RESOUND a Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music
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RESOUND A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music Volume 22, Number 3/4 July/October 2003 A Journey through Time and Tradition: Laura Boulton's Discovery of Cape Breton Fiddler Sandy MacLean Kathleen Elizabeth Lavengood While searching for examples of early Celtic fiddlers performing the same tunes over a period of fiddle recordings at Indiana University's Archives of sixty years. Allister MacGillivray's monograph, Cape Traditional Music in January of.2002, I came across Breton Fiddler, and Ian Francis McKinnon's Masters an exceptional field recording of Cape Breton fiddler Thesis, Fiddling to Fortune, provided biographical Sandy MacLean recorded by Laura Boulton in 1941. information about Sandy MacLean. I turned to the Boulton's field notes for this particular recording were National Film Board of Canada's mission statement incomplete and at times mislabeled; further research led to learn the historical·context surrounding the me to find that although.Sandy MacLean was admired funding project that allowed Laura Boulton to record in Cape Breton as a fine fiddler, there was no written in Cape Breton. A trip to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, account of why and how Laura Boulton came to record . in 2003 helped to fill in the remaining pieces of the MacLean. In fact, MacLean had previously denied all puzzle. At the Gaelic College of Arts and Crafts requests to be recorded in a studio setting, and Boulton's located in St. Ann's, Cape Breton, faculty member recording remains the only archival-quality recording Stan Chapman remembered Sandy MacLean's playing ofSandy MacLean today. I Funded by the 2002-2003 and was able to help identify the unnamed pianist in Laura Boulton Research Fellowship, I was able to the 1941 recording as Lila Macisaac by her unique explore four unanswered questions surrounding this and well-known accompanimental style. recording: 1) How did Laura Boulton come to record My aim in this essay is not only to answer Sandy MacLean? 2) from whom did Sandy MacLean lingering questions surrounding this recording, but learn to play the fiddle and what contributions did he also to highlight the unique role archival recordings make to the Cape Breton fiddle tradition? 3) what can can serve in documenting the changes musical be learned about the Cape Breton fiddle tradition from traditions endure over time. Using Laura Boulton's the repertoire and performance practices exhibited in short documentary New Scotland (accession number the 1941 recording? and finally, 4) what function do 92-497-F ATL) and reel-to-reel audio recordings old field recordings serve in contemporary Cape Breton of fiddler Sandy MacLean (accession number 92- fiddle performance practices? 326-F ALT) as a case-study of one fiddler's tempo's In an effort to answer these questions, I transcribed ornamentation, and repertoire during the 1940s, each fiddle tune from the recording and conferred with Sandy MacLean's recording can be juxtaposed against Cape Breton music-publisher Paul Cranford to learn the contemporary recordings in order to provide the names of each tune, which then allowed me to compare space in which to evaluate changes that have taken MacLean's repertoire and style to recordings of other {continued on page two} place between fiddlers, recordings; transcriptions, tourists, the film board stood to gain from both and dance practices over the past sixty years in governmental funding and commercial revenues. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The NFB's abstract of Boulton's documentary New Scotland reads; "this brief tour shows Nova Laura Boulton Expedition to Canada Scotians at home, at work, and at leisure while In 1941, Laura Boulton embarked on a giving a panoramic view of the province's coasts, North American expedition to collect the folk farms, and forests."5 These films are now for sale music of Canada, where she came to record via the NFB website, with online stills of the fiddler Sandy MacLean. Commissioned by the films acting as postcards promoting Gaelic Cape Canadian government and the National Film Breton culture. Board of Canada (NFBC), her goals were to produce twelve films on various cultural groups in Cape Breton ~idd1er Sandy MacLean Canada, record their music, and present the films Sandy MacLean was a valued member of and recordings to lecture audiences and university the Cape Breton fiddle community during the groups throughout the United States. Mter 1940's. While touring Cape Breton, Boulton's returning from the expedition, Laura Boulton 'Gaelic contact,' M.R. MacLeod, took her recounted Nova Scotian's strong reflection of straight to MacLean, claiming him to be "the their Scots-Gaelic heritage: "In Cape Breton, I best fiddler in Cape .Breton."6 Sandy had been found Gaelic songs so old they had been lost and asked repeatedly to be recorded commercially, forgotten in Scotland but they were preserved in but he always refused. He