noöne was home (I later learned she was at home even though her car wasn’t there), so I returned to the motel for a nap, tired from the drive and from yesterday’s exertions.
When I got up after 15h30, I had tea and granola bar; I left a bit past 16h. It was by then +19 (66) and the sky was covered with thin white clouds that the sun had no trouble piercing and casting a fine shadow; it was a nice afternoon and I was sorry I was too tired to take advantage of it. As I left the motel in Port Hood, the traffic on Highway 19 was so heavy I had to wait more than two minutes to get onto the highway—most unusual in Cape Breton! As I drove to Port Hawkesbury, I also encountered lots of traffic in both directions on Highway 19. I stopped briefly at a roadside pull-off just south of the rotary in Port Hastings I hadn’t previously noticed and took a few photos from there. I had dinner at the Fleur-de-Lis in Port Hawkesbury: a maple nut salad bowl (a treat I greatly enjoy) and the grilled haddock dinner with mashed tomatoes, lettuce, cole slaw, and iced tea. While there, I saw a couple of friends, one acting as stage manager at the Sunday show at Whycocomagh, where I learned that Dougie MacLean, in whom I had no interest whatsoever, would be the first half of that show (I had intended to catch the first half and skip out at the break to the Glencoe dance when I bought that ticket, as the half of the show in which I was interested had two players who were supposed to play at the Glencoe dance, which would only be possible if they were scheduled for the first half, but, unbeknownst to me, they had earlier switched with two others so as to be able to be in the Whycocomagh show).
Port Hastings
After dinner, I drove out the Port Malcolm Road to Highway 104 and then on to Louisdale, where I turned onto the Whiteside Road and drove back to Highway 104; the sun was blinding along the Whiteside Road. The views of Caribou Cove and Inhabitants Bay from the Port Malcolm Road were poor, either obstructed by grown up brush or else hazy, though I did stop for some photos at the bridge over the Little River. By the time I got to Whiteside and Walkerville, it was too late to capture the views of the Big Basin I had hoped to get. I then drove back to Port Hawkesbury and parked near the Civic Centre for the opening concert of Celtic Colours.
As I entered the Civic Centre, I saw several friends in the lobby and chatted with them before taking my seat near the stage, where I found I was seated next to a friend from Truro I regularly see at many events in Cape Breton. After the piping in of the Vice-Regal party and some welcoming and introductory speechifying, Symphony Nova Scotia, under the direction of Scott Macmillan, led off with a short overture. Tonight’s show, the 20th anniversary of Celtic Colours, was titled Forever in Our Hearts and, in its first half, provided tributes to five Cape Breton titans who have passed on. First to be remembered was John Allan Cameron, memorialized by his son, Stuart Cameron, singing Getting Dark Again, accompanied by Symphony Nova Scotia; he continued by picking tunes on a 12-stringed guitar, inscribed JAC, again accompanied by Symphony Nova Scotia. Next was Howie MacDonald playing a medley of tunes in Jerry Holland’s memory, accompanied by Symphony Nova Scotia and by Stuart Cameron. Marion Dewar then came on stage and accompanied Howie in Jerry’s Boo Baby’s Lullaby and then continued into strathspeys and reels. To remember Raylene Rankin, Margaret MacPherson first sang Gillis Mountain and then Sarah MacInnis in beautiful voice gave us a marvellous rendition of An Innis Aigh (The Happy Isle), with both selections accompanied by Stuart and Symphony Nova Scotia. Ashley MacIsaac and Mary-Elizabeth MacMaster-MacInnis began a tribute set to Buddy MacMaster with his signature The Rosebud of Allenvale, accompanied by Symphony Nova Scotia; they then gave us five of “Buddy’s Picks”, with Symphony Nova Scotia again accompanying. The last to be remembered was Rita MacNeil, honoured by Joella Foulds, who sang two songs, the latter of which was Home I’ll Be, joined by a choir and by both Symphony Nova Scotia and Stuart; I had never heard Joella sing before and was bowled over by her amazingly gorgeous voice, a most fitting choice for this tribute; she received a most justly deserved standing ovation at the end of her performance.
