« Cataraqui River Soirée » is a set of three reels arranged for flute quartet. All three have as their source « The Athole Collection of the Dance Music of Scotland Volume II (1884). » This collection has proved to be an invaluable source of musical material that has been adopted and shared by many of the musicians from Scotland, Cape Breton and Nova Scotia in formal and informal settings. The work opens with the well-known reel « Mrs. Douglas Moncrieff » followed by the contrasting reel « Briogan Shambo. » The third reel, « Evans, » is treated in a different manner than usual. It is presented here in a stretched out version using a change of tempo and time signature to provide contrast to the other reels. The work concludes with a partial return of the first reel in a fugue like setting. The title is a nod to the opening of Kingston’s third crossing of the Cataraqui River with a new bridge known as the Waaban Crossing. The Cataraqui River is a short, but very wide river that connects the Rideau Canal to Lake Ontario and has had a major impact on the development of the city of Kingston. With its completion a soirée seems a fitting way to celebrate.
