Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maritimes Music
If Atlantic Canada were a bowl of chowder, music would be the stock in
which everything floats. During the winter, fiddle, accordion, piano, vocal
harmonies and vivid storytelling keep folks warm and happy; come spring
the doors burst open and well-oiled skills are let out in the sunshine. As a
visitor you'll run into live performances everywhere, be they called 'ceilidhs'
(kay-lees), 'shindigs' or 'kitchen parties;' even if you never gave fiddle mu-
sic a thought, the festive ambience will make you want to join in, sing along
or tap your feet surreptitiously in time.
This region has been mixing cultures since humans have had the technology to cross
oceans. It seems that everyone who has come to these shores has brought some sort of in-
strument, be it a drum, fiddle or bagpipe, along with a bit of rhythm and even more soul.
Throughout the centuries music has been a force that has brought these folks from all
corners of the globe, and today, everyone from Aboriginal to Scottish and Acadian musi-
cians produce compositions that define the region.
Aboriginal
Aboriginal cultures who populated the Atlantic coast for thousands of years are known to
have sung, played music and danced, but details are few. Today, native music has been
strongly influenced by the power of the fiddle. The most recent famous Mi'kmaq musi-
cian was Lee Cremo (1939-99), whose fiddle-playing talents mixing Mi'kmaq, Scottish
and Irish music took him as far as Nashville and Hollywood. It's said that no one played
quite like Lee, and he was ranked by many as one of the top 10 fiddle players of his time
in North America.
The Mi'kmaq word that most roughly translates into the English word for music is
welta'q,
which literally means 'it sounds good.' This is a wide definition that has come to
encompass the poetry of Rita Joe (1932-2007), who is often referred to as the poet laur-
eate of the Mi'kmaq people. Joe's poems are frequently set to music for school perform-
ances but even as spoken word are considered to 'sound good' and thus be as agreeable
and entertaining as a song. Over her lifetime Joe published seven books of poetry, which
can be found online and in bookstores around Nova Scotia.
Your best chance of hearing traditional music is at one of several powwows held around
the region; for modern aboriginal sounds, head to music festivals that highlight the re-
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