The notes and
tune titles below were transcribed from an interview of
Jerry talking about the recording with the recording
engineer /co-producer Paul MacDonald, June
28/2009.
1.
Angus MacIsaac (Jerry
Holland),
Angus William
MacDonnell
(Jerry Holland),
The
Black Hoe (Traditional),
The
Drover Lads
(Traditional)
I named the first jig
after Ashley MacIsaac's father Angus, who lives in
Cregnish. He was always a great supporter of my dances
when I first came around Cape Breton. I named the second
jig for Sally Rankin's father, Angus MacDonnell of
Judique. Angus was a dear, dear friend of mine and when
ever I see Sally we always have a few belly laughs
reminiscing about her father. I associate The Black Hoe
with fiddler Mike MacDougall, who was a great help to me
musically when I lived down north. It's an old Irish jig
but that's the Cape Breton title for it I believe. The
Drover Lads I heard Donald Angus play and just completely
loved what he did with it. I also heard Theresa MacLellan
play it, and she played it very tastefully. Yet, I never
really liked the standard arrangement of the parts, so
eventually I rearranged it to my own liking and that's
what you hear on this recording.
2. i.
Golden
Legs (Liz
Carroll) ii.
Lively Steps
(Jerry Holland) iii. Garmont
Smiddy (Dan
R. MacDonald)
I recorded Golden Legs
for a home session you (Paul MacDonald) recorded back in
2004. I must have heard Liz play it sometime prior to
that. I never really listened to that recording again
until this spring when you played it for me one day, and
I was really shocked when I heard the recording - it
sounded like me but I truthfully didn't remember learning
it at any given time. I couldn't think of where it came
from or anything like that, but the next day I tried it
and after a few minutes - I had it again. So I must have
put some time into that tune. I named the next reel
Lively Steps because it just seemed like a tune that
would suit the dancers that I knew in my early days such
as Angus Gillis and Harvey MacKinnon. These were the
dancers who danced out the melody of the tune you were
playing and I thought with Lively Steps, wouldn't that be
exciting to hear those old-time dancers matching their
steps to that melody. Garmont Smiddy dates back to the
Cape Breton Symphony days and it's a wicked reel with
lots of drive, good for finishing off a set such as this
one.
3. The Danish
Cape Breton Society
(Jerry Holland)
On my first visits to
Denmark, back in the late '90s, I was so touched to find
so many people who loved and played my music. We were
also mesmerized by the strong fiddle traditions there,
with their waltzes and jigs that sounded like ours. But
you know it was quite a collection of instant new
friends. A visit to Denmark's Tøndor's Festival in
2000 was a wonderful time where a reception was hosted
for us at the infamous "green tent" and several fiddlers
played my music for me. There was great music from that
era, that enlightened us, that we enjoyed and took home.
The nice thing about all this as far as I'm concerned is
the acknowledgment that the tune-smithing gets - and how
far reaching and long lasting these tunes can be
sometimes. After a few years the Danish Cape Breton
Society was formed and I composed this tune with all
those fine people in mind. The tune was meant to be a
very stately and serious, yet lovely sounding like so
many of the Danish waltzes.
4.
All My Friends
(Jerry Holland), Joey
Beaton's Reel (Jerry
Holland), Father
John Angus Rankin (Jerry
Holland)
The first two reels
from this set were on my first record which came out on
the Rounder label in 1976, and I thought a lot of color
could be added to the medley by playing Father John Angus
Rankin's reel after them. All
My Friends were
at that point (1976) all the older fiddlers who would
encourage me, in particular someone like Angus Allan
Gillis. I remember the last day I saw him, on a street
corner in front of Beaton's store, Mabou, and I had been
at Glendale the day before, and played those two tunes.
He said "those are great tunes boy" and he had them
pretty well down with his whistling. He even danced a
little step as he whistled and told me to keep making
tunes just before he crossed the street. I never forgot
that - and considered it high praise. Joey Beaton played
piano on my Rounder record back then. Father John Angus
Rankin - as a tune - came years later. John Angus loved
the key of B minor and was a great piano player himself,
and when I made the tune, of course it was with him in
mind.
