Music remains an ever-present part of life in Baie Sainte-Marie, and shows no signs of slowing down.
By Kevin Tummers & Blerina Berberi: Many Canadians are familiar with the abundance of musical heritage in Nova Scotia, such as the Celtic fiddlers from Cape Breton, or the alternative rockers from Halifax, and the countless other Nova Scotia musicians who have made a name in the music industry. But in the South-West of the province is an area called Baie Sainte-Marie, and what makes it unique, is that seemingly everybody is involved in music!
Since the first Acadian settlers arrived in Clare in 1768, they brought with them the memory of songs from Acadia and France. In those early days, they had basic improvised instruments, even using spoons and bones, along with the rare violin.
By the end of that century, the musical influence of the church grew with Priests arriving from Quebec, New Brunswick and France, at first for baptisms and funerals, and eventually establishing institutions. Churches became locations for learning and teaching music, and the clergy passed along musical skills to the congregation. In 1800, the first choir was formed by Father Jean-Mandé Sigogne, after arriving in Clare from Europe. Each new parish also created its own choir. Today, the impact of this can be seen in the many choral concerts taking place in the church halls of Clare, including the High C's Festival which brings up to 200 choral singers and directors from across Nova Scotia and beyond to perform each May in the stone church of Saint Bernard, and often features Acadian choral songs.
In 1890, Collège Sainte-Anne was founded, and a fanfare and orchestra were established, which along with the choir would accompany theatre performances and other activities. Father Gustave Blanche and his successors encouraged putting money aside for instruments for the fanfare, and music in those days was also used to raise money, including to build Collège Sainte-Anne. In those early days of Clare, musical training was not common, rather a good ear, some flair and minimum knowledge of techniques. Father Dagnaud, claimed that "The Acadians are born singers and each of them has in his crib a lyre whose strings are just waiting for the artist's fingers to resonate and charm the ear".
By the 1940s, the churches of Saint Bernard and Saint Mary both had acquired Casavant organs which are still in use today, in both the largest stone church in Nova Scotia, and the largest wooden church in North America.
In the 1950s when the television arrived, so did shows like the Country Hoedown, Don Messer's Jubilee and Grand Ol' Opry, which led to a massive invasion of English country music. Despite this, French music endured, but a major English influence had taken control, and country music has since become a signature sound of Clare.
Whether in English or French, music remained a vibrant part of life and in 1951 Father Yvon Savoie, organized the first mixed choir in Clare, consisting of the Choir of Baie Saint-Marie and Choir of the College, totaling 120 male and female voices. This choir featured in the first Acadian Festival of Clare in 1955, and performed in an open air mass on August 15, 1955 at Grand Pre in front of 10,000 people.
Around this time, Georges Comeau (born in 1877) of Comeauville had a repertoire of 164 songs, and Willie Doucet of Cape Saint Mary's (born 1886) had a repertoire of some 400 songs. Lyrics by George Comeau give insight into the love life of a young couple, in the song "Je m'en ete voir ma Mignonnette" (Im going to see my Mignonette), and translates as "Have you talked to your father? Have you talked to your mother? Because if your father wishes it, your little heart will be mine." Songs in the repertoire of Willy Doucet had titles like "Les filles de notres temps" (The girls of our times), "Derrière la muraille" (Behind the wall) and "Arthur n'ayant point de richesses" (Arthur has no wealth) among many others.
In the following decades, country music radio from as far as West Virginia, taught a generation to learn English country and bluegrass tunes, which has led to numerous musicians, bands and festivals of this style that are still going strong today, and can be enjoyed at some of the areas summertime festivals and regularly on local radio.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, bands emerged, some with great skill and ability, and while many did not leave a lasting impact, the fact that such a quantity existed in Clare is quite special, and indicates the importance of music in the region. There were at least 10 venues for music, ranging from the Nights of Columbus Hall and the Legion, to local social clubs and taverns, and also a unique party location in Saulnierville which was a giant barn, known as "13 step" due to the amount of stairs to go up, and could fit several hundred people.
Likewise, there were at least 10 bands in the area filling these venues every weekend in a small area of 8,500 people! The bands would play different songs and styles, depending on the audience. A band could play a country show on Wednesday night, and on Friday as a rock band. There were also Open Nights, which were a sort of pre-karaoke where a house band would back up audience members as they sang their favourite songs. With up to 4 nights a week to play, a musician could make $500 a week back then, sometimes $1000 per person for a show on New Years Eve.
Lester Doucet remembers it being a lucrative job, being able to buy a car after 3 months of shows, and managed to avoid working in the fish plants by regularly playing music. Dave Leblanc remembers the amazed look on his father's face when he paid $400 cash for a guitar, with money earned from playing music.
As always, music is a pass-time in Clare and all musicians worked where they could to make ends meet. As such, many songs reflect daily activities and events. A fish factory worker named Eddie Doucet had an attachment to music, through which he immortalized the Groundhog Day Gale of February 2nd, 1976 that left people without power for close to 10 days! Today, many musicians continue this tradition of working day jobs and making music in their spare time. The profile of a music maker has been and still is practically anyone, young or old, and very often entire families, some still with 10 siblings that play together every week in one's garage. Individuals like Jason Saulnier, Jean-Louis Belliveau and Bruce Boudreau as well as small studios throughout Clare have recorded songs and maintain collections, such as Hope Studio which has recorded musicians of all ages and all walks of life for the last decade.
