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October 12,
2006
Honouring MacMaster: Dignitaries, musicians pay tribute to
master of the fiddle
Halifax Herald
MEET DR.
BUDDY.
That’s the
new title for Cape Breton fiddle legend Hugh A. "Buddy"
MacMaster, who was made an honorary Doctor of Letters by
Cape Breton University on Monday. As a special tribute,
university dignitaries travelled to MacMaster’s home town of
Judique, on Cape Breton’s scenic west coast, to present the
honour at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church.
Dressed in
the university’s new green and gold robes — representing the
natural colours of Cape Breton, with black and silver
stripes to honour those who worked the island’s coal and
steel — the 82-year-old MacMaster smiled at the sight of his
church filled with friends, fans and family, including niece
and star musician Natalie MacMaster, with husband Donnell
Leahy and 10-month-old daughter Mary Francis.
"Honours
like these are granted to those who have achieved
excellence, and Buddy has done that in so many ways," said
university president and vice-chancellor Dr. H. John Harker.
"He has contributed greatly not only to Cape Breton’s
cultural life, but to its community life as well."
The timing
of MacMaster’s presentation couldn’t have been better,
coming in the midst of the Celtic Colours International
Festival’s 10th successful year as well as on the eve of the
official launch of the university’s new Centre for Cape
Breton Studies.
Premier
Rodney MacDonald, whose own fiddle skills are no secret,
recalled attending MacMaster’s dances in nearby Glencoe as a
child, approaching the hall, seeing the lights, and hearing
the sound of the dancers’ feet.
"Buddy put
the emphasis in all the right places and hit all the right
notes," said the premier, praising the spirit and energy of
his playing. "He’s not only a fiddler’s fiddler, but a
dancer’s fiddler too . . . and people would dance all night.
"Everyone
loved those nights with Buddy MacMaster."
At a
reception following the ceremony, at the new Celtic Music
Interpretive Centre across the street, the dean of Cape
Breton fiddling discussed his new status as a doctor of
letters with typical humility. "I’m glad; I think it shows
people still appreciate the music. I’m sure it’ll inspire
the younger musicians to stick with it, and they can receive
such honours themselves some day."
Later that
night MacMaster was joined on stage by a number of inspired
younger musicians next door at the Judique Community Centre,
for a sold-out show titled The Judique Flyer, after an
ancient local steam engine that rarely got above 20 m.p.h.
Monday
night’s performance was certainly not a low speed affair,
with plenty of jigs and reels moving along at a clip worthy
of the Ceilidh Trail. The show began on a historic note with
Ferintosh’s unique combination of Celtic and baroque sounds,
bridging past and present via Abby Newton’s cello, Kim
Robertson’s harp and David Greenberg’s violin.
Greenberg’s playing has become more soulful over the years,
without sacrificing any of his superb technical ability,
blending with the rich texture of the cello and crisp
pizzicato of the harp on a set that included John Morris
Rankin’s Cole’s Reel. As an added treat, the trio was joined
by dancer Sabra MacGillivray, now living down the road in
Creignish, lending her lithe steps to the passionate sounds.
American-Irish fiddler Liz Carroll and guitarist John Doyle
performed their portion of the show with an equal amount of
energy, starting with a whizzing set of reels in the Irish
tradition, full of joy and life, followed by a batch of
jigs, including Battering Ram as well as a Doyle original.
Carroll’s
slippery grace notes and wry glissandos sounded like a
musical smile while Doyle’s bent notes between his jig’s
tumbling triplets added a bluesy flavour to their Irish
stew.
Next came
the man of the hour, as MacMaster took the stage with
pianist Marion Dewar to an immediate standing ovation.
"I haven’t
played yet!" he marvelled. "When I start playing you might
all walk out."
Of course,
no such thing happened, as he performed a set of jigs and
reels, inlcuding one written for Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald
by Sandy MacIntyre, that showed no sign of lack of vitality
or musical acumen, with all the emphasis in the right
places, and the right amount of West Coast grit in every cut
of the bow.
Danish duo
Haugaard and Hoirup brought a whole other tradition to the
Judique stage, playing jigs, reels and polkas from Northern
Europe with a special Baltic flair. Morten Hoirup’s jazzy
guitar chording drove along Harald Haugaard’s playful and
dexterous fingering style which included familiar Celtic
elements as well as darker Danish ones.
"Are you
enjoying yourself tonight?" asked veteran Cape Breton
fiddler Jerry Holland to a warm round of applause. "We’ll
see if we can fix that," he grinned.
Accompanied by Dewar, Holland played up to the Judique crowd
with a set of Buddy tunes, impeccably performed of course,
before displaying his skill at the slower stuff with his own
Lonesome Eyes, inspired by a mournful long distance phone
call from his son. Graceful and sweet, with a full-bodied
tone rising from the bow, Holland proved the Cape Breton
fiddling legacy preserved by Dr. MacMaster will still have a
lot of life left in it for years to come.
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