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September 21, 2007
Something special happened in Judique
Buddy MacMaster: The Judique Fiddler details life of music
legend
Dan MacDonald, The Cape Breton Post
I spent a
very enjoyable afternoon in Judique this past Sunday. I
heard some great music and took in a special event as well.
I had checked out the lovely facilities at Judique’s Celtic
Music Interpretive Centre before, taken the tour and viewed
some of the archival and resource material, but it was my
first time at the Sunday afternoon music session.
Andrea
Beaton and Jackie Dunn-MacIsaac were the musicians on the
stage and they gave a good account of themselves. The space
was limited but there were several square-sets on the floor
before the day was over, with people from all across the
Island and beyond either dancing or just enjoying the music.
Something
special happened just before the music session started. It
was the private launch of Buddy MacMaster: The Judique
Fiddler, the new book by Sheldon MacInnes that details the
life of the Cape Breton music legend. Most of Buddy’s
extended family was on hand along with friends of both the
legend and the author.
I don’t
think that describing Buddy as a Celtic Music icon is too
strong a term. He has been called that for years, the quiet
guru that is respected worldwide. But there is more to his
personality then just music. This is brought out in the
book, as it looks at Buddy the musician and at Buddy the
man. Before he was a fiddler of great renown he was a
railroad worker, a family man, a boxing fan and a person
with strong religious and political convictions.
But Buddy
is also extremely humble. Sheldon MacInnes says that the
hardest part of this project was getting Buddy to talk about
himself. After all, this is someone with honorary degrees
from two separate universities, someone who is a member of
the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada, as well as
having been given the Canada Medal. He’s played in concerts
and at festivals all over North America and Europe, and even
played the U.S. national anthem at a Boston / Detroit Major
League Baseball game. He’s also the only person from outside
the United Kingdom to be inducted into the Scottish
Traditional Music Hall of Fame, but for him, the simple act
of playing music that people enjoy is reward enough.
This is an
excellent book, well researched and carefully done, designed
to show all the sides of the person known to one and all
simply as "Buddy". It’s a great read, an interesting and
well-crafted story and I understand that it is now available
in bookstores. [also
available in the Celtic Music Centre Online Store]
By the
way, before the day was over Buddy was on the stage playing
up a storm. Lately, he’s been bothered quite a bit by
arthritis, and you could see it when he walked. But when he
played, he is still the Master!
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