Wendy Galovich wrote:
Okay, if you're speaking from a "Winston perspective"
My comment:
I'm speaking from a Cape Breton fiddle music perspective or perhaps more
correctly from a Scottish music, Cape Breton style perspective, not a
Winston perspective.
Wendy:
Also the sheer number of tunes by each
composer doesn't really answer the question of how many of them actually
get played, how often, and in what venues.
Comment:
The tunes in the "Winston" collection are the ones he played all over
Cape Breton and elsewhere for about forth years. As I pointed out in my
earlier e-mail the Skinner tunes in that collection exceed the combined
total of his next four of five favorite composers. The venues were every
conceivable one with the community dances being the greatest number.
During summer months he played four/five nights a week for about 25
years, amazingly all the while holding down a 9 to 5 Monday to Friday
day job. His dances were always sell-outs. Cape Bretoners from "away"
scheduled summer vacations to maximize attendance at his dances. But
that's not all. Until the modern era he recorded far more music that any
other CB fiddler. He was a guest numerous times on National television
in the 1950's, and at this time this music was pretty well confined to
the western half of Cape Breton Island. One of his tune "McNabb's
Hornpipe" otherwise known as "Crossing the Minch" [spelling?] made it
all the way to the Canadian music "Hit Parade". He was and is an icon.
Wendy:
The other unanswered piece of the question, which I didn't spell
out (my fault!), is where do Skinner's compositions fit into Cape Breton
step dance tradition - specifically the strathspeys.
The reason I'm still questioning this is that while I can think
of
quite a few "listening strathspeys" by Skinner, I can only come up with
only one that is sometimes associated with him that is commonly played
for step dancers - Devil in the Kitchen - but The Scottish Violinist
credits a W.M. Ross for the composition, and Skinner for the fiddle
arrangement.
Comment:
I did a very quick check through: Skinner's "Harp and Claymore", "Miller
o' Hirn", "Logie" and "Scottish Violinist" collections. . Lots of
strathspeys but as you say mostly "slow' or solo types. But many of
these are beautiful music and they are his creations. The fact that they
are not stepdance strathspeys does not detract from them. Also the reels
are a bigger part of the stepdance music than are strathspeys and Cape
Bretoners are stepdancing to plenty of his reels.
Wendy:
but the step dancing strathspey stands out in such sharp
relief for me as an important, distinctive part of the Cape Breton
musical
tradition that I still don't see Skinner as a significant influence on
*that* part of it. Fair enough?
Comment:
Agree.
Alexander
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