“The Images of Atlantic Canada Found in Recent Roots/Traditional Music: What is it like ‘down there’?” By Kelly Kathleen Miller A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Atlantic Canada Studies at Saint Mary’s University Halifax, Nova Scotia July 23, 2004 © Kelly Kathleen Miller Approved By: Dr. Padraig Ô Sladhail Supervisor Dr. Margaret Harry Reader Dr. Kenneth MacKinnon Reader Kathleen E. 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By Kelly Kathleen Miller Submitted July 2004 Abstract: This thesis is a study of the images of Atlantic Canada found in 100 CD recordings of traditional Scottish and Irish music from the region (1986-2002). The first chapter contains definitions of terms used frequently within the thesis. The second chapter presents a general history of the music industry, the recording of traditional music, and the industry in Atlantic Canada. The third chapter outlines the methodology used for a survey of the 100 CDs, which includes questions on the use of traditional instrumentation, images of Atlantic Canada found in liner notes, translation of lyrics in the liner notes, and explanation of the music tradition in the liner notes. The third chapter concludes with a discussion of the survey results. Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... i Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter One ................................................................................................................ 7 Immigration and “Celtic Music” .................................................................. 7 Tradition and Traditional Music .................................................................. 15 Scottish and Irish Traditional Music .............................................................. 27 Who Owns or Who Controls the Tradition?................................................. 36 The Position of Musicians in the Community ............................................. 40 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 46 Chapter Two ................................................................................................................ 49 Introduction .................................................................................................... 49 The Beginning of Recorded Sound and Music ............................................. 50 The Structure of the Corporate Music Industry ............................................. 56 The Music Industry in Atlantic Canada ......................................................... 60 Post World War II Music Industry in Atlantic Canada ................................ 64 The Industry since 1990 ................................................................................... 67 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 74 Chapter Three ................................................................................................................ 75 Methodology .................................................................................................... 82 Conclusions........................................................................................................ 89 Appendices .................................................................................................................... 113 Appendix A; Recordings ........................................................................................... 114 Appendix B: Instrumentation ....................................................................................... 120 Appendix C: Liner Notes ........................................................................................... 196 Appendix D: Theme Information ............................................................................... 203 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 250 n The Images of Atlantic Canada Found in Recent Roots/Traditional Music: What is it like “down there”? Introduction In Atlantic Canada, the burgeoning interest in regional studies has uncovered a wealth of previously unrecorded stories about the region’s history and peoples. These discoveries challenge and compel the academic community to revisit and revise the standard historical narrative and to incorporate new fields of enquiry such as women’s studies and cultural studies into current research and writing. In turn, these new fields of study have the potential to dispel accepted stereotypes about this region. One particular area of regional studies which has been under-explored to date is that of traditional music in the modem world. The work done in this field so far has emphasized conservation efforts, field recordings and documentation centred around elderly singers and musicians, and rapidly disappearing styles and techniques. The labours of Helen Creighton, Roy Mackenzie, Edith Fowke, and others to preserve and study the “folk” music of this region, and in Canada, are well documented.' Recently scholars such as John Shaw have continued to focus on projects of salvaging the remnants of the older tradition.^ This is a worthwhile and important pursuit, but it does not address the present musical culture of Atlantic Canada. Their work has informed and aided this thesis greatly but it has also made obvious that there is no sizeable research base on the intertwining of the music industry and traditional music in this region. James Robbins, a current ethnomusicologist, makes the observation about the study of traditional music. One of the most striking things about the history of traditional-music research in Canada is that it is uneven: as a pattern, it is irregular.. .Embarking with conventional notions both of scholarship and of traditional music, we generally turned to other kinds of sources (novels, commercial publications and recording and travel documents) only when ‘scholarly’ reports and collections were not available.^ While acknowledging the valuable contribution of scholars to the study of aspects of traditional music in Atlantic Canada, this thesis, in examining the images of the region that are presented in 100 recent commercial traditional recordings, explores the portrayal ' Helen Creighton, Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia Collected by Helen Creighton (Toronto: J.M. Dent & Sons, Limited, 1932). William Roy Mackenzie,Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova Scotia (Hatboro, Pennsylvania: Folklore Associates, 1963). Edith Fowke, Lumbering Songs from the Northern Woods (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1970). ^ Lauchie MacLellan, Brigh an Orain: A Story in Every Song, trans. and ed. John Shaw (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2000). ^ James Robbins, “Lessons Learned, Questions Raised: Writing a History of Ethnomusicology in Canada,”Canadian Journal for Traditional Music (1992) http://www.cjtm.icaap.org/content/20/v20art2.html (accessed July 2004). of Atlantic Canada within the contemporary music industry. Thus, it seeks to open up another area of scholarly inquiry in the field of traditional music research. The tourism industry includes music in its list of Atlantic Canada’s attractions. The official government website for economic planning in Nova Scotia also mentions music as a rapidly growing portion of the tourism sector of the local economy.'* In 1999, the online newsletter Cooperation: Economic Diversification Agreement quoted Marcel McKeough, the Chair of the East Coast Music Association at the time, as saying: “The music industry is an important part of Atlantic Canada’s