Fìdhleirean Ainmeil
Bha ceithir fìdhleirean ainmeil anns an dùthaich seo. ’S e
Iain Stiùbhart a bh’ air fear dhiubh. Bha e a’ fuireach ann am Bun Ruaidh,
Gilleasbui’ Dòmhnallach a bha air fear eile is a bha e a’ fuireach ann an
Inbhir Ruaidh. Agus Alasdair MacCuaraig a bh’ air an fhear eile agus bha e a’
fuireach an Lianachan. Agus bha iad uilidh ag ionnsachadh dannsa agus iad a’
cumail sgoiltean dannsa. Ach chan eil cuimhne agam c’ ainm a bh’ air a’
cheathramh fear. Ach dh’fhalbh iad le crodh a’ cheathrar dhiubh agus stad iad
ann am Peairt air an oidhche. Is dè thachair a bhith aig an taigh ’s bha sin ach
Deire Bhuana, cridhealas glè mhòr ann. Agus ’s ann an sin a chuir iad an
sprèidh gu taobh agus fhuair iad fuireach ann an taigh an tuathanaich. Bha iad nan
suidhe leotha fhèi’ ann an seòmbar agus luchd na Deire Bhuana a’ dannsa is a’ fìdhleireachd
an ceann eile an taighe:
“Ma-tà,” thuirt fear dhiubh, “tha e a’ coimhead glè mhosach
dhuinn a bhith a’ fàgail nan coigreach air chùl. Nach fheàrra dhuinn an toirt
a-nuas nur cuideachda.”
Seo a chaidh a dhèanadh. Bha iad nan suidhe ann an sin a’
gabhail beachd air a h-uile rud a bha a’ dol. Ach thuirt am fìdhlear a bha a’
cluich:
“Nam biodh duine ann a chuideachda an fhìdheall, bhithinn
fhìn air an ùrlar agus bheirinn car air an dannsa.”
“Ghabhaidh mise i,” thuirt fear dhiubh seo.
Is nuair a ghabh am fìdhlear i ’s ann a sin a chuala iad an
fhìdhlearachd ceart. Bha cho math dhaibh a bhith ag èisdeachd ris an fhear a
bha an toiseach ann ri duine a’ slaodadh bata air fence. Agus chaidh na dannsairean eile a dhannsa an uair seo. ’S
ann a sin a chunnaic iad an dannsa. Nuair a bha am fear sin, thug e tacan
oirre, shìn e don fhear eile i gus an deach i seachad air a’ cheathrar aca. Bha
e an uair seo a’ tighinn teann air a’ mhadainn. ’S ann a thuirt muinntir
Pheairt an uair sin:
“Feumaidh gur h-e dannsairean agus fìdhleirean a tha an Loch
Abar uile gu lèir.”
Tha fear dhiubh air a thìodhlacadh am Blàr Odhar agus tha e sgrìobhte
air an leac-cinn aige Maighstir Dannsair. Agus chaochail e anns na h-ochd ceud
deug agus a cheithir fichead.
And
the translation goes something like the following:
Famous Fiddlers
There were four famous fiddlers in this locality: John
Stewart was one of the them and he stayed in Bunroy, Archibald MacDonald was
another one and he stayed in Inverroy. And Alexander Kennedy was another one
who stayed in Lianachan. And they all taught dancing and kept dance schools.
But I don’t recollect the name of the fourth man. But they set off with cattle
the four of them and they stopped in Perth for the night. And what happened to
be on in the house but a Harvest Feast and they was a great big celebration. And
they put the cattle to one side and they got accommodation at the farmer’s
house. They were sitting apart by themselves in a room and the folk celebrating
the Harvest Feast were dancing and playing the fiddle at the other end of the
house.
“Well,” said one of them, “it looks really mean of us
leaving the strangers there at the back. Wouldn’t it be better if we invited
them into our company.”
This was done. They all sat and took note of what was going
on. And the fiddler who was playing said:
“If someone knows how to play the fiddle, then I’d get on the
floor so that I could spend a while dancing.”
“I’ll have a go,” said this man.
When he took hold of the fiddle it was only then that they
heard proper fiddle music. They may have just as well have been listening to a
man who played at first as if scraping a stick on a fence. Then all the dancers
began dancing. It was only then that the saw real dancing. Once the man had
been playing a while, he handed it over to another man until all four of them
had played. By now it was getting near to the morning. That is when the Perth
folk exclaimed:
“You must all be dancers and fiddlers from Lochaber.”
One of them is buried in Blarour and it is written on his
gravestone that he was a Dance Master. And he died in 1880.
Further
research could yet reveal which one of these famous fiddlers was buried in Blarour
and perhaps even some more background details to the fiddlers named by John
MacDonald could also be unveiled. Calum Maclean was also fortunate to have recorded
fiddling and piping in Brae Lochaber when he and his colleague visited Brae
Lochaber in 1954. They recorded quite a bit of material from James
Alexander MacDonald (1881–1962), known as Jimmie Bohenie, who was born and
brought up in Bohenie, Glenroy, Brae Lochaber; and also from Donald MacDonald
(1919–1975), known as Dòmhnall Mòr (‘Big
Donald’) who was born and raised in Keppoch, Brae Lochaber, and was reckoned to
be the findest player of the fiddle in the district. He also played the pipes
very well. Collinson would later recollect their fieldwork trip together in the
following terms:
Our first expedition
was to Lochaber and Fort William. At Glenroy we found and recorded a fine
traditional fiddler, James MacDonald. At Keppoch, we called on Donald MacDonald
who played a fine rendering on the pipes of the slow march Lord Lovat’s Lament.
Some
of these recordings are available to listen to on the Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches website such as the lament above
mentioned (http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/54202/1).
An entry kept by Calum Maclean in his diary
notes that he visited Jimmie Bohenie on the 13th of June 1954:
In the evening Mrs
MacDonell, John [[the late Ann MacDonell and her husband] and I went up to Bohenie to record some tunes on the fiddle
from James MacDonald. He was given no warning that we were on our way, but he
welcomed us kindly. I played some records and then Jimmie got his fiddle and
played a selection of tunes. He played well, but was not in top form. His sons
each sung a ballad. One sang the ballad of MacCallum, the poacher, the other a
song called “The Miles and the Road to the Town of Dundee.” I had heard the
latter sung in Irish in Connemara many years ago. It was strange hearing it
there again.
Reference:
SSS
NB 9, pp. 872–73
Images:
Fiddle
scroll
Jimmie
Bohenie, c. 1950
