The paradox of the periphery: evolution of the Cape Breton fiddle tradition c1928 - 1995

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the evolution of the Cape Breton fiddle\ntradition, a process which I believe can be reasonably considered to have started in\nthe early decades of this century. The Scottish element in this tradition has already\nbeen expounded by scholars such as Kate Dunlay (1986a), Earl V. Spielman (1972),\nand Virginia Garrison (1985). The focus here will thus be on the Cape Breton\ncontribution to that musical tradition. Central to this will be the exploration of the\nidea that while Cape Breton can certainly be credited with the preservation over\nseveral generations of a distinct 18th century Highland sound, the twentieth century\nwitnessed the beginning of the development of a new musical sound, one which by\n1995 is easily identifiable as Cape Breton.\nMuch of the information presented is based on personal fieldwork conducted in Cape\nBreton during 1992, 1993 and 1995 (See Appendix D). Arriving in Cape Breton with\nno preconceived notions about the tradition (actually with very little knowledge\nabout the tradition, if the truth were to be told), I very quickly became aware of the\ncurrent concerns among the musical community there. Predominant among these\nwas an anxiety that the Cape Breton fiddler was changing. Not unexpectedly the\nfinger was being pointed in the direction of the generation of fiddlers in their late\nteens/early twenties. As an Irish fiddler who has on occasion been labelled in that\nsame category within my own tradition, this debate resonated strongly with me.\nCertainly I recognised that in the hands of a number of young Cape Breton fiddlers\nthe music was undergoing significant experimentation. While fully aware of the\ndangers inherent in observing the present through the past I found it particularly\ninteresting to note that many of the recent developments happening within the Cape\nBreton tradition had already been explored within the Irish tradition, particularly\nduring the 1970s and '80s. That tension between tradition and irmovation which has\nbeen a source of energy in Irish music for decades is only now becoming a significant\n15\nfactor within the Cape Breton situation. As I became more familiar with the Cape\nBreton tradition I became convinced that the changing Cape Breton fiddler is not a\nphenomenon of the 1990s, but instead has its genesis as far back as the 1920s. From\nthat period onwards other concerns, such as the strength and continuity of the\ntradition, which caused great alarm in the early '70s for instance, took priority over\nfears regarding the rate of change within the music tradition. The change which is\ntoday the focus of attention is the continuation of a process which has been in\noperation over several generations. Already the Highland Scottish fiddler has evolved\ninto the Cape Breton fiddler. Now the Cape Breton fiddler continues to evolve.\nWhile the focus of this thesis is that very process of evolution some brief background\ninformation is necessary in order to prove, essentially, that that sound which we now\nknow as Cape Breton certainly does have its origins in the Scottish Highlands of the\npast.

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