The early Scottish Settlers to Upper Canada and their influence here in Canada - Part 5
Image: https://glengarrycelticmusic.com/about-us/
As I set about recently to get better acquainted with the Glengarry area of Ontario, I had a great conversation with Isabel Clark, President of the Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame located in Williamstown. That evening, I received an email with the following attachment – a presentation given by Dr. Donaldson MacLeod, P.Eng. at the August 2019 Glengarry Highland Games. What follows is that original document, willingly shared by the author himself – what an opening to future stories of Glengarry! I cannot wait to take a weekend this spring to visit this area and learn more about its history as it relates to the Scottish settlers of the 1820s. A huge shout out to both of these contacts for their willingness to point me in the right direction as I continue to research for this series I’m having so much fun reporting on.
Fiddling in Glengarry
A Presentation for the 2019 Glengarry Highland Games by:
Dr. Donaldson MacLeod, P.Eng. August 2019
Introduction
There are two main types of fiddling in Glengarry – Scottish and Old Tyme with a fair bit of cross over between them. Since this is the Glengarry Highland Games, I am going to concentrate on the Scottish based fiddling.
First of all, what is the difference between a fiddler and a violinist? One of Scotland’s best violinists, Ron Gonella, was asked this question during a visit to the Glengarry. His answer – “a half a bottle of Scotch!”
There is no difference between a fiddle and a violin; it is just a different name for the same instrument.
The fiddle is Scotland’s other official instrument. You can guess what the other one is.
What is Scottish Fiddle Music?
The earliest Scottish Music is normally referred to Pre-Ossian who once a Gaelic Poet linked to Scottish Mythology. One of the few tunes that has survived from this era is the Pibroch of Donal Dhu which we play with the Bonnie Dundee set
What Makes Scottish Music Different
Scottish Music is mainly composed on the pentatonic scale; only 5 of the 8 notes of a scale are played
It is characterised by lots of cuts and snaps of the bow with grace notes taken from the bagpipe tunes to ornament the main melody.
Types of Tunes
Marches are very popular with many borrowed from the bagpipes – Earl of Mansfield, Barren Rocks of Aden, Donald MacLean’s Farewell to Oban
Strathspeys are slower tunes developed for the violin, but now pipers play them a lot. These are unique to Scottish Music – eg. Lime Hill, Laird of Drumblair, Miller of Drone and the Wedding of the Crows.
Reels are fast tunes played with wild abandon – Angus Campbell, Mason’s Apron, Mrs MacLeod Reel and the Brides Reel
Often we hear the combination of a melody of a March, Strathspey and Reel
Jigs are fast tunes like reels, but with a strict tempo – Stool of Repentance, Stan Chapman’s Jig, Judique Jig and the Rosebud Jig
Hornpipes were once called lazy reels – Harvest Home The Boys of Blue hill
Clogs, a cousin of the hornpipe, are rather rare in Scottish Music, but they are played a lot in Glengarry for step dancing
Slow Airs are unique to Scottish Music - James Moray of Abercairny, Neil Gow’s Lamentations for his Second Wife, Hector the Hero, Dark Island - If you go to the Kirking of the Tartan on Sunday you will hear a lot them.
Waltzes – Leaving Lismore, Morag of Dunvegan, Ye banks and Braes, Westering Home, Skye Boat Song,
Three main geographical areas for Scottish Fiddling –Scotland, Cape Breton and Glengarry.
Fiddling is popular in Scotland – in 2017 we had a visit right here in Maxville of some 80 youth fiddlers from Ayr in Scotland. Fiddling in Scotland has four main venues. Fiddle orchestras such as the one from Ayr, Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, Scottish Country Dance Bands and Shetland Fiddlers. The latter are from the Shetland Islands which are between mainland Scotland and Norway and as such have been influenced by Norwegian folk music.
