THERE is a curious paradox in Scotland’s relations with Canada. It’s well known that, in our complex, often troubling, colonial history, we Scots have made a disproportionate contribution to the building of English-speaking Canada.
However, in our political and cultural links with modern Canada, not least on the question of political independence, it often seems that our strongest relations are with the Francophone province of Quebec. In the artistic sphere, too, Scotland and Quebec have, for many years, been forging ties that bind.
Nowhere is that clearer than in traditional music. As QuebecFest, an online concert filmed as part of the great Celtic Connections festival, attests, Celtic music is thriving in Quebec.
One can hear in the diverse styles of the show’s three groups – namely, Grosse Isle, De Temps Antan and Le Vent du Nord – the influences of Breton, Scottish and Irish musics among the French-speaking people of Quebec and the wider east coast of Canada.
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The concert, which was beautifully staged and filmed in Quebec, is opened by Grosse Isle, a trio whose mission is to create a fusion of Quebecois and Irish musical traditions. Quebec musicians fiddler/singer Sophie Lavoie and guitarist/singer Andre Marchand are joined by Irish uilleann piper Fiachra O’Regan in a delightful, short set that ranges from songs of sad reflection to the lively Le reel a mon pere (The Reel to My Father).
In the opening number, Reveillez-vous belle endormie (Wake Up Sleeping Beauty) Lavoie’s vocals have an extraordinary, plaintive aspect, almost like an incantation. The mournfulness of the song is deepened by O’Regan’s haunting playing of the Irish pipes.
We are reminded that the progress of folk roots music involves, not only moving forward, but also drawing continuously from the past in the song Ah! Qui me passera le bois? (Ah! Who Will Pass me the Wood?). Sung by Marchand, it is a charming folk song of missed opportunity collected for posterity in the archives of Laval University in Quebec City.
There is a distinct shift in tone as Grosse Isle pass the baton to the dynamic group De Temps Antan. Comprised of past and present members of the famous Quebecois band La Bottine Souriante, the trio perform a set that is irresistible in its energy and virtuosity.
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All three performers are impressive multi-instrumentalists, with Pierre-Luc Dupuis being a veritable one-man band, playing from head-to-toe on instruments ranging from the mouth harp to foot percussion. A bouzouki and a mandolin combine with more traditionally Celtic instruments in explosive tracks such as Reelopel and Le veuve joyeus (The Merry Widow).
De Temps Antan’s pleasure in their music is infectious, even when one is watching it on a video recording. However, one can’t help but wish that they were able to play live in a Celtic Connections venue, such as the Old Fruitmarket. They would, undoubtedly, have had the place jumping.
Le Vent du Nord, who are old friends of the Glasgow festival, are another band who would, in non-Covid times, have had their venue bouncing. Their varied set includes Louisbourg, a regretful song of French defeat in the Canadian colonial wars, which is sung a cappella.
Elsewhere in their programme, however, the five-piece group’s progressive folk music has a delicious vigour. Their self-defined “big hit” Lanlaire, for instance, is worthy of any ceilidh.
As the Celtic Connections 2021 online programme draws to a close, this glorious concert whets the appetite for what everyone hopes will be a celebratory live festival next year.
QuebecFest can be viewed online until February 5. For festival passes and further information, visit: www.celticconnections.com.
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