Heather Dale is a Canadian

Celtic folk Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerab ...

musician, author, entrepreneur, and filker who was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association's Hall of Fame in 2020. Much of her music draws on

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

, but she also incorporates influences and instruments from other genres, including world music. She runs her own independent record label, Amphis Music, from its office in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario.

Personal life

Heather Dale is the daughter of Peter and Nancy Dale. Her mother's family comes from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, though Dale describes herself as a "Celtic mongrel", with

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, Irish, and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

ancestry in addition to Cornish. She also has "family roots" in the west side of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. As of 2004, Dale was a member of the Toronto/Cornish Association. As of August 2020, she was married to a man named Peter. She was raised in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, and graduated from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

with a degree in

environmental studies Environmental studies is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sciences, commerce/economics, the humanities, and social ...

in the early-mid 1990s. Dale's musical passion began with taking piano lessons and writing poetry as a child. This early exposure led to a familiarity with a wide variety of classical and folk instruments.

Career

At the age of eighteen, while a student at the University of Waterloo, she discovered Medievalism through the

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

, and began composing songs inspired by Arthurian legend and other fantasy books she had grown up enjoying. Soon after, she began going to

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expres ...

s in

, and there found a welcoming community. She made her very first recordings in 1992, and released her first album ''The Trial of Lancelot'' in 2000. ''Trial'' included her most popular song, "Mordred's Lullaby", which went viral after release and counted over twenty million views on YouTube as of August 2020. As a teenager, she developed aspirations of living an independent, entrepreneurial life, modelled after what she could see

Loreena McKennitt Loreena Isobel Irene McKennitt, (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her ...

doing with her career. Dale founded Amphis Music (officially Amphisbaena Music) in 1998, and it has been her primary record label throughout her career. As of 2004, she was touring with a four-piece backing band and giving solo shows. Since around 2005, Dale has worked closely with multi-instrumentalist Ben Deschamps, who has co-written and co-produced with her for much of her career, as well as performing and touring with her as duo and as part of the "Heather Dale Band" (occasionally the "Heather Dale Trio") and providing instrumentation on her recordings. Dale and Deschamps spent a decade on the road together before moving back to Toronto in 2019, the year which marked 20 years as a professional musician, according to an interview Dale did to promote the release of her 20th album, ''Sphere'' (2019). In 2006, Dale produced a songbook, ''The Legends of Arthur'', which re-tells some Arthurian legends and provides sheet music for her songs from ''The Trial of Lancelot'' and ''May Queen'' albums. The songbook is illustrated by Martin Springett. Deschamps made concert

live-streaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

platform Online Concert Thing in October 2019, as an option for musician friends who couldn't tour and who were left with no recourse after the earlier streaming service ConcertWindow shut down. As of August 2021, Dale is in charge of Artist & Customer Relations for the platform. On April 3, 2014,

the Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

listed her as number six on a list of "the top 10 Canadian entrepreneurial crowdfunding campaigns of the moment" for her Indiegogo campaign to fund "CELTIC AVALON", a self-described "big King-Arthur-themed touring show & concert DVD, and youth educational program." This campaign raised over and produced Dale and S. J. Tucker's original musical ''Queens of Avalon'' (2016), about the relationship between

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

(played by Tucker) and

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...

(played by Dale). On August 25, 2020, Dale was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association's Hall of Fame during that year's virtual

Aurora Awards The Aurora Awards (french: Prix Aurora-Boréal) are a set of primarily literary awards given annually for the best Canadian science fiction or fantasy professional and fan works and achievements from the previous year."Literary glow of Auroras lure ...

ceremony. Dale was the first musician to be inducted into the Hall of Fame since its establishment in 2014.

