Box and Fiddle
Year 19 No 03
November 1995
Scottish Fiddle Playing and Its Irish Connections
by Dr Kevin McCann, M.D., D.H.P.
Scottish fiddle music has been played in Northern Ireland for at least a 150 years, particularly in Counties Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Antrim and indeed is still going strong in all those Counties today, especially in County Antrim.
I have had a lifelong admiration and affection for Scottish fiddle music, as my father who came from Trillick region of South Tyrone near the Fermanagh border was a good fiddle player in the Scottish mode, and the first tunes ever heard played on the fiddle were ‘The De’il Among theTailors’ and ‘Speed the Plough’ played with real verve by my father.
I spent many years as a youngster and adult listening to the Scottish tunes played by fiddlers in County Tyrone and Fermanagh. About 70 years ago fiddlers were numerous in this part of Ireland and Scottish tunes were an important part of their repertoire of music.
Historically the Scots have had a long and close association with the Northern Irish people. The two races are of Celtic origin and probably emigrated from the mainland of Europe to England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland at the same time, more than a millennium ago.
The Christian faith was brought to Scotland by Irish missionaries based on the island of Iona, causing a religious affiliation that lasted at least to the 16th century, i.e. up to the time of the Reformation.
There were also close political ties between the two nations for a lon time and Scottish and Irish clans existed as allies or foes over many centuries up to the time of Eoin Roe O’Neill in the 16th century.
In later times Irish fishermen, from Ulster in particular, fished in the North Sea and had a close and friendly relationship with Highland Scots, Shetland and Orkney Islanders, and as Gaelic was their common language, many songs, airs and tunes were exchanged during the association.
In more recent times, especially in the 19th century, thousands of Northern Irish people migrated to Scotland, especially in the Famine years and in this century many seasonal workers in particular the ‘Tattie Howkers’, or potato diggers traveled annually to Scotland in the autumn to harvest the potato crop for the more prosperous Scottish farmers. These migrants returned home after their work was completed and brought songs and music, both printed and oral with them to Ireland and influenced Northern Irish music to a large degree.
SCOTTISH MUSIC IN IRELAND
Scottish music and reels in particular have been played in Ireland for centuries and even the last of our harpers moved between both countries regularly and frequently and the Gaelic, linguistic and musical unity arising from the racial identity of the Irish and Scottish people was never completely broken from the 4th Century.
As an example of this musical exchange I quote as an example taken from Donald Dow’s music collection in the 1770’s some compositions of Ruairi Dall O Cathain, an Irish harper to several Scottish nobles such as ‘Ludes Supper’, ‘The Fiddler’s Contempt’ and ‘Ruairi Dall’s Lament’.
The violin was first introduced in the Scottish Highlands in the late 17th Century by Scottish Lords who hoped to bring new culture to the area. It also became a force of social change. The Highland Chieftains, as mentioned above, traditionally employed harpers and pipers to entertain in the mead hall or in the case of the pipers to lead them into battle.
The new clans of Anglicised Lords, however, were eager to replace this older culture with something more acceptable to their cosmopolitan tastes.
Little did they realise that the violin they preferred would be so enthusiastically embrased by the natives who would make it an instrument of native Scottish music.
Scottish fiddle music progressed in leaps and bounds to more sophisticated compositions and playing styles in the next two centuries.
Prominent in composition and playing of Scottish fiddle music were the Gow family especially Niel and his son Nathaniel who came from Inver about 60 miles north of Edinburgh. They played a major part in Scottish fiddle music at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Characteristic of the new style of music beginning about this time was the Strathspey, a type of Reel that developed in the Valley (Strath) of the River Spey.
Strathspey reels as they were first called were first published in Scotland in the early 18th century. I would mention here that where played in Ireland the ‘Strathspey’ was called ‘Highland’ or ‘Scottische’ and was played at a faster tempo than in Scotland.
The two best strathspeys of Highland players I heard in Ireland were the late John Doherty and Francis Byrne, both Donegal fiddlers.
Niel Gow revolutionised Scottish fiddle playing not only in inventing ‘the driven up bow’ but also by composing some of the now famous strathspeys such as ‘Abercairney House’ and ‘Alexander Cunningham’, and numerous slow airs, the most admired being ‘Niel Gow’s Lament for his Second Wife’. He composed literally hundreds of other dance tunes, slow airs and marches which are played by Scottish and Irish fiddlers today.
