> Shannon: As rural Scots were evicted from their homes in the eighteenth century they sought refuge in the states and Canada and large Gaelic speaking communities in Nova Scotia were established. > Mary Jane: Like, just like they just picked up and went in huge kinship groups. > Mary Jane: They say that up in known history, that was the largest human migration from one specific area to another. > Shannon: Christmas trees grow from mucky, smelly earth… and decay.Īnd the music on Cape Breton-the little island on the Eastern edge of Nova Scotia? THAT grew from the devastating mess of the Highland Clearances. [Music: “Little Bird Lullaby,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
> Shannon: So we’re on the Boston Common, standing right in front of the Nova Scotia tree for Boston. And one way to commemorate that friendship is to traipse around the Boston Common here’s my family and a few tourists back in December. Many Bostonians feel connected to Nova Scotia in the best of times. > Shannon: Yeah, we just visited the tree! > Mary Jane: It’s quite beautiful that they continue that relationship. And to this day Nova Scotia donates a Christmas tree to the city of Boston as a token of continued appreciation. [ Music: “Little Bird Lullaby,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories Including the Mi’kmaq First Nation in Turtle Cove. Thousands of people died or were injured and displaced. Two ships collided, one loaded with explosives. > Shannon: That’s Cape Breton-based singer Mary Jane Lamond, talking about the Halifax Explosion of 1917. And Boston sent up, uh, supplies and medical workers and trainloads of stuff and Nova Scotia never forgot. > Mary Jane: There was a huge explosion in Halifax. Maybe living more lightly on the Earth comes after months of working from home and hunkering down with our families.Īnd an abiding bond between two cities can form in the wake of tragedy: Kindness and healing can bloom and a nation can ban assault weapons after a horrific mass shooting. …like how beautiful things can grow out of destruction and waste.Ī garden can grow from an old pile of manure... [ Music: Tune: “Blue Bonnets Over The Border/Khazi,” from Happy Daze And this is Irish Music Stories, the show about traditional music, and the bigger stories behind it... > Lee Cremo: Mi’kmaw fiddle player who played Cape Breton and original music (1938-1999) > Katie McNally: Cape Breton fiddle player from Boston, Massachusetts
> Andrea Beaton: fiddle player, piano player, and dancer from a long line of musicians > Troy MacGillivray: fiddle and piano player from Nova Scotia > Alasdair Fraser: Scotland-born fiddler who founded music camps and performs with Natalie Haas > Nigel Heaton: young announcer for Irish Music Stories > Mary Jane Lamond: Canadian singer who performs traditional Gaelic songs from Cape Breton > Shannon Heaton: flute player, singer, composer, teacher, and host of Irish Music Stories This Irish Music Stories episode aired May 12, 2020 Thank you to everybody for listening. And a special thank you to this month’s underwriters: Peter Lee, Gabriele Clemens, Loretta Egan Murphy, John Boyce, Sol Foster, Paul Grajciar, Lisa and Bryon Giddens-White, Jen Strom, Chris Murphy, Pat Wilcox, Suezen Brown, Lance Ramshaw, Mark Haynes, David Vaughan, Brian Benscoter, Gerard Corr, Susan Walsh, Rick Rubin, Randy Krajniak, and Jon Duvick.Įpisode 41 – Transplanting Tradition in the Land of the Trees: How old Scottish tunes bloomed into Cape Breton traditions I also delve into the music of the late Lee Cremo from the Eskasoni First Nation community. Singer Mary Jane Lamond and fiddle players Troy MacGillivray, Andrea Beaton, Alasdair Fraser, Katie McNally help me trace the resonance of Gaelic culture in Canada’s “New Scotland,” and in the Boston States. This month’s Irish Music Stories episode is an exploration of how rampant evictions in Scotland and military ship collisions in Cape Breton helped forge abiding bonds between cities… and through generations. Beautiful things can grow out of destruction and waste: gardens can grow from an old pile of manure kindness and healing can bloom after horrific tragedies and triumphant jigs and reels can endure and sustain communities.