Style and subject matter

Dale's music is frequently compared to

, and she cites McKennitt as an influence, because of her "multi-ethnic approach to modern Celtic music." In analyzing Dale's portrayal of

the Lady of Shalott "The Lady of Shalott" is a lyrical ballad by the 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson and one of his best-known works. Inspired by the 13th-century Italian short prose text '' Donna di Scalotta'', the poem tells the tragic story of Elain ...

in her song "Lily Maid", scholar Ann F. Howey notes that "in many of Dale's songs, the lyrics function as a dramatic monologue, so that Dale as a singer "speaks" in the persona of a particular character." Dale's early album ''The Trial of Lancelot'' (1999, with songs written between 1996 and 1999), features instrumentation that includes piano, guitars, flute, fiddle, cello, and various kinds of drums. Her instrumentation across her career has combined traditional Celtic instruments (

Irish flute The Irish flute is a conical-bore, simple-system wooden flute of the type favoured by classical flautists of the early 19th century, or to a flute of modern manufacture derived from this design (often with modifications to optimize its use in Ir ...

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

, bodhran) with rock-associated instruments (e.g. electric guitar) and instruments from world music, notably the

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

and the

udu The udu is a plosive aerophone (in this case implosive) and an idiophone of the Igbo of Nigeria. In the Igbo language, ''ùdù'' means 'vessel'. Actually being a water jug with an additional hole, it was played by Igbo women for ceremonial uses ...

. The nine songs on this album all draw on

. According to ''A Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana (1500–2000)'' (2006): ''May Queen'' (2003) also uses Arthurian legend as its primary subject matter. She re-recorded most of the songs from ''Trial'' and ''May Queen'' in her later album ''Avalon'' (2010). ''Call the Names'' (2001) has much barer instrumentation than ''Trial'', and according to the BBC features "humorous and poignant" songs inspired by the everyday challenges of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

life. ''This Endris Night'' (2002) is a collection of medieval Christmas music, including the titular song. ''This Endris Night'' also includes a trilingual version of the "

Huron Carol The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the ...

", a seventeenth century carol composed by

Jesuit missionary , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

Jean de Brébeuf Jean de Brébeuf () (25 March 1593 16 March 1649) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron (Wyandot people) for the rest of his life, except for a few years in France ...

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons Sainte-Marie among the Hurons (french: Sainte-Marie-au-pays-des-Hurons) was a French Jesuit settlement in Wendake, the land of the Wendat, near modern Midland, Ontario, from 1639 to 1649. It was the first European settlement in what is now the p ...

. Dale sings the song in

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language * Wyandot religion Places * Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Wyandot County, Ohio * Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...

, French, and English. Dale's version uses different English lyrics than most other recordings, favouring a more accurate translation of the Wyandot words. According to

Alan M. Kent Alan M. Kent (1967 – 20 July 2022) was a Cornish poet, dramatist, novelist, editor, academic and teacher. He was the author of a number of works on Cornish and Anglo-Cornish literature. Kent was born in 1967 in St Austell, Cornwall and died ...

's 2007 essay "Towards a History of Popular Music in Cornwall, 1967–2007", Dale's music is "explicitly 'Celtic' and keenly

Brythonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

and

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest tradition ...

in theme." Kent identifies Dale as infusing Cornish popular music with "ethereal and soaring female vocalization," placing her in a genre also occupied by artists including

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

, Loreena McKennitt,

Maire Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

, and

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

. Despite Dale's inspiration by the Society for Creative Anachronism, Kent notes that throughout both ''The Trial of Lancelot'' and ''May Queen'', she makes use of Cornish historical literary material, for instance the story of

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...

(recounted in her song "Tristan and Isolt" on ''May Queen''). She likewise draws on specifically Welsh stories. Her song about the legend of Culhwch and Olwen is, according to a 2011 essay by Megan MacAlystre, "one of only a handful of musical settings of the tale to be found", and is "among the most readily available"—the long legend of "how Culhwch won Olwen" is shortened into a "jaunty" five-minute-long song that stands out from what MacAlystre calls identifies as more familiar tales on the ''Trial of Lancelot'' album. ''The Road to Santiago'' (2005) extends beyond the Celtic styles of her earlier albums, and includes influences from "

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...

, shanties, Spanish/North African rhythms and modal melodies, medieval court music and contemporary pop balladry," according to a review in the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

. ''The Road to Santiago'' also features the song "Sedna", a retelling of the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

creation myth involving the goddess Sedna that includes archival recordings of

Inuit throat singing Inuit throat singing, or ''katajjaq'' ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᑲᑕᔾᔭᖅ), is a distinct type of throat singing uniquely found among the Inuit. It is a form of musical performance, traditionally consisting of two women who sing duets in a ...