5. Tears
(Jerry Holland)
Tears came to me during
a transitional period in my life, and it just seemed to
hit at the right time. The air was so endearing and I
just liked it so much and played it a lot over the years,
maybe even over played it. Yet, it's a waltz that seemed
to go over well wherever, and I've got to hear a lot of
players at it. Although I have recorded Tears before, the
aspect of recording it with John just opened up a door to
a different sound and interpretation all together - and
he did a masterful job on it I must say - and I'm so
thankful to him for his sensitive touch, on this, and
throughout the recording.
6.
The
Farewell (William
Marshall, PD) Carey's
Irish Hospitality
(Jerry Holland) Gillian
Head (Jerry
Holland)
The
Farewell is a
tune I learned from a home recording of Carl MacKenzie. I
always liked the tune, although it's not played a lot.
It's real pretty and I really liked the style and
arrangement that Carl played it with on that tape. I
composed Carey's Irish Hospitality for the family and
home of musician Dennis Carey who lives near Newport,
County Tipperary, Ireland. Dennis and his family were
full of kindness, and were brave enough to give me the
reigns of their kitchen when I stayed there. I would cook
for them in the morning and then hold the fry-pan up to
the fire-alarm as a way to say - breakfast is ready! The
tune Gillian Head dates back to 2000, when my Second
Collection was published. Gillian was a student of mine
at that time and it was published in the book as a
surprise for her. That Christmas, Gillian wrote me a
thank you card and signed it "to the man who made the
best tune on page 55, and it's not Carey's Irish
Hospitality!"
7.
The Bridge of Inver (James
MacIntosh / PD), The
Isle of Skye (Traditional),
Miss
Watt (Traditional),
Juanita
(A. Pushie / PD), Mrs.
Duncan Forbes of
Muirtown
(William Morrison / PD)
These are old Cape
Breton Symphony tunes. I worked with the
group for for three years, when I was in my
late teens, and I have to say it was one of the most
intense learning periods of my life. During those years I
must have learned a thousand tunes or something like
that. Some of them I learned from tapes, others from old
home recordings and a lot were learned right on the spot,
one on one, sometimes just before a show aired! Although
it was quite an honor to work with Winston and Angus, two
childhood heroes, there was a lot of pressure to perform
well. But those guys - and Wilfred Gillis, Joe Cormier,
and John Donald Cameron were so good to me. It was a
wonderful experience and this left me well equipped -
repertoire wise - for the Cape Breton dance circuit where
you need to play at least a hundred tunes in the run of a
night. These are all old Scottish book tunes I understand
with the exception of Juanita
which I'm told has an American source, 1000 Fiddle
Tunes.
8. My
Cape Breton Home
(Jerry Holland)
The title for this air
is a reference to my father's extreme love for Cape
Breton's music and people. It started out as something
like what my father might sing, and then end up crying.
It's kind of a sentimental Irish air or ballad, and it
seemed at the time like something that would really suit
him. The air matured over the years with the different
variations I would add to it, and often times during the
'80s I would play it as a jig entitled Allister's
Friendship, named for Allister MacGillivray. My Cape
Breton Home first appeared on my 1987 recording, Lively
Steps, and I chose to record it again after hearing
John's delicate finger-style chord
arrangement.
9.
The Vega Mandolin (Jerry
Holland)
This is one of my older
compositions and that's kind of an odd tune in its own
right. Today's version may differ a little bit from the
book. It was a tune that character-wise, I didn't really
have anything to really go with it, so I didn't really
play the tune that much over the years. John took an
immediate liking to it and the way he made it sound, the
jig really seems to stand on it own. The Vega Mandolin
was a nice old arched-back instrument and I believe I
first composed this jig on that mandolin. At the time, it
was owned by Paul Cranford, and today it's owned by
fiddler Kyle MacNeil.
10. Larry
Reynold's Fancy
(Jerry Holland),
The Royal Circus (Traditional),
Francis
Bert MacDonald
(Traditional), Peter
Martin (Elmer
Briand)
Boston's Irish fiddler
Larry Reynolds was a wonderful character and big hearted
gentleman. He was the head of the carpenters' union in
Boston for many years and my father worked for
him- then I got to know him years later through the
music. Larry hosted a Irish pub session in Brighton at
the Green Briar, and piano player Eddie Irwin often went
there to play. I believe that is where I saw Eddie last.