Cape Breton Fiddling is legendary. Such artists as Buddy MacMaster, Scotty Fitzgerald, Jerry Holland, Ashley MacIssac and Natalie MacMaster have been tremendous ambassadors of this music worldwide. We have had the Cape Breton Fiddlers Association three times at the Glengarry Highland Games and over the years, many Glengarry Fiddlers have played at their events in Cape Breton. This organization has been influential in preserving this style of music not only in Cape Breton but world-wide.
It is worthy of note that over the last 50 years almost all the noted Scottish, Cape Breton, Glengarry and American violinists have appeared in Glengarry at the Highland Games or The Glengarry Strathspey and Reel Society workshops and individual concerts.
Glengarry Fiddling is similar to Cape Breton, but has been influenced a bit by Irish and French styles – The Ottawa Valley sound.
Cape Breton and Glengarry fiddling are closer to the old traditional fiddling of Scotland as the music in Scotland over the years has been influenced by classical continental violin playing.
The Glengarry and Cape Breton styles of fiddle playing are very similar. Minor differences include the fact that many Cape Breton tunes have more of a Gaelic ring to them due to Gaelic being spoken for so many years. This ornamentation is accomplished by enhancing the main melody with grace notes.
Both groups have a common repertoire of music; however, Glengarry fiddlers tend to feature Marches, Jigs and Waltzes while the Cape Bretoners tend to favor Strathspeys and Reels.
The music has come from a combination of sources. Many tunes were handed down by ear and in the early 1900s a series of music books were published in Scotland and made their way to Glengarry. Among these were The Skye Collection, the Athol and the Kerr Collections. The Scottish Violinist by James Scott Skinner and the Marr’s Collection have had a major influence in Glengarry and many of the tunes in these books are still played today.
In the 1930’s the introduction on 78 rpm records (particularly the Celtic Label from Antigonish, Nova Scotia) added to the repertoire.
History
The pioneers came with violins and bagpipes. Today, there are some 30 Fiddlers in The Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame.
In the book, The Man from Glengarry, Ralph Conner refers to the fiddler playing Tullochgorm in the 1870s which is a tune that is about as hard to play as it gets.
One of the first mentions of Glengarry Fiddlers in the Glengarry News was the McCormick Brothers Orchestra in the late 1890s
Johnny Ranald the Clavert MacDonald and Donald R MacDonald and Mary Francis MacPhee played on Montreal Radio Station CFCF in 1933. They must have been great musicians as they are still referred to some 80 years later.
From the 1920’s to the 1980’s “Violin Scotch Music Championships” in the Alexander Hall in Alexandria were very popular. The competition was open to Glengarry residents and ex-residents. Competitors were required to play one Strathspey and one other Scottish Selection of their own choosing. They could provide their own accompanist or one would be provided. The advertisement for the 1929 competition indicated that following the competition, a social evening reminiscent of Glengarry Days 50 years ago would be held. Admission was 50 cents and “God Save The King”
According to the Glengarry News, the 1929 winner was Mr. John R (Clavert)MacDonald of St Raphaels who played Lady Caroline Montague as his strathspey with his other tune was Scott Skinner’s Complements to Dr McDonald. He received such an ovation he was obliged to play an encore – The Golden Eagle Hornpipe. The Runner up was J Neil (Austin R) MacDonald of Glen Nevis. His tunes were the Miller of Drone, The Braes of Argentire and the Marchioness of Tullybardine. There were 13 contestants and 4 accompanists.
The (old) Glengarry Historical Society had Scottish competitions in the 1960s & 1970s at the high school in Alexandria. The competition was for Scottish fiddle, piano, voice, accordion & old time fiddling. The fiddling contest included categories for fiddlers under 12 years old, under 18 years and an open contest. Among the winners was Ian MacLeod director of Scottish fiddling at the Glengarry Highland Games
Among winners in the piano class were Lloyd MacCuaig and Anne (MacKenzie) MacNaughton.
The 1940s and 1950s were the eras of the orchestras with violins as the main instrument. The was also the era of community halls : Barb, Glen Sandfield, Dunvegan, Greenfield and of course MacCrimmon Hall. Among the orchestras were:
The Skye Orchestra with the MacQueens,
The Dougie Boys, (Duncan, Donald, Hughie and Elmer MacDonald)
The MacCrimmon Orchestra and The Glen Orchestra are examples of this music.
