The Men of the Deeps

The Men of the Deeps is a world renowned male choral ensemble composed of coal miners and former miners from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

History

Formed in 1966, the group has a mandate to preserve the traditional music and folklore of the Canadian Maritimes and particularly the Cape Breton region. To belong to the singing group, a man must have worked in the mine. The ages of the men range from the late-thirties to the upper seventies. As of 2006, only one member had been with the group since its inception, but other original members had returned after brief times out of the group. In this category are both a mine manager and a former president of District 26 of the United Mine Workers of America.

Their repertoire includes traditional songs of Cape Breton; modern, authored songs by Cape Breton songwriters; and songs arising from mining regions throughout the English-speaking world. Their style is decidedly working-class, but this obvious class-consciousness is not overtly political.

Since the group's inception, the musical director has been John C. (Jack) O'Donnell, now Professor Emeritus of music at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In 1983, Prof. O'Donnell's contribution was recognized by the government of Canada, as he was awarded the Order of Canada. In 1993, he was further honoured when he received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University College of Cape Breton (now Cape Breton University), an honour that was bestowed upon the group as a whole in 2000.

In 1977, the group became the first Canadian musical ensemble to tour the Peoples Republic of China. In 1999, they went to Kosovo and performed a concert on behalf of the United Nations Children's Fund.

Performances

The Men of the Deeps have toured most of the major cities in North America and have also performed concerts specifically for fellow miners during United Mine Workers of America conventions in Cincinnati and Denver. They have also released several albums on the Apex, Waterloo and Atlantica record labels. The group has appeared on numerous television programs including NFB Canada Vignette short film featuring it in performance and a 2003 documentary, which won a Gemini Award.

Dressed in the miners' garb of coveralls and hard hats, they make an impressive impact when they enter a concert hall in total darkness with their helmet lamps providing the only light.

Parody

The Men of the Deeps were spoofed by the cast of Island Mania, a local Cape Breton stage show which has been produced at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay for the past several years. The production did a sendup of the choir by copying the group's distinctive uniforms and entrance for a song that highlighted the economic situation of Cape Breton miners.

Discography

• Men of the Deeps (1966)
• The Men of the Deeps I II & III (1976)
• Diamonds in the Rough (1992)
• Buried Treasures (1995)
• Coal Fire in Winter (1996)
• Mining the Soul (2000) (with Rita MacNeil)
• Their Lights Will Shine (2004)
• And Now the Fields Are Green (A compilation of Cape Breton mining songs in Canada)
• The Music of the Men of the Deeps: Selected Songs from the Repertoire of North America's Only Coal Miners Choir

External links

• The Men of the Deeps Homepage
• NFB Documentary - The Men of the Deeps
• Jack O'Donnell - Choral Arrangements