. Her song "The Maiden and the Selkie" (from ''The Green Knight'' (2009)) is an example of her drawing on Norse and Celtic folklore, both in style (as a sea shanty) and subject matter (the song is about a romance between a woman and a male

Selkie In Celtic and Norse mythology, selkies (also spelled ', ', ') or selkie folk ( sco, selkie fowk) meaning 'seal folk' are mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. They are found ...

). Her album ''Sphere'' (2019) draws inspiration from the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

and Time's Up. Stylistically, ''Sphere'' also draws on world music motifs, as well as

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

, a genre Dale has further explored in her two-part ''Incantations'' project in the 2020s.

Influence

Dale's lyrics are quoted in many of the novels in

S. M. Stirling Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his The Domination, Draka series of alternate history (fiction), alternate history no ...

The Emberverse series The Emberverse series—or Change World—is a series of post-apocalyptic alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling. The novels depict the events following a mysterious—yet sudden—worldwide event called "The Change" that occurs at ...

, including ''

The Sword of the Lady ''The Sword of the Lady'' (2009) is an alternate history, post-apocalyptic novel by American writer S. M. Stirling. It is the sixth book in the Emberverse series. Rudi Mackenzie and his group leave Iowa, heading through Wisconsin, out onto the ...

'' (2009), ''The High King of Montival'' (2010), ''The Tears of the Sun'' (2011), ''Lord of Mountains'' (2012), ''The Given Sacrifice'' (2013), ''The Golden Princess'' (2014), ''The Desert and the Blade'' (2015), and ''Prince of Outcasts'' (2016).

Tanya Huff Tanya Sue Huff (born 1957) is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her '' Blood Books'' series, featuring detective Vicki Ne ...

's novel ''The Wild Ways'' (2011) is dedicated to Dale, "who sang about Selkies and started the whole thing". Fellow filker and author

Seanan McGuire Seanan McGuire (pronounced SHAWN-in; born January 5, 1978 in Martinez, California) is an American author and filker. McGuire is known for her urban fantasy novels. She uses the pseudonym Mira Grant to write science fiction/ horror and the pseudon ...

states in the acknowledgements to her novel ''Chimes at Midnight'' (2013), that Dale's album ''Fairytale'' was a part of her "soundtrack" while writing the novel. Author

E. K. Johnston Emily Kate Johnston, who publishes as E.K. Johnston, is a Canadian novelist and forensic archaeologist. Career Johnston started writing fan fiction in 2002, and wrote her first manuscript in 2009. Her first book, ''The Story of Owen: Dragon ...

cites her music as an inspiration for her novels ''The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim'' (2014) and ''Prairie Fire'' (2015), and quotes the lyrics to "Joan" (a song about

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

from the 2008 album ''The Gabriel Hounds'') in the latter novel.

Discography

Albums

* ''Dances by the Marian Ensemble'' (1996) * ''The Trial of Lancelot'' (copyright 1999, released 2000) * ''Call the Names'' (2001) * ''This Endris Night'' (2002) * ''May Queen'' (2003) * ''The Road to Santiago'' (Amphis/

MapleMusic Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaight ...

, 2005) * ''The Hidden Path'' (2006) * ''The Gabriel Hounds'' (2008) * ''The Green Knight'' (2009) * ''Avalon'' (2010) * ''Fairytale'' (2011) * ''My Celtic Heart'' (2013) * ''Perpetual Gift'' (2012) – A free sample album released digitally on Dale's website * ''Imagineer'' (Audio & Video Labs, Inc., 2015) * ''Queens of Avalon'' (2016) – Cast recording of an original musical by Dale and S. J. Tucker * ''Spark'' (2017) * ''Sphere'' (2019) * ''Incantations I'' (2020) * ''Incantations II'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, Heather Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Filkers Celtic folk musicians Canadian folk musicians 21st-century Canadian women musicians Canadian people of Cornish descent Canadian people of Welsh descent Canadian people of Scottish descent University of Waterloo alumni