REELS IN IRELAND
It is not too well known that reels were introduced to Ireland from Scotland, as before this occurred the main dance tunes played in Ireland was the jig. I will introduce here the names of some tunes played in Ireland today which originated in Scotland. Jigs that are regularly played in Ireland are ‘Oiche Nollag’ whose Scottish name is ‘There’s Na Luck Aboot the Hoose’, ‘The Atholl Highlanders’ and ‘Rose Wood’. Many reels come to mind ‘The Mason’s Apron’, ‘The Spey in Spate’, ‘The Soldier’s Joy’, ‘The Flowers of Edinburgh’ and ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’.
Reels which differ in name from their Scottish originals are :-
1) An Ril Cam, played as a jig in Scotland about 1775
2) Cunningham’s Fancy : in Scotland called ‘Lady Mary Lindsay’ in 1775 collection.
3) Rakish Paddy : a Scottish composition found in the Riddle Collection, 1776
4) The Copper Plate : originated as ‘Copper Fey’ or the ‘Deer Horn’ arranged originally as a slow air for the piob mor about 1750.
5) Lucy Campbell whose old Scottish name is ‘Miss Louisa Campbell’s Delight’ in 1778.
6) ‘Bonnie Kate’ Cait Boideach (Breathnach) stated by Niel Gow to have been composed and named ‘The Bonnie Lass of Fisherow’ by William Marshall in 1761.
7) Sean Frank’s Reel (Breathnach) known in Scotland as ‘Colonel McBean’ published 1798
8) Lord Gordon’s Reel composed by William Marshall and named ‘The Duke of Gordon’s Rant’.
9) Boyne Hunt – ‘Perth Hunt’ – ‘Niel Gow’s Reel’ (Cole Collection)
Most of the tunes names above were obtained from ‘Ceol Rinnce na hEireann, Leabhar a haon (number one).
There are many other composers, players and collectors of Scottish music – too numerous to mention here, but by far the most important Scottish composer of this century was James Scott Skinner, who composed great music, most of which is extremely popular with Scottish and Irish players. I will here mention a few of his best known and most played tunes. They include ‘The Bonnie Lass o’ Bon Accord’, ‘Margaret Walker Reel’, ‘The Laird o’ Drumblair’, strathspey’ ‘Spey in Spate’ reel, ‘The President’, exhibition piece and ‘The Left Handed Fiddler’ and scores of other too numerous to name here.
Admirers of Scott Skinner and players of his music include Sean McGuire of Belfast, the late John and Mickey Doherty and Francis Byrne of Co Donegal, Sean Keane who played ‘The Mathematician Hornpipe’ and Josie Keegan who plays ‘Hasberry Howard Hornpipe’.
Scott Skinner music is technically difficult to play and one has to have full command of the violin to play his music satisfactorily.
In 1953, through the good offices of the late Charles Curry, some Scottish fiddle players were invited to come to Ballymena, Co. Antrim , to play for The Derry and Antrim Fiddle Society. I had the good fortune to meet and hear them and was very favourably impressed indeed by their fine playing and music. The players were John Junner, Bert Murray and William Hardie, all from the Aberdeen area and gave a great account of themselves and gave all present the ‘low down’ on Scottish music, its history and its status at the time.
In 1954, I invited two of the above Scotsmen, John Junner and Bert Murray on a fiddle tour of Ireland so that they could get a close look at and hear Irish fiddle players on their home turf.
We began the Tour in Belfast and spent two days in Jack McGuire’s house in Belfast where the music went on day and night and great music was played by the Scots and the McGuires.
We next met the Ballymena players who included the late George McCrae, David MacWhinney, the late Alex Kerr, John Rae (xylophone) and the late Sean McLoughlin. Scottish music dominated the sessions with this group, and there was no doubt that Scottish fiddle music is strongest in Co. Antrim.
We then traveled to County Donegal and spent some time with the late John Doherty who enthralled and intrigued the Scotsman with his vast collection of Scottish tunes and his great fiddle technique.
From long association with him I believe John Doherty knew every tune in the 12 volumes of Kerr’s Collection and at least 4 of them contain over 400 tunes.
After visiting Donegal we visited the late Tommy Coen of Salthill and Beab Ui’ Standuin of Spiddal and ended up in Co. Clare listening to and taping Paddy Canny, P. Joe Hayes and many others.
John Junnor took hours of recording of the above named players and in his house in Strachan, Kincardineshire, he has a pile of spools of tape three feet high of recordings made of Irish fiddlers during their trip.
As John Junner is a fine pianist and accompanist, a lot of the music taped has piano accompaniment and is of high quality. John hopes to convert some of the music to cassette tapes for the edification and pleasure of today’s fiddle enthusiasts in Ireland and Scotland.
