Travels with a Choir

12 Oct 2008 in Gaelic, Highland, Music

From Inverness to Inverness

FIONA MACKENZIE chronicles the adventures of the INVERNESS GAELIC CHOIR at the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton

WHEN Zoom Airline collapsed at the end of August this year, Inverness Gaelic Choir’s proposed trip to participate in the International Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, looked to be in jeopardy. The Choir lost all their tickets, with no hope of recouping anything.

However, after much fundraising, the Choir raised almost £20,000 in three weeks to purchase the replacement tickets. The ticket costs were underwritten for the Choir by Barchester Healthcare and the choir will continue to fundraise to pay the money back. So off we went on our 8 day adventure.

Wednesday 8 October: Choir bus left Inverness for Glasgow at 5.30pm, closely followed by a film crew from BBC2. The Money Programme is making a documentary on how the credit crunch is affecting various sections of the Community and the Choir situation makes a good story. Choir Chairwoman Ola Macrae was tailed by the film crew for a whole day, including her packing and re-packing her case several times. Motorists on the A9 must have wondered why a large TV camera was hanging out of the window of an estate car driving parallel to the bus….

Thursday 9 October: Very early check in at Glasgow airport, minus the second sopranos who slept in. Another photo call with local travel firm Alba Travel who sponsored the choir, with t-shirts. Choir serenades bleary eyed passengers with a rousing chorus of ‘Beinn Dorainn’. Take off on time for Heathrow. Connection at Heathrow with not a lot of time to spare – no time for Duty Free. Air Canada crew are expecting the choir and so request a performance at 35,000 feet, for economy and business class.

Arrive Halifax Airport, Nova Scotia and pick up the squad of people carriers for the long drive to Cape Breton Island. Two lots of luggage are still at Heathrow, where can the boys buy some boxers….? Weather makes us feel instantly at home – torrential driving rain. Jamie (Macgregor, the choir’s conductor) makes his first acquaintance with coffee ‘n’ donut chain, Tim Horton’s… We eventually arrive to meet our hosts in Inverness at 11pm. We are welcomed with open arms, literally.

Friday 10 October: Began the day by watching the blue jays outside on the (extremely large) deck area of our hosts’ house – everything is bigger here. Fantastic coastal views of Inverness town, smaller than our own Inverness. Quieter now that the tourist season is passed, we were able to explore the few shops and cafes before lunching with the choir in the Coal Miners Café – coal mining was one of Cape Breton’s main industries until the 1950’s.

Yet again, we entertained lunch time customers before partaking in some great seafood chowder. A strenuous rehearsal followed in St Matthews Church for the following day’s concert. Then the rest of the choir left for the Celtic Colours major opening concert in Port Hawkesbury, featuring pipes and whistle exponent Carlos Nunez with Inverness Gaelic Choir demonstrating to the stadium of five thousand, how to dance a Canadian Barn Dance…..

I carried on to Mabou to teach Gaelic Song to youngsters at Fèis Mhabu. This Fèis continues to expand every year and is manned by an enthusiastic team of volunteers. Gaelic is in evidence everywhere in Cape Breton and nowhere more so than Mabou, the home of the Rankin Family. Cape Breton contains even more in the way of Gaelic road signage than we have in the Highlands….

Saturday 11 October: Second Fèis class – teaching Gaelic song whilst making a pot of Scottish porridge with a group of 8-year-olds. I was surprised by just how much Gaelic some of these youngsters actually had – very encouraging. ‘Brochan Lom’ took on a whole new meaning.

Sound check with choir at 11.30am in St Matthews Church for afternoon concert. Another huge lunch provided by the church ‘ladies’ – their warmth and hospitality is overwhelming. Everyone is so genuinely delighted that we were able to make it to Cape Breton after all our troubles. Concert, compered by Archie Fisher of Travelling Folk, is a complete sell out – first time ever we have had a queue at least 300 yards long down the street of people wanting to get in to hear us. A standing ovation follows our set. Maggie (Macdonald) and myself sing an impromptu arrangement of ‘An Ataireachd Ard’ (The High Surge of the Ocean) with Archie to great applause.

Seafood chowder supper then off to the famous Red Shoe pub in Mabou for another impromptu performance – or the square dance in West Mabou. Fiona, Maggie and Chrissie (Cumming) sing at the Gaelic Song Circle in An Drochaid in Mabou, alongside Cape Breton songster Mary Jane Lamond. A real ‘Gaidhealach’ evening.

Sunday 12 October: Thanksgiving Day. Last of Fèis classes. Great fun and class participants all now want to correspond in Gaelic with some Highland school pupils. Beautiful weather and we can now see the true ‘Celtic Colours’ of the Cape Breton trees – stunning reds, pinks, even purple leaves as far as the eye can see. Forestry is one of Cape Breton’s main employers now.

