At this time of year, we are surrounded by festive music, an endless variety in numerous genres. However, many of the tunes we hear and sing today are relatively recent additions to the holiday soundtrack, and as such, reflect our modern culture. Thus, if one wants to understand the lives of people in the past, what better way than to listen to music of the era?<\/p>\n
As part of my research for the Glenbow Town and Quarry Project of the Archaeological Society of Alberta – Calgary Centre, I have been reading The Stone Cutters\u2019 Journal<\/i>. This union publication documents the rise of the Glenbow branch in the autumn of 1909, and in doing so, provides valuable information about the men responsible for the stone exterior of our Alberta Legislature Building. Among the Glenbow branch correspondence, I found an account of the party held at Glenbow Quarry to usher in the New Year of 1910.<\/p>\n
This vivid report of the celebration, begins by praising the skills of the men who carved and served the turkey dinner. Then, each act of the concert program is described, and one can imagine the performers rising in turn, amid the clinking of glasses and the happy chatter. Encouraged by the level of detail in the chronicle, I searched for recordings of the songs to see what else I could learn.<\/p>\n
The quarry company Vice-President served as chairman, introducing the entertainers. The first act, unnamed by the English reporter who confessed he did not comprehend the tongue of the Scotsman, was likely in either the Gaelic or Scots language. For the first identified number, I could not find a song listing, but did locate a poem of the same name published in 1901, and I assume this sad tale of a forlorn lover mourning his loss was set to a popular melody. The correspondent indicates that \u201c[b]y this time the boys were clearing their throats of the superfluous gravy surrounding the turkeys\u2026[and they] enthusiastically responded to the chorus\u201d of the second titled offering \u2014 a sentimental ode to Scottish poet, Robbie Burns. I could track down only a modern recording of this, but it did provide written lyrics, which made interpreting the Scottish accent easier. With the next contribution, a homesick lament, I hit pay-dirt with a digitized version of a record cylinder (yes, early records were wax cylinders) made in 1904. I confess, it brought a tear to my eye to hear this mournful voice reverberating over more than 100 years. Another yearning emigrant ballad followed, and while I could not source a recording, I did find the score.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any information about the next item on the program, described as: \u201c\u2026[a]n excellent sketch\u2026given by Brother Read and McGuire\u2026which kept the audience in roars of laughter for a quarter of an hour. Messrs. Read and McGuire have mistaken their vocation; they are worthy of a headline on the high-class vaudeville bills.\u201d The next entry was even more intriguing: \u201cthe most conspicuous feature of the evening, the buck and wing dance by Bro. F. Rowland. The contortions of the worthy brother\u2019s body were certainly surprising for every person present expected one of his limbs to drop off at any moment.\u201d From what I was able to learn in my brief searches, a \u201cbuck\u201d dance involves stomping and tapping the feet, while a \u201cwing\u201d dance entails flapping the arms and knees. Both can have a great variety of steps, so it is impossible for me to see exactly what Rowland did. Perhaps I could follow the online tap-dance tutorials to increase my appreciation for the moves, at least.<\/p>\n
The next \u201cold Scotch song\u201d was listed as \u201cRobbie Jamson Smiddy\u201d and eventually I deciphered the true title, \u201cRobin Tamson\u2019s Smiddy,\u201d for which I located the lyrics, though not the melody. They are written phonetically, and by reading aloud this humorous story of a man\u2019s brief yet successful courtship of the blacksmith\u2019s daughter, I could grasp the Scottish accent and imagine the laughter that would have ensued at the surprising finale.<\/p>\n
For the following \u201cpopular song,\u201d I found another old recording, this time from 1913, and could practically hear \u201cthe boys catching up the chorus, [rendering] it lustily.\u201d This sentimental recollection of youthful love can also be found as a video of a player piano with printed lyrics on the roll, so one can sing along. A tragic saga of drowned lovers followed. A digitized 1908 cylinder recording gives me shivers as the bass vocal mimics the final resting place of the lovers. The mood was lifted at the end of the concert by a comedic offering about a breach of promise legal case. This is something we are now unfamiliar with, however then, a woman could sue a man if the lines of propriety had been crossed under false promises of ensuing marriage. The author of the letter to the magazine compliments the performer by stating \u201cfrom the way in which he tried to convey to the audience generally the meaning of the song, we have come to the conclusion that the worthy brother has had a deal of experience in that line of business.\u201d Whether this refers to the depiction of the judge or the unfaithful suitor, I am unsure. Ending on a cheerful note, the concert was followed by a dance that continued into the wee hours of 1910 and was concluded when they \u201call joined hands in singing \u201cAuld Lang Syne.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
While the recordings, lyrics, and evocative descriptions of the fete of 1910 help us envision the event, they also tell us about the everyday lives of these quarry workers. An obvious example is that the combination of Scottish airs and dances with English tunes illustrates the basic ethnic composition of the population. At a deeper level, the high proportion of ballads seems to indicate a slower pace of life than the frenetic speed of today with its pounding party rhythms. The contrasting high energy of the buck and wing dance is, thus, more striking; we have become accustomed to breakdancing and hip-hop, later developments of the same basic movements. The lyrics are most revealing, however. Love Lost<\/i> is the major theme, and reflects an era when there were so many more hazards to life, especially for women of childbearing age. Additionally, this theme of lost love is expressed more generically by the homesick laments of new immigrants, who, incidentally, comprised the majority of the Glenbow group. The audience and performers were brought together by their common experience; they had very recently said farewell to their homes and families and made a dangerous ocean crossing. Some men were awaiting the arrival of their wives and children; others had said goodbye to family who would never be seen again. They all confronted the sense of loss and the dread of being forgotten by those left behind and they sought the reassurance expressed by the lyrics, \u201cThey remember me, they miss me, and they pray for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
By scrutinizing a cheerful narrative of a party, we gain a greater appreciation for the lives of quarry workers who celebrated the dawn of a new year over a century ago. We imagine luscious turkey dripping with gravy, floor boards reverberating under the energetic thumping of feet, and outbursts of laughter at witty rhetoric. We hear the strains of the very same songs crackling across the years, the echo of the fears and joys these workers faced. We shed an empathetic tear and know they would be happy to be remembered.<\/p>\n
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1) Alex Burt\u00a0 – a Scottish language song<\/em><\/p>\n 2) William J. Doherty\u00a0 – \u201cSince My Mary Went Away<\/a>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 3) Thomas Crichton – \u201cThe Star of Robbie Burn<\/a>s\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 4) Mr. Hancock (guest) -\u201cWhen the Sunset Turns the Ocean\u2019s Blue to Gold<\/a>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 5) One of the Ladies – \u201cThe Dear Home Land<\/a>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 6) Archibald Read & Mr. McGuire – sketch of \u201cNaughty Mickey Doherty\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 7) Frank W. Rowland – Buck and Wing Dance<\/em><\/p>\n 8) James Fairley (machinist) – \u201cRobin Tamson\u2019s Smiddy<\/a>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 9) Alexander Clark – \u201cSweet Genevieve\u201d (A)<\/a>\u00a0(B)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n 10) John Chapple (guest) – \u201cAsleep in the Deep<\/a>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n