This jig was adapted by New Hampshire fiddler Jack Perron
and put on one of those old fashioned music disc boxes
several years ago. I associate the next jig with Buddy
MacMaster and his late '70s dances at Glencoe Hall. Buddy
was always kind to let me sit in at those dances. I
learned the last two tunes from an old Elmer Briand LP
recording. I always liked those tunes and felt they never
got played enough. These jigs have wonderful lift for a
dance, especially at the top of the night when you are
just getting going and need to set a light
mood.
11. Party
in the Catskills
(Jerry Holland), Kate
and Julie's First
Reel (Jerry
Holland), Brendan
Mulvihill's Pick
(Jerry Holland)
All of these reels were
made around the same time, in the mid-90s. The first was
made after a weekend festival/party I was invited to by
the Green Linnet record label. This was an amazing event,
a who's who of Irish music, and a great chance to see
some old friends such as Brendan Mulvihill, Donna Long
and people like that. I remember every time I turned
around that weekend I heard someone playing my reel Harry
Bradshaw's. It was a great surprise! This was the first
time as well that I heard Jerry O'Sullivan play Iggie and
Squiggie on the pipes -- and that made me so happy. Paul
Cranford suggested the second title - because at the time
we wrote the new reel out, I had no name and Paul had
been teaching it to his new students - Kate and Julie.
The third reel is one that caught the ear of my good
friend, Irish fiddler Brendan Mulvihill of Silver Spring,
during a private session we had at the Green Linnet
party. Of course Brendan is a fine composer himself, and
this one seemed to have his name on it from the start, so
I wasn't surprised when he went for it.
12. The Pi Waltz
(Traditional)
During the same visit
to Denmark in 2000, we enjoyed a side trip to the Island
of Fanø over on the west coast with Malene Beck as
our guide. Again, the reception held by the local
musicians was humbling and we were in the only cafe in
the tiny village of Sønderho, where they have a
fiddle/piano based dance tradition unique to the village!
The musical exchange that night was so inspiring and I
learned The Pi (¹ ) Waltz from hearing it and trying it
there. I thought it was a tune that just couldn't be left
behind and I hoped I could handle it, and not disgrace
it. The tune always brings to my mind fiddler Tove de
Fries, who I often heard play it and who eventually
recorded it herself, along with Malene. I try to play it
with a great deal of respect, yet still keeping my own
style - and I'm tickled to hear what John does with it as
he really adds a lot of Danish flavor to the
accompaniment.
13. i. The
Auld Wife Ayont the
Fire
(Traditional) ii. Allowa
Kirk (Traditional)
iii.
Katie
Trotter (Robert
Macintosh / PD) iv.
Karen's
Reel (Jerry
Holland)
The first three tunes
are Scottish books tunes which were played by many of the
Cape Breton fiddlers I heard when I was growing up. There
were so many of what I call the old guard that used to
gather at Angus Gillis's in Boston - Alick Gillis, Alcide
Aucoin, Dan MacEachern and those fiddlers that had
immigrated in the early part of the century. Those were
the guys that established the Roxbury dances in the '20s.
I heard them all at a very young age. The last tune is
one I made back in the 70s and turns out, it got around
quite a bit over the years. I've heard Theresa MacLellan
and others play it. More recently Karen's was included on
Roots Music - An American Journey (Rounder), with Joe
Cormier as the featured artist.
14. The Lumbercamp
Waltz (Traditional)
My father had spent a
great deal of time working in the lumber woods of the
state of Maine and New Brunswick and this gave him an
opportunity to meet quite an array of people. Lumber
camps were places that because of the setting, fostered
music, so it was common for itinerant fiddlers to find
themselves in a camp - playing for their supper, as it
were. Camp musicians came from such a variety of
backgrounds there was a lot of music, like this waltz,
that wasn't your normal stuff you know. When I was a boy,
and first heard my dad play this tune there was something
in it that never really clicked with me, but then over
the years I realized the beauty in it and eventually
began to play it myself, after making my own arrangement
of it. It's certainly got a Danish or Swedish sound to it
and I think I started to play it again after hearing
traditional Danish music, so quite possibly there is a
connection there.