A VISIT TO ABERDEEN
The Scotsman invited Sean McGuire and myself for a musical visit to Aberdeen in October, 1954, where we had a week’s non-stop musical feast of Irish and Scottish music played by Sean, John Junner, Bert Murray and Bill Hardie. It was a memorable week indeed and John Junner took Sean McGuire and myself to visit Scott Skinner’s grave which to us all was a memorable moment and that trip to Aberdeen so long ago still lives vividly in my mind.
A sideline to the trip was my conversation in Gaelic with John Junner mother, a grand old lady from the Highlands who spoke fluent Scots Gaelic which I found easy to understand due to its close resemblance to Donegal Gaelic.
During subsequent visits to Aberdeen, which I considered the hub of Scottish fiddle music, I had the good fortune to meet the late Tom Anderson, a Shetland Isles fiddler and composer of note who composed the well-known airs, ‘The Auld Resting Chair’ and ‘The Slockit Light’ and numerous dance tunes in his Shetland mode which has a strong Scandinavian flavour.
Tom subsequently invited Sean McGuire, Josie Keegan and Joe Burke to Shetland to give concerts for the Shetland enthusiasts where there were at least 200 active fiddle players and who play en masse in groups of up to 30 players together and produce fine music indeed.
The talented trio of McGuire, Keegan and Burke, made annual trips to Shetland for a decade. They played in Lerwick to capacity, enthusiastic and knowledgeable audiences.
Sean McGuire informed me that Shetlanders were the best audiences he ever played to, and Joe Burke agrees with this.
Bert Murray of Aberdeen, apart from being a fine fiddle player has composed more than 100 fine tunes which he has published recently and there isn’t a poor tune in the whole collection. His best known composition in Ireland is the reel ‘Sean McGuire’, composed in 1954.
Bill Hardie, another fine fiddle player and collector of tunes, is descended from six generations of fiddlers and fiddle makers. He has now moved to Edinburgh where, with his son, Alasdair, he has published a fine book of music entitled ‘The Beauties of the North’, a collection of airs and tunes from the Aberdeen area and in collaboration with Alasdair produced ‘The Caledonian Companion’ which apart from its fine collection of tunes and airs gives instructions to the music reader how to bow and finger the various melodies. It is a ‘sine qua non’ book for anyone playing Scottish fiddle music.
My last trip, October ’78 to Aberdeen was with the late Sean Reid, a fellow Tyrone man who was born and reared in Castlederg and who was very fond of Scottish fiddle music.
We traveled by car from Ennis and drove all the way to Aberdeen taking the Larne – Stranraer ferry to and from Scotland. It was cold and wintry weather but the warm reception we got in Aberdeen more than compensated for the snow on the ground outside.
We spent a week there and were entertained by the late Hector MacAndrew, Bert Murray and visited two fiddle clubs with Bill Hardie. The clubs were in Banchory and New Meldrum, both about 20 miles outside Aberdeen and a more enthusiastic and jolly collection of fiddlers I have yet to meet.
The fiddlers were from all walks of life and included farmers, whisky distillers, doctors and school teachers. The average size of each group was 20 players including a pianist and they all played from music and were conducted by Bill Hardie. Our reception was warm and the music was good.
Scottish music today is in a fairly healthy state, but some of the older fiddlers are worried at the dearth of young talent coming along. Unfortunately for Scottish traditional music in general there is no blanket organisation in place, such as the CCE in Ireland to promote the music and encourage the youth to take up fiddle playing. There are a few promising newcomers, however, the best being a young Aberdeen player in his 20’s names Alex Bain (no relation to Ali) and who has produced a fine tape of Scots fiddle music very well played.
There, of course, exists the solid body of recorded fiddle music ranging from re-recordings of old 78s by Scott Skinner to modern recordings by Ron Gonella, Bill Hardie, Bert Murray, John Cunningham, the late Hector McAndrew and many others.
For the sake of fiddle music in Ireland and Scotland, I sincerely hope that Scottish fiddle music prospers and increases in popularity, particularly here in Ireland where a lot can still be learned by all fiddle players by listening to Scottish music.
Footnote : Dr Kevin McCann, M.D., D. Ph., is a native of Dungavan, Co. Waterford, now living in Newfoundland, and has written many excellent articles which will be published in future issues of the ‘B&F’. Thanks to Bert Murray for pointing me in the right direction – Ed.
by Dr Kevin McCann, M.D., D.H.P.
Scottish fiddle music has been played in Northern Ireland for at least a 150 years, particularly in Counties Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Antrim and indeed is still going strong in all those Counties today, especially in County Antrim.
