SONG FOR THE MIRA...by AllisterMacGillivray/arranged by Stuart Calvert

AllisterMacGillivray: renowned songwriter, guitarist, record producer, folklorist and author from the Island of Cape Breton in the province of Nova Scotia, in eastern Canada.He was born and raised in the coalmining/fishing town of Glace Bay. His grandparents on the MacGillivray side were Gaelic-speaking, and various cousins played violin, guitar or accordion at weekly family-music-sessions — before the intrusion of television.A child performer from the age of seven, he met many of the stars of Cape Breton’s musical community while touring variety shows. In addition to this exposure to traditional and popular music, he was recruited by boy choirs, and studied and sang Gregorian chant.Allister became enthralled with British and American folk-music at the age of thirteen, and from then on performed only with folk-oriented bands.During his university years, he worked and recorded in Kansas City, Missouri, with a group from The Dutch East Indies.Following graduation from St. F.X U. in Antigonish, he toured two years with a trio headed by Cape Breton folksinger John Allan Cameron. Besides its own dedicated following, the group opened for Anne Murray and The Irish Rovers, bringing the house down in a 1970 appearance at “The Grand Ole Opry” in Nashville, Tennessee.

On “Ceilidh”, Cameron’s Canadian national television program, Allister served as guitarist and musical director.

During the mid seventies, Allister performed as a fulltime guitarist with the Irish/Newfoundland group Ryan’s Fancy, which toured Canada and Ireland.He recorded and co-produced several albums with this trio, and again was musical director on both regional and national television programs.At this point his songwriting career began to blossom. Ryan’s Fancy recorded Allister’s “Sea People”, “Tie Me Down” and “Coal Town Road”, and the group featured “Song For The Mira” during many of their live performances.

A particular highlight of Allister’s performing career was accompanying Irish superstars Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy, in television series and several extended tours of the eastern United States and Canada.Allister left “the road” around 1980, choosing to settle in rural Cape Breton to concentrate on an eclectic career of songwriting, composing and documenting the Cape Breton experience.

AllisterMacGillivray ~ professional musician, successful songwriter, arranger, photographer and fiddling enthusiast who has been closely associated with Cape Breton music for most of his life.

A native Cape Bretoner, and full-time resident of the Island, his songs reflect deep feelings for his Cape Breton heritage and paint a musical picture of the Island's landscape and people. There are about twenty-five AllisterMacGillivray compositions in circulation, the best-travelled of these being "Song For The Mira" and "Away From The Roll Of The Sea".Through his interest in local history, fiddling and folklore, Allister has also documented the contribution of many of the noted violin players and stepdancers of his region. His research has been published in book and magazine form, and he has participated in the production of film and television documentaries. His books include "The Cape Breton Fiddler", "A Cape Breton Ceilidh", "The Cape Breton Song Collection", "The Nova Scotia Song Collection", "Song For The Mira", and the "Music Notation Booklet"

The Mira River is a Canadian river located in southeastern Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.With a meander length of approximately 55km (34mi) , the Mira has a very slow flow rate. The river's source is traced to a series of lakes clustered around Victoria Bridge near the boundary with Richmond County. Flowing past the communities of Marion Bridge and Albert Bridge, the river discharges through the "Mira Gut" at the community of the same name into the Mira Bay. The river occupies a trench arching from southwest to northeast across the southern part of Cape Breton County; much of the eastern part of the river is a tidal estuary, with noticeable tides extending beyond Albert Bridge approximately 10km (6.2mi) upstream of the Gut.The Mira River was the inspiration for local songwriter AllisterMacGillivray'sSong for the Mira. Over the years, it has become a renowned folk song, that has been recorded by many artists and translated into several different languages.The mouth of the river, which drains into Mira Gut, is spanned by a bridge with a revolving middle span. This bridge, along with Albert Bridge, have been known to be used as diving boards by youths seeking adventure. The activity has not been as prevalent in recent years due to public fears of injury and liability, and to threats made by the Cape Breton Regional Police of fines or jail time for jumpers.[1] The Gut bridge was used due to the high currents experienced at mid tide. Albert Bridge was used due to its height above water and the deep pool situated below the northwestern end of the bridge.

Terms & Musical Considerations:

key of DM – two sharps (#)

time signature – 3/4

tempo – c. quarter note = 108

allegretto -light and cheerful, lively but less so than allegro and more so than andante, lively and moderately fast

staggered breathing –

vocal accompaniment – hmms under the solo part

obligato – the oboe/flute part over the melody

a tempo – returning the the original pace, used particularly after a change in the tempo.

ritardando (rit) – gradually slower, retarding, to hold back, holding back, held back (gradual change of tempo), gradually delaying the tempo

decrescendo - to get gradually softer

ppp, mp, mf,