By the late 1970s, a revival of Acadian music in Clare took place when musicians like Herbert LeBlanc stopped playing English country tunes, and switched to writing and singing Acadian tunes, starting with "Bienvenue en Clare" (Welcome to Clare). Along with Herb LeBlanc in the Tymeux de la Baie (Partiers of the Bay) was the violin player Everett "Bayo" Thibodeau. Dave Leblanc, who played mandolin in the band remembers one road trip, where Bayo played 100 songs on his violin in the car from Truro to Antigonish!
Around this time, Phil Comeau began making films for the National Film Board, focusing on music in Clare. “La Musique Nous Explique” in 1984, as the title suggests is a musical documentary of how music explains the people, and features local musicians performing and discussing songs about life in the area. “La Cabane” is a film about organizing a music festival which features the song Pointe D'Jobs (No Jobs) from Bluegrass Acadie, and in order to achieve the gritty/earthy feel of the song, the band used a saw cutting a log as a bass-line.
Julien Weaver remembers the log having a sharpened metal rod inserted into it, and being hooked to an amp and plugged in, becoming an electric log. He admits that this was not the first time a log was cut by a saw to produce a bass-line, but it may well have been the first time a log was plugged in and played electrically!
By 1990, Clare had established a Community radio station called CIFA, which was organized by Paul-Emile Comeau, and early on Dave LeBlanc hosted a show featuring interviews with residents about culture and tradition, and was accompanied by local songs, which grew from barely 50 people the first year to 500 interviews a year in the following years. Dan Robichaud, has also worked for two decades in French music radio, including CIFA in Clare, CKDU and Radio Canada in Halifax, and was 4 times involved in the Gala of (french) songs. 2015 marks the stations 25th year on the air, and has modernized it's repertoire with shows like "Tide School Cruise" hosted by Arthur Comeau with guests like Jonah MeltWave, Juste Love Peace and Mike Viktor among others, and is by far CIFA's most eclectic show.
Long time radio personalities Wayne Dugas, Emile Blinn, Jene Dugas and Jean-Louis Belliveau remain as cornerstones. Wayne Dugas has won awards including many times the Eastern Canada Bluegrass Radio/TV DJ of the year, and in 2016 Paul-Emile Comeau was nominated for an ECMA for Media person of the year.
The Association of Acadien-Metis Souriqouis has regular gatherings which are also very musically inclined, and aside from the “Mi'kmaq Honour Song”, they have made “Coureur du Bois” (Runner of the Woods) as their official song, which tells of the significant history and mixed-blood heritage of the Acadian-Metis “I'm a Coureur de Bois, I know the Mi'kmaq, their blood flows in me.” Other songs important to the association highlight the relationship between Acadian and Mi'kmaq peoples, and use unique Acadian words derived from the Mi'kmaw language that are not found in standard French.
School programs have been implemented over the years, and in 2007 the project “Bête” was initiated to have high school students create and record original french songs. Dozens of local musicians have gone on to complete music studies at leading Canadian universities. Several of the former students have gone on to study music in university, and also continue to play in bands.
Being able to play an instrument has always been a sort of 'ticket" to get to the party. Many private residences host musical activities, including every Friday night for the past 20 or so years at the St. Benoni garage of Les Saulniers, and other garages and houses in the area. Guests at Su Ben B&B in Little Brook can often join in a small kitchen party with the hosts at the inn, and Musique de la Baie is an effort to showcase traditional tunes at local food establishments. Regular family reunions always feature a local band or group of musicians, and often include musicians from as far as Louisiana.
Many recall the days when there were many more opportunities for music along the shore, from Shelburne to the Annapolis Valley, and they attribute decline of live music venues and activities to factors like stricter enforcement of drinking & driving laws, no smoking laws, and population decline through out-migration but also decline in family size (6 children used to be a small family!) They also note a lack of audience interest due to more distractions and activities.
In Clare Municipality today, there are still several venues including Le Chateau (University Sainte-Anne), Church Point Social Club, Evalinas, Theatre Lescarbot, The Legion, various church halls, and restaurants participating in Musique de la Baie, as well as the Church halls.
Musical traditions continue to evolve in Clare and a new era of musicians have emerged, playing everything from traditional to modern experimental music styles, and are reaching audiences well beyond the local boundaries of Clare. Though things are changing, music remains an ever-present part of life in Baie Sainte-Marie, and shows no signs of slowing down. This year marks the 61st Acadian Festival where many Acadian musicians come together, not only from Clare and do not be surprised if you are in the area that the tour-guide, farmer, fisherman, plumber, banker, boat-builder, professor, electrician, real estate agent, quilt-maker, and any other person you'll meet, are great musicians too.
This article is part of a larger research called Music Perdue De La Baie Sainte-Marie (Endangered Music in Saint Mary's Bay), which can be found online at https://ekphrasisstudio.com/?post_type=jetpack-portfolio&p=2274.
Clare Municipality/ Baie Sainte-Marie in South-West Nova Scotia, was settled by Acadians in 1768, in the land known by the Mi'kmaw as Kespukwitk, or "Land's End". Incorporated in 1879, today it is the only bilingual municipality in Nova Scotia, with a majority French-speaking population, along with other Irish, Scottish, German, Mi'kmaq, Metis, and so on.
Please visit www.ekphrasisstudio.com