I have had a lifelong admiration and affection for Scottish fiddle music, as my father who came from Trillick region of South Tyrone near the Fermanagh border was a good fiddle player in the Scottish mode, and the first tunes ever heard played on the fiddle were ‘The De’il Among theTailors’ and ‘Speed the Plough’ played with real verve by my father.
I spent many years as a youngster and adult listening to the Scottish tunes played by fiddlers in County Tyrone and Fermanagh. About 70 years ago fiddlers were numerous in this part of Ireland and Scottish tunes were an important part of their repertoire of music.
Historically the Scots have had a long and close association with the Northern Irish people. The two races are of Celtic origin and probably emigrated from the mainland of Europe to England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland at the same time, more than a millennium ago.
The Christian faith was brought to Scotland by Irish missionaries based on the island of Iona, causing a religious affiliation that lasted at least to the 16th century, i.e. up to the time of the Reformation.
There were also close political ties between the two nations for a lon time and Scottish and Irish clans existed as allies or foes over many centuries up to the time of Eoin Roe O’Neill in the 16th century.
In later times Irish fishermen, from Ulster in particular, fished in the North Sea and had a close and friendly relationship with Highland Scots, Shetland and Orkney Islanders, and as Gaelic was their common language, many songs, airs and tunes were exchanged during the association.
In more recent times, especially in the 19th century, thousands of Northern Irish people migrated to Scotland, especially in the Famine years and in this century many seasonal workers in particular the ‘Tattie Howkers’, or potato diggers traveled annually to Scotland in the autumn to harvest the potato crop for the more prosperous Scottish farmers. These migrants returned home after their work was completed and brought songs and music, both printed and oral with them to Ireland and influenced Northern Irish music to a large degree.
SCOTTISH MUSIC IN IRELAND
Scottish music and reels in particular have been played in Ireland for centuries and even the last of our harpers moved between both countries regularly and frequently and the Gaelic, linguistic and musical unity arising from the racial identity of the Irish and Scottish people was never completely broken from the 4th Century.
As an example of this musical exchange I quote as an example taken from Donald Dow’s music collection in the 1770’s some compositions of Ruairi Dall O Cathain, an Irish harper to several Scottish nobles such as ‘Ludes Supper’, ‘The Fiddler’s Contempt’ and ‘Ruairi Dall’s Lament’.
The violin was first introduced in the Scottish Highlands in the late 17th Century by Scottish Lords who hoped to bring new culture to the area. It also became a force of social change. The Highland Chieftains, as mentioned above, traditionally employed harpers and pipers to entertain in the mead hall or in the case of the pipers to lead them into battle.
The new clans of Anglicised Lords, however, were eager to replace this older culture with something more acceptable to their cosmopolitan tastes.
Little did they realise that the violin they preferred would be so enthusiastically embrased by the natives who would make it an instrument of native Scottish music.
Scottish fiddle music progressed in leaps and bounds to more sophisticated compositions and playing styles in the next two centuries.
Prominent in composition and playing of Scottish fiddle music were the Gow family especially Niel and his son Nathaniel who came from Inver about 60 miles north of Edinburgh. They played a major part in Scottish fiddle music at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Characteristic of the new style of music beginning about this time was the Strathspey, a type of Reel that developed in the Valley (Strath) of the River Spey.
Strathspey reels as they were first called were first published in Scotland in the early 18th century. I would mention here that where played in Ireland the ‘Strathspey’ was called ‘Highland’ or ‘Scottische’ and was played at a faster tempo than in Scotland.
The two best strathspeys of Highland players I heard in Ireland were the late John Doherty and Francis Byrne, both Donegal fiddlers.
Niel Gow revolutionised Scottish fiddle playing not only in inventing ‘the driven up bow’ but also by composing some of the now famous strathspeys such as ‘Abercairney House’ and ‘Alexander Cunningham’, and numerous slow airs, the most admired being ‘Niel Gow’s Lament for his Second Wife’. He composed literally hundreds of other dance tunes, slow airs and marches which are played by Scottish and Irish fiddlers today.
REELS IN IRELAND
It is not too well known that reels were introduced to Ireland from Scotland, as before this occurred the main dance tunes played in Ireland was the jig. I will introduce here the names of some tunes played in Ireland today which originated in Scotland. Jigs that are regularly played in Ireland are ‘Oiche Nollag’ whose Scottish name is ‘There’s Na Luck Aboot the Hoose’, ‘The Atholl Highlanders’ and ‘Rose Wood’. Many reels come to mind ‘The Mason’s Apron’, ‘The Spey in Spate’, ‘The Soldier’s Joy’, ‘The Flowers of Edinburgh’ and ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’.