The second half was given over to Carlos Núñez Muñoz, an internationally-known Galician piper and multi-instrumentalist, and his band. Tonight, he was accompanied by Symphony Nova Scotia as well as his own band mates. His first number featured him on gaita, the Galician bagpipe, along with three local bagpipers, Kevin Dugas, Keith MacDonald, and Rankin MacInnis, and Jamie Troy, a piper from Victoria (BC). His second was a set of jigs on recorder. The third number was Paddy Maloney’s Galician Overture, during which the gaita, flute, whistles, and oboe were heard; at its end, there was a standing ovation for Symphony Nova Scotia and for Scott. The next number was a “dance of the pinkies”, with the audience standing and quasi dancing to music by Carlos, his band, Symphony Nova Scotia, the choir, and others on stage doing the dance. Another dance followed, with clapping and audience participation egged on from the stage, greeted by a standing ovation. The finale was another number by Carlos and the pipers with more clapping.
I am not normally a fan of Celtic Colours’ opening shows at the Civic Centre, which are over-produced and emphasize the “show” rather than the music, with lots of constantly moving lights and the fog machine pumping overtime; in this regard, tonight’s opener was no different from previous years. Nevertheless, the first half was so well done, a couple of glitches aside (it’s hard for a Cape Breton fiddler to stick to a preördained script, as was required by the Symphony Nova Scotia accompaniment—the orchestra cannot improvise the way a fiddler and accompanist can, though they recovered well when two of the fiddlers went off script), and so full of emotion and fond remembrance of major formative figures of this culture that I was completely won over. I grew up listening to symphonic music by choice and thought that Symphony Nova Scotia did a marvellous job tonight, with fine arrangements (I assume by Scott) of the beloved fiddle tunes; it was wonderful at first to hear them rounded out to full symphonic works, but, by the end of the evening, I started longing for the pure and simple fiddle/piano/guitar form—these tunes are plenty robust enough in their own right and in the end symphonic enhancement, no matter how well done, gets too close to gilding the lily, even though it is an interesting novelty to hear them as symphonic pieces every so often, as tonight and as in Scott’s fine MacKinnon’s Brook Suite, which I enjoy and profit from listening to every year or so. As regards the second half of the show, I have enjoyed Carlos’ high-energy performances full of great Celtic music each time I’ve seen him and his band, and tonight was no exception, though things so went off the rails towards the end that I was actually quite glad when the concert ended. Still in all, this had to be one of the best Celtic Colours opening concerts I’ve seen and I was glad to have attended.
After the concert, I headed to Creignish for the dance, arriving at 22h22 for the third figure of the first square set. Kinnon Beaton on fiddle and Jackie Dunn-MacIsaac on keyboard provided the fine music for this well-attended dance. There were three groups in most of the second square set and four at its end, with 19 couples on the floor in the third figure. A waltz and the third square set followed while I was busy chatting instead of taking notes. Kyle Kennedy MacDonald on fiddle and Tyson Chen on keyboard relieved Kinnon and Jackie for the fourth square set, danced by 15 couples in its third figure. After they finished, I got Kyle’s new CD from him, which he autographed for me. With Kinnon and Jackie back, the next set of jigs drew only one couple, round dancing. The step dance sequence drew Siobhan Beaton, Brandi McCarthy, Harvey MacKinnon, Rachel Reeds (Boston), Mary Beth Carty, Dale Gillis, and Burton MacIntyre to share their steps, as well as three other ladies I didn’t recognize. The final square set was danced by twelve couples in its third figure. While at the dance, since I was no longer going to use it, I gave my ticket for the Whycocomagh Celtic Colours concert on Sunday to Burton, so that he could give it to whomever he chose (the waiting list to get into the concert was long).
After the dance was over, I drove north to Port Hood; it was +14 (57) leaving Creignish, but I ran into fog patches north of Judique and it was foggy and only +8 (46) when I arrived in Port Hood. It took me a bit of time to relax enough for sleep, but I was in bed just before 2h.