Father John MacPhail also organized fiddlers during this era that played at many concerts.
Other popular venues for Scottish fiddling were Bob’s Hotel in Dalhousie and the Atlantic Hotel in Alexandria where such fiddlers as Little Jack MacDonald and Johnny Mooring were regular performers respectively.
They were followed in the 1970’s to 2000 by The Glengarry Old Tyme Fiddlers, The Glengarry Strathspey and Reel Society and The Lochiel Strings
The 21st Century has featured The Glengarry Fiddlers and the young generation of the MacLeod Fiddlers of Ian MacLeod’s School of Fiddling, The David MacPhee Fiddlers and students of Ashley MacLeod.
Donald Joseph MacPhee has taught many adults fiddling at evening classes at the High School in Alexandria
Accompaniment
In the early days the music was played without accompaniment; it featured the fiddle by itself or a two or three together occasionally with a guitar.
High A tuning helped increased volume The traditional tuning of the violin of GDAE became AEAE
1890s Pump Organ
1920s Piano
1990s Keyboards
Fiddling at the Highland Games
Fiddling at the Glengarry Highland Games began in 1948 at the very first games.
In 1957 Father John McPhail of St. Finnan’s Parish in Alexandria put together a group described as “old-time fiddlers.” They played on the main stage and included many of Glengarry’s noted violinists of the time. In 1966 a group of 25 area fiddlers played for dancing at a post-Games party “in the show hall.”
In the early 1970’s, Malcolm Dewar and Ron Claire began putting on a Saturday afternoon of Scottish Fiddling in the old Angus Gray Building and it was a success. It was built on and in subsequent years it became one of the main attractions of the Glengarry Highland Games.
The Glengarry Massed Fiddlers as we now know them were assembled for Glengarry 1979 - a show of Glengarry talent at the National Art Center in Ottawa. Under the direction of Malcolm Dewar a group of Glengarry violinists were organized as a highlight of the show. There were 24 Glengarry Fiddlers on stage. They were accompanied by Catherine Olive Defreitas. Of this group there are approximately 10 violinists who will be playing at this year’s festivities at the Glengarry Highland Games. For the Art Center performance music was organized into groups of 3 or 4 tunes that were played a single set. Four such sets were played at the Art Center in 1979 and will be featured by the massed fiddlers this year at the Games.
Motivated by the resurgence of Scottish fiddling in Glengarry, in the mid 1980’s and the success of the Art’s Center Massed Fiddlers, the Scottish Fiddle Committee under the leadership of Malcolm Dewar and Donaldson MacLeod organized a group of fiddlers to form the Glengarry Massed Fiddlers. This group which now averages around 75 to 80 fiddlers and has become a popular act at the Pre-Games concert on Friday nights. To repay the fiddlers for their time, a Scottish Fiddle Workshop was organized on Saturday mornings. Guest instructors included well known fiddlers such as Buddy MacMaster, Brenda Stubbart and Jerry Holland from Cape Breton , Ed Perlman from Boston and of course, from Glengarry, our own Kelli Trottier and Ashley MacLeod. These workshops have become very popular with fiddlers from far and wide and are now an integral part of the Games.
In 2005 the Scottish Fiddling moved to the hall in the Arena and the Saturday afternoon became a highlight of the day. The continuous music and the family atmosphere has led to a standing room only audience from 2 pm to 5 pm. This event has become so popular that in 2009 the Scottish Fiddling Committee extended the format to two afternoons. Due to the revival of interest among young fiddlers, the “Young Fiddlers’ Showcase” was initiated in the Fiddlers’ Hall on Friday afternoon from 2 pm to 5 pm. Under the direction of the Chair of Scottish Fiddling, Ian MacLeod, this event has proved to be a popular format for young performers; it is living proof that the future of Scottish fiddling is in good hands.
