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December 9,
2006
Barra MacNeils offer Christmas for the
Celtic soul
Joanne Shuttleworth, Waterloo
Record
Stewart MacNeil can't put his
finger on the reason why Cape Breton music has gained such
momentum over the 20 years his band, the Barra MacNeils,
started singing in public, but Bob MacLean has his own
theory.
"It's music that stirs the
soul," said MacLean, who teaches guitar at Folkway Music in
Guelph.
"I owe the Barras a big favour."
MacLean remembers when the band
played at the Elora Quarry many years ago -- a time when he
was "going through job changes" and was feeling down in the
dumps.
His wife convinced him to
attend the concert and he loved it.
"They played traditional music
and I bought into it big time. Now you know who to blame,"
he said with a laugh, referring to his passion for Celtic
music in general and the Barra MacNeils in particular.Cape
Breton has been a breeding ground for musicians who are
bringing that mix of Scottish, Irish, Celtic and folk tunes
to the mainstream, including Rita MacNeil, the Rankins and
the Barra MacNeils.
The MacNeil clan will bring
their unique sound to Guelph's River Run Centre tonight in
their Celtic Christmas concert. Stewart MacNeil was in
Regina last week, recovering from a string of concerts that
started in Oregon Nov. 20 and included a gig on Vancouver
Island.
"The snow there was crazy," he
said. "To see that kind of snow in the city is bizarre." The
band includes five brothers Stewart, Kyle, Sheumas, Boyd,
Ryan, sister Lucy and Jamie Gatti, who has been playing bass
with the band for 10 years, earning him an honorary MacNeil
moniker.
Most of them sing, they all
step dance, and there's an interesting mix of guitar, Celtic
harp, fiddle, mandolin, keyboard plus the less conventional
bodhran, bazouki, tin whistle and uillean pipes. The family
hails from Sydney Mines, N. S. and grew up surrounded by
Celtic music, culture and history. But the MacNeils can
trace their heritage back to the island of Barra, Scotland,
distinguishing them from other MacNeil clans. Their
discography of 11 albums almost exactly mirrors their list
of awards and achievements: their self-titled debut album
was released in 1986, they won their first East Coast Music
Award in 1991, their fifth in 2001 and last year they were
nominated for a Celtic Fusion Award.
And their 2002 Racket in the
Attic CD was featured on the Men With Brooms movie
soundtrack.
For tonight's concert, the
Barra MacNeils will perform songs from their two Christmas
albums, the first released in 1999 and the second earlier
this year.
"First and foremost, this is a
high-energy concert," MacNeil said."Our music has grown from
a time-proven culture and we draw from that onstage."
The audience will hear a
potpourri of Christmas songs in English and Gaelic, sacred
and secular, vocal and instrumental, familiar and not so
much.
There will also be a liberal
amount of step dancing, foot stomping, and hopefully,
laughter from the audience, MacNeil said. There's a fair bit
of storytelling and tomfoolery in the mix as well.
The band plans to release a new
album in 2007 to commemorate 20 years in the industry.
"It is amazing to still be
around after 20 years," MacNeil said.
"A lot of people have come and
gone. For us, there's still more music to come."
MacNeil took a moment to
remember John Allan Cameron, who died of cancer last month.
Cameron is widely credited with bringing Celtic music to the
fore in the 1960s and '70s, paving the way for artists like
the Barra MacNeils. In these parts, Cameron is also
remembered as being the honorary chieftain of the Fergus
Scottish Festival and Highland Games for the past 20 years.
"John Allan took us to the Fergus Games," MacNeil said.
"He was such a positive force
of energy and people gravitated to him. He blazed a trail
for musicians like us."
To new artists, MacNeil advises
them to practice a lot "and have big ears. Listen to new and
old music. Recognizing the subtleties is like learning a new
language."
As for the concert, "people say
it puts them in the Christmas spirit. So I say come, relax
and enjoy," he said.
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