15.
i. Cuir
i glùn air a
bhodach ii.
She
Put her Knee on the Old
Man
(Traditional) iii.Cranford's
Five Day Wedding
(Jerry Holland)
The first tune is a
little slow air that I heard sung as a Gaelic song. A
husband and wife used to sing it, and there was some sort
of funny story that it described - and at the point that
the rhythm would speed up, then everyone would start
giggling - and away they would go on the reel, everyone
laughing. I got away from it for a while but then I heard
Tommy Basker play it as a reel when we were in Belfast,
and he reminded me of the air. I composed Cranford's
Five Day Wedding in 2007, for my very good friends Paul
Cranford and Sarah Beck. Their wedding, up on the North
Shore, was just a wonderful time with music and food for
five days. I understand that the only reason it stopped
was because everyone had to go off to Ryan MacNeil's
wedding. Otherwise they would still be going! But I'm
really happy with the reel, you can play it for a dance
and up tempo and driving, but also you can play it laid
back like this, which makes it so much more poignant and
touching, which was my intention when I named the
tune.
16. i.
Helping Hands
(Jerry Holland) ii.
iv..Angus
Chisholm's Favorite
(Traditional) iii.
Blind
Nora
(Traditional)
Helping Hands is the
latest tune I composed. I titled it the week John and I
made this recording - and it's just a tune for everybody
- all the fine folks who have been helping me out in
different ways the past few years. John set up the
perfect tempo for the way I wanted to express that tune,
and all my thanks to the Helping Hands in my life. Angus
Chisholm's Favorite is the title Paul Cranford and I came
up with for an old traditional tune I first heard Angus
play back in the days when I played guitar for him at Tom
Slavin's. You know, it was Aubey Foley who taught me to
play guitar and Aubey only just passed away recently -
one of my oldest and dearest friends. I was only ten
years of age doing that gig with Angus and it was pretty
exciting - but then I would go to school the next day
like any other kid would. Blind Nora is a popular old
tune found in the thousand-fiddle tunes book. Paul
Cranford tells me it is the reel setting of an older
Scottish strathspey - Lady Loudon and credited to William
Gow.
17.
i. Short
Grass (Traditional),
ii.
Princess
Florence
(Donald Angus Beaton) iii.
Capers
(Traditional)
Short Grass is another
tune I picked up during my Cape Breton Symphony years.
It's yet another tune that comes from comes from the
thousand fiddle tunes collection. That's a pretty
important collection to the Cape Breton repertoire it
turns out. Although I mentioned how challenging the Cape
Breton Symphony shows were, it was a lot of fun at the
same time. There were plenty of stories, and practical
jokes -it seemed like Winston was always up to something
you know…. and we had a lot of laughs. Princess
Florence is a tune I heard Donald Angus Beaton play at a
dance. Donald Angus was another one of those old fellows
who was so good to me, and so encouraging towards my
composing… and I loved his dances. Capers was first
recorded by Winston Fitzgerald along with Tom MacCormicks
- which was composed by Angus Chisholm. Paul tells me
that it's one of those mysterious Cape Breton tunes with
no known author or source.
18. Iggie
and Squiggie
(Jerry Holland), CBC's
Glenn and Karl
(Jerry Holland),
Just Cruising (Jerry
Holland)
Iggie and Squiggie are
the nicknames for two great friends Susan Beaton and
Patricia Phee, who used to come out to all my gigs. They
were based in Antigonish, were just music crazy and used
to run the roads of Cape Breton constantly looking for
tunes. They were young and didn't seem to have a care in
the world, and it was always a pleasure to look down from
the stage and see them, and hear them hooting and
hollering and having a good time. They were so
supportive, really livened things up and we couldn't wait
to see them coming in the door. The tune CBC's Glenn and
Karl was named for CBC Halifax producer Glen Meisner, and
sound engineer Karl Falkenham. This was around the time
they produced a recording of myself and David MacIsaac at
Studio H in Halifax. Just Cruising was made around the
same time and it's just a tune with a real good lift and
drive to it. Until this particular project this is the
first time I played it without anything following it and
I'm so happy with what John did with it. He really made
it the tune I always wanted it to be.
