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Major Paper Presentation : Jimmy Rankin and the Preservation of Canadian Culture

Canada is a unique country that is a home to many different people. In fact, Canada is often thought of as a "melting pot" or mosaic of cultures since there are so many people who retain their cultural identities, complete with their traditions, customs and languages. One distinctive part of Canada is Cape Breton Island. If asked, many Cape Bretoners would say that the island itself has its own culture; Cape Bretoners arguably have their own music, their own dialect and their own lifestyle. It is their music however, that Cape Bretoners turn to buoy their spirits and to celebrate their accomplishments.

It can be safely said that "Cape Breton" music is either Gaelic or Celtic music; anything that has a fiddle playing a jig-type melody. However, the fiddling style used in Cape Breton music is very unusual. It has lilts and patterns that are virtually unused in other areas of the world and therefore can be difficult to master. In Down North: The Book of Cape Breton's Magazine, Caplan (1980) recounts one fiddler's experiences learning the nuances of the Island's special music:

... it is really quite hard, perhaps harder than any other ...[it has] triple, double
and triple beats. That's why it's hard to play this kind of music. You have to
hear a lot. It's like a language ... You'll never learn it in one year. You almost
have to be born with it. (p. 38)
Nevertheless, this remarkable Celtic music has roots in basic Celtic music that has been played for centuries. Sinclair and Stewart (1995) reminds us that although Celtic music is wildly popular today, it has long been established in places such as Ireland and Scotland. Sinclair and Stewart (1995) say that the music is based on "sprightly dance rhythms (jigs, reels, polkas) and sad, still airs, it possesses a mystical quality that provides a link with a distant past". (p.1) Donovan (1990) claims that the Scottish people who first landed in Cape Breton brought their love of step-dancing, Gaelic songs, piping and fiddles to the island. In fact, Donovan says that, "Scottish violin playing has left an indelible stamp on the evolution of Cape Breton culture ... [and] within villages throughout Cape Breton, hundreds of musical families ensured that fiddle music was the prime source of entertainment in their communities." (p. 3)

Others Cape Breton musicians, however, branched out into the commercial part of the music industry. One artist who has done an exemplary job of breaking into the commercial music scene while still preserving Cape Breton culture is Jimmy Rankin.

Click here to learn more on the Rankin Family

Click here to learn more on Jimmy Rankin

Click here to hear a sample of Jimmy Rankin's music

Click here to see my references

Click here to go to the official Jimmy Rankin website