Rest of the day at leisure so we drive over to Baddeck, a stunning drive over Margaree and through Dunvegan – so many Scottish place names; Dingwall, Aberdeen, Barra Glen, Iona, Loch Lomond, Dundee, Glendale – they all tell a story of our ancestors. Every single mail box is a ‘Mac’ name… Thanksgiving dinner followed at our hosts homes, an experience in itself – Christmas dinner come early. Our hosts cannot do enough for us.

Monday 13 October: Choir move over to the Sydney area for the next round of concerts and meeting our new hosts. Reach Sydney via lunch at St Anne’s Gaelic College. Another long drive – Cape Bretoners think nothing of driving 3 hours to go to the supermarket. Sound check and concert at the United Presbyterian Church in Albert Bridge, over looking the beautiful Mira River – a real Cape Breton sunset. A sell out evening again – with more standing ovations…Is this really for us?

Cape Breton does not have the same tradition of 4/6 part Gaelic Choral harmony and certainly not a–capella (unaccompanied) choral work. What we find ‘usual’, they find completely compelling, virtuosic and absorbing. Back to our lovely new hosts, Mac and Erna, who spend the evenings trapping the pesky raccoons who dig up their lawns.

Chrissie (Cumming/Macvicar) discovers that she is closely related to her hosts – the Macvicars. Their common family came from North Uist – one branch went to Harris and the other went to Cape Breton. Chrissie’s granny’s name appears on their family tree… Archie Black (the Rev) discovers he was at University with his host, in Edinburgh. Both appeared in the same faculty photograph above his hosts’ piano… Coincidences?

Tuesday 14 October: Morning spent at a social choral gathering with a few local church choirs, sharing songs and experiences. More food. Then its off to central Sydney for the big concert at the United Protestant Church along with the Cape Breton Chorale. Our biggest venue – sold out. Standing ovations yet again. Jamie and other choir members highlight of the trip was the ride to Tim Horton’s in a huge Fire truck complete with siren. Impromptu performances yet again in another restaurant before heading back to our hosts. Some hardy choristers trekked over to St Anne’s (2 hours) for the Festival Club.
Wednesday 15 October: Morning off so drive to Louisburg Fort. Afternoon sees the traditional ‘milling frolic’ in Marion Bridge – a ‘waulking’, Cape Breton-style, with the men leading the proceedings. Some of the great – and last – Gaelic tradition bearers participating too, including Rod C Macneil. Final Mod rehearsal followed till dinner in Sydney, with yet another performance for diners requested.
The volunteer drivers supplied by Celtic Colours joined us for dinner as our guests. These jobs are hotly competed for each year and are completely unpaid – the drivers spend their week driving artists all over the island, enjoying the music and the ‘blethers’.

Thursday 16 October: Early drive to Baddeck for broadcast for CBC in Knox Church and emotional goodbyes to our hosts and drivers. Pick up copy of local paper, the Inverness Oran (Song), with choir as headline. Also headlines in Cape Breton Post – we have made an impression one way or another….

Long drive to Halifax via an emotional trip to the Hector Visitor Centre in Pictou. The Hector is the boat which took Highland emigrants from Ullapool to Nova Scotia in 1773. Seeing our ancestors’ Gaelic names on the ships log is an eye opener and learning about the hardships they endured in the first years is an education.

Final Mod rehearsal, in departures at Halifax – kept the waiting passengers entertained. Shorter flight home to Heathrow overnight. Contemplated the extraordinary closeness of our communities, culture and language – we are all left with very special memories, of the past and future.

Friday 17 October: Arrived Heathrow 9.15am, straight onto Glasgow flight at 10.50am after changing into kilts, arrive Glasgow 12.40pm. Straight onto coach to drive to Falkirk to participate in the Lovat and Tullibardine Competition at the Mod. Half an hour respite then its onto the stage – cotton wool heads, the lot. We were determined to make it to the Mod, flights allowing, and although jet lagged, looked forward to the challenge. Jamie may be a tough task master, but he gets results. We just sang our hearts out and somehow managed to come first equal with Dingwall choir, when the marks were read out – tied on 372 points.

Dingwall went away with the L&T trophy as they had one more Gaelic mark but we won the prize for the highest marks in Music. Highest mark achieved by a choir for 15 years. We are completely thrilled and stunned that we managed to pull off a performance like that, feeling the way we did. As Jamie said ‘If we can do that jetlagged, what can we do if we are fresh…’ – Mod 2009, watch out! Coisir Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis is on the way! Celtic Colours has a lot to answer for!