Events At This Year’s Highland Games
Fiddling can be found at all venues of the Highland Games – we are all over. Among the main venues
Friday Youth Fiddling - 2 to 5 pm in the Arena Hall
Friday Massed Fiddlers Warm Up 5:30 to 6pm in the Arena Hall
Friday Massed Fiddlers 6:30 pm Massed Fiddling Main Stage in front of the Grandstand
Saturday Fiddle Workshop 9:30 to 11:30 in the Arena Hall
Saturday 1:30 – 4:30 in the Arena Hall. This is the main fiddle show.Glengarry Violinists from the Celtic Music Hall of fame
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*(This is not in the talk but since I did the list to find the number in the HoF I will leave it attached for future reference)
Kelli Trottier, Edna MacMillan, Malcolm Dewar, Ian MacLeod, Donald J. MacPhee, David MacPhee, Father John MacPhail,
Johnny Ranald the Clavert MacDonald, Rene Trottier, Allan MacPhail, Neil Austin R MacDonald
Duncan Picket MacDonald, Dougie MacDonald (Duncan, Donald and Hughie) Boys, Sid Plamdon, Darrel MacLeod, Cliff Breton
Duncan the Farmer MacDonald, Carol Kennedy Zadarozny, Gerald MacGillis, Donaldson MacLeod, Gerry O’Neill
Findley McDonell, John Angus MacDonald, Fred Leroux, the Glen Orchestra (Beverly MacQueen, Donald Ian MacLeod, Hugh Allen MacMillan) The MacQueens from Skye (Beverly Johnny and Billy) - over 30 in all
Also groups such as The Lochiel Strings, The Glengarry Old Time Fiddlers and the Glengarry Strathspey and Reel Society
Also as a reference
Guests for Fiddle Workshops GS&RS Workshop Guest 2019 Heather Flipsen 2018 Peter Dawson 2017 Ross Davison 2016 Rob Taylor 2015 Glengarry Fiddlers’ CD 2014 Donaldson MacLeod 2013 Koryne Fraser 2012 Ashley MacLeod 2011 Kelsey McDonell 2010 David MacPhee 2009 Gary Cooper 2008 Sherryl Fitzpatrick 2007 Ian MacLeod 2006 Dennis Alexander 2005 Bobby Lalonde 2004 Kathy Fraser Collins 2003 Laura Risk (Apple Hill Hall) 2002 Donald Joseph MacPhee 2001 Peter Dawson 2000 1999 GS&RS 1998 1997 1996 1995 Ralph Thompson 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 Ron Gonella 1986 Kelli Trottier Barbara MacOwen Buddy MacMaster Gerry Pitzerella years umknow
Glengarry Highland Games Workshop 2019 David MacPhee, Donaldson MacLeod 2018 David MacPhee, Ian MacLeod 2017 Doug Leahy & his family 2016 Kelli Trottier 2015 Wendy MacIsaac 2014 Shelly Campbell 2013 Mike Hall 2012 Andrea Beaton 2011 Stan Chapman 2010 Kimberley Fraser & Bill Brian 2009 Sandy MacIntyre 2008 Troy MacGillivray 2007 Kendra MacGillivray 2006 Ashley MacLeod 2005 Brenda Stubbert 2004 Ashley MacLeod 2003 Jerry Holland 2002 Ed Pearlman 2001 Buddy MacMaster 2000 Kendra MacGillivray 1999 Kendra MacGillivray 1998 David MacIsaac 1997 Natalie MacMaster 1996 Jerry Holland 1995 Carl MacKenzie (first workshop) Richard Wood & Natalie MacMaster played at Games (Natalie in ‘94), but did not do workshop.
Done – my interest is sparked in attending the next Glengarry Highland Games for sure! I look forward to seeing the usual more than 50 pipe bands put through their paces to decide the North American Pipe Band Championships along with the Highland Dance competition and the hurling of the telephone pole sized cabers and 50-pound iron hammers around the infield. Sounds like one incredible event!
Glengarry, here I come!
Nancy Dupuis