Sarah Denny regularly performed Wapikatji’j – The Little White Footed Dog – with her dance troupe, the Eskasoni Mi’kmaq Dancers. It is a humourous song about a dog with limp, which is mimicked by the dancers.

This field recording was collected by Ronnie MacEachern in 1978.

Wapikatji’j, 1978. Sarah Denny. T-1076. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

“When I wrote the song “Two Roads,” I was thinking of our Native youth. The road is harder for them – they have peer pressure, trying to be one of the crowd, but always trying to follow the right path as well. Our youth are like the flowers we plant – we nurture them and watch to see how the plant is doing. We try to coax it into a good flowering, always helping it along. We only hope they take the good road. It is hard, but worth it – especially for the happiness at the end.”

Rita Joe, quoted in Rita Joe: Autobiography of a Mi’kmaq Poet. Charlottetown: Ragweed Press, 1996: 180.

This selection comes from the film footage of Song of Eskasoni (1993, NFB/Morningtide Films). Directed by Brian Guns, the film celebrates the life, poetry and song of Rita Joe.

Two Roads, 1992. Rita Joe/Brian Guns. Song of Eskasoni Collection. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

In this 1977 interview with Bill Doyle, Lee Cremo demonstrates an original reel he has composed; it is dedicated to his son, Timothy Ryan.

Timothy Ryan’s Reel, 1977. Lee Cremo. T-883. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

This selection is a portion of the hymn Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium written by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). It is sung for the Solemnity of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ (formerly the Feast of Corpus Christi) and on Holy Thursday. On Holy Thursday, Pange Lingua is sung during the procession from the church to the holding place for the Blessed Sacrament.

This field recording was collected by Ronnie MacEachern in 1978.

Pange Lingua, 1978. Noel Pol Denny. T-1076. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

In this 1977 interview with Bill Doyle, Lee Cremo demonstrates the Irish reel, Paddy On The Turnpike.

Paddy On The Turnpike, 1977. Lee Cremo. T-883. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

This selection comes from the film footage of Song of Eskasoni (1993, NFB/Morningtide Films). Directed by Brian Guns, the film celebrates the life, poetry and song of Rita Joe.

The Oka Song, 1992. Rita Joe/Brian Guns. Song of Eskasoni Collection. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

While the Offertory is sung at almost every Catholic mass, it is part of the Proper of the Mass. These texts change according to the Feast Day or date in the liturgical calendar and are, therefore, traditionally set to less ornate music. Thus, the text-setting is syllabic – one or two pitches to each syllable.

This field recording was collected by Ronnie MacEachern in 1978.

Offertory, 1978. Wilfred Prosper. T-1076. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.