was, however, their original purity in the New World to which persuaded to perform for Laura Boulton. they had been transplanted."2 On Cape Breton Either for posterity's sake, or possibly under the Island, Boulton recorded fiddle and bagpipe influence of Boulton's charm, he performed for performances, songs, and sermons delivered in Scots-Gaelic. Selection$ from these recordings, including fiddler Sandy MacLean's performance of the hornpipe titled "President GraJ:u," were used in the subsequent soundtrack for the 11- RESOUND A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music minute documentary titled New Scotland. Laura Boulton's 1941 commission was Marilyn Graf, Editor one of the first awarded by the newly formed We are pleased to accept comments, letters, and submissions. Please address your correspondence National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The to RESOUND at: establishment of the NFB circa 1940 was, Archives of Traditional Music in part, a response to World War II; the film Morrison Hall 117 commissioner, John Grierson, was known as a Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405 specialist in the psychology of propaganda, and [email protected] the film board concentrated on the production www.indiana.edU/~libarchm of patriotic films during its formative years.3 Daniel B. Reed, Director Marilyn B. Graf, Archivist Governmen t funding was endowed to the NF B Suzanne Mudge, Librarian under the agreement that they were to "make Mike Casey, Coordinator of Recording Services Megan Glass, Office Services Assistant and distribute films designed to help all parts of Canada to understand the ways of living and ISSN 0749-2472 the problems of Canadians in other parts of the world."4 With the goal of producing films that would both educate and advertise to potential 2 her on solo fiddle a full dance set, including two MacIsaac's Favorite," "Palace Theatre Clog," Scotch airs, several hornpipes, two strathspeys, and the "Dismissal Reel." 9 and both a slow and a fast "Scottish Dance." His local representation of the traditional dance The Skye and MacQuarrie Thne Collections tempos, dotted rhythms, and use of Sandy MacLean's 1941 recording paints ornamentation exhibit many of the musical a candid picture of choices fiddlers were characteristics associated today with Cape Breton making in regard to repertoire during this fiddling. MacLean learned to play Scottish fiddling period. Tune collections published in America, style from family members who had immigrated to like Ryans Mammoth Collection (1883), were the island from the Scottish Hebrides, and from popular during this period, as well as Irish and childhood friends well versed in the Scottish Scottish manuscripts, but MacLean choose the fiddle repertoire. Born in 1893 in Foot Cape, majority of his tunes from Scottish collections. MacLean was known for his sense of humor as Out of the twenty tunes MacLean performed well as fiddle playing. When telling how he came for Boulton, half can be found in the 1887 S~e to play the fiddle he adds; "My grandfather played Collection, a manuscript compilation of Scottish a little, and my father played fair. My uncle was a tunes for violin recently reprinted by publisher good player-Charles William MacLean. There Paul Cranford. The original editor, Keith was lots of music in the family, even the sewing N orman MacDonald, drew from extant machine was a Singer."7 . Scottish violin compositions, including "The MacLean's great-grandfather, Donald Ban Gows" (Vol. 1, 1784), Davies' "Caledonian (1794-1874), settled in Foot Cape after the Repository," and the tunes of James Scott family's land on the Isle of Rum was sold to a Skinner, who MacDonald refers to as "the best mo game farm. Sandy first began on the bagpipes, but living composer of Scottish music. The S ~e later picked up the fiddle. Early on he began to Collection was compiled to reflect in repertoire play with Allan Gillis, a championship boxer, step and performance practices, "all the fire and dancer, and childhood friend. Their grade school vigor of [Scottish] National Music.m1 This teacher, Mr. Laughlin, allowed the two boys to compilation gives the tune title, the tune's play for the class, clearing room for the rest of the dance form, a melodic transcription and a children to dance. The pair later befriended a third bass-line accompaniment in western classical party, Lila MacIsaac, who accompanied the pair notation. Although no ornamentation for on piano, forming a lifelong bond while either the piano or violin is indicated; the performing as a trio. editor prefaced the general dance tempos to be Sandy MacLean has proven to be one of adhe~ed to in performance: Cape Breton's more talented fiddlers and composers of the twentieth century. MacLean One word of caution may here be given won a fiddling contest in Boston in 1929; out of against the tendency that exists at the present twenty-one fiddlers, he took top prize of twenty day to play this class of music a great deal dollars, and 'Big' Dan Hughie MacEachern took too fast.