The man credited by many with introducing Cape Breton fiddling to the world was given a musical sendoff in his home community of Judique, N.S. on Monday.
“Everything he did with a fiddle was the epitome of what a Cape Breton fiddle player should be,” says fiddler Glenn Graham.
Hundreds of Buddy MacMaster’s friends, family members, fellow musicians and fans attended his funeral service, which was a celebration of his life and music.
“He still had that old style that we call around here, we say you have ‘the dirt’ in the music, or ‘the Gaelic’ in the music, but he definitely had a cleanness to his fiddling,” says MacMaster’s cousin Wendy MacIsaac.
MacMaster, whose fiddling was celebrated internationally, died Wednesday at the age of 89.
Those who gathered inside St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church, not far from MacMaster’s home, recalled his willingness to help other fiddlers.
“He had a rare gift and he liked to share that with people,” says friend Frank MacInnis.
“He, as far as I know, never said no to a gig,” says MacIsaac.
Many felt it was fitting that the ‘Dean of Cape Breton fiddling,’ one of MacMaster’s more upbeat selections, was played out of his funeral. His family had originally planned to play something more somber.
“Then, after we were talking about it, we thought ‘let’s just start with a jig and not play anything slow, let’s play something really up,” says Buddy’s niece and fellow fiddler Natalie MacMaster.
A shy man by nature, family and friends say MacMaster would have been humbled by the turnout and an honour guard of firefighters and Kinsmen.
“Oh my gosh, I think he would have loved it. It was exactly what Buddy is, it was low-key, it was gentle,” says Natalie. “He left an undeniable impact, a lasting impact on the face of Cape Breton fiddling tradition and fiddling community that I think will never be surpassed.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