Reels which differ in name from their Scottish originals are :-
1) An Ril Cam, played as a jig in Scotland about 1775
2) Cunningham’s Fancy : in Scotland called ‘Lady Mary Lindsay’ in 1775 collection.
3) Rakish Paddy : a Scottish composition found in the Riddle Collection, 1776
4) The Copper Plate : originated as ‘Copper Fey’ or the ‘Deer Horn’ arranged originally as a slow air for the piob mor about 1750.
5) Lucy Campbell whose old Scottish name is ‘Miss Louisa Campbell’s Delight’ in 1778.
6) ‘Bonnie Kate’ Cait Boideach (Breathnach) stated by Niel Gow to have been composed and named ‘The Bonnie Lass of Fisherow’ by William Marshall in 1761.
7) Sean Frank’s Reel (Breathnach) known in Scotland as ‘Colonel McBean’ published 1798
8) Lord Gordon’s Reel composed by William Marshall and named ‘The Duke of Gordon’s Rant’.
9) Boyne Hunt – ‘Perth Hunt’ – ‘Niel Gow’s Reel’ (Cole Collection)
Most of the tunes names above were obtained from ‘Ceol Rinnce na hEireann, Leabhar a haon (number one).
There are many other composers, players and collectors of Scottish music – too numerous to mention here, but by far the most important Scottish composer of this century was James Scott Skinner, who composed great music, most of which is extremely popular with Scottish and Irish players. I will here mention a few of his best known and most played tunes. They include ‘The Bonnie Lass o’ Bon Accord’, ‘Margaret Walker Reel’, ‘The Laird o’ Drumblair’, strathspey’ ‘Spey in Spate’ reel, ‘The President’, exhibition piece and ‘The Left Handed Fiddler’ and scores of other too numerous to name here.
Admirers of Scott Skinner and players of his music include Sean McGuire of Belfast, the late John and Mickey Doherty and Francis Byrne of Co Donegal, Sean Keane who played ‘The Mathematician Hornpipe’ and Josie Keegan who plays ‘Hasberry Howard Hornpipe’.
Scott Skinner music is technically difficult to play and one has to have full command of the violin to play his music satisfactorily.
In 1953, through the good offices of the late Charles Curry, some Scottish fiddle players were invited to come to Ballymena, Co. Antrim , to play for The Derry and Antrim Fiddle Society. I had the good fortune to meet and hear them and was very favourably impressed indeed by their fine playing and music. The players were John Junner, Bert Murray and William Hardie, all from the Aberdeen area and gave a great account of themselves and gave all present the ‘low down’ on Scottish music, its history and its status at the time.
In 1954, I invited two of the above Scotsmen, John Junner and Bert Murray on a fiddle tour of Ireland so that they could get a close look at and hear Irish fiddle players on their home turf.
We began the Tour in Belfast and spent two days in Jack McGuire’s house in Belfast where the music went on day and night and great music was played by the Scots and the McGuires.
We next met the Ballymena players who included the late George McCrae, David MacWhinney, the late Alex Kerr, John Rae (xylophone) and the late Sean McLoughlin. Scottish music dominated the sessions with this group, and there was no doubt that Scottish fiddle music is strongest in Co. Antrim.
We then traveled to County Donegal and spent some time with the late John Doherty who enthralled and intrigued the Scotsman with his vast collection of Scottish tunes and his great fiddle technique.
From long association with him I believe John Doherty knew every tune in the 12 volumes of Kerr’s Collection and at least 4 of them contain over 400 tunes.
After visiting Donegal we visited the late Tommy Coen of Salthill and Beab Ui’ Standuin of Spiddal and ended up in Co. Clare listening to and taping Paddy Canny, P. Joe Hayes and many others.
John Junnor took hours of recording of the above named players and in his house in Strachan, Kincardineshire, he has a pile of spools of tape three feet high of recordings made of Irish fiddlers during their trip.
As John Junner is a fine pianist and accompanist, a lot of the music taped has piano accompaniment and is of high quality. John hopes to convert some of the music to cassette tapes for the edification and pleasure of today’s fiddle enthusiasts in Ireland and Scotland.
A VISIT TO ABERDEEN
The Scotsman invited Sean McGuire and myself for a musical visit to Aberdeen in October, 1954, where we had a week’s non-stop musical feast of Irish and Scottish music played by Sean, John Junner, Bert Murray and Bill Hardie. It was a memorable week indeed and John Junner took Sean McGuire and myself to visit Scott Skinner’s grave which to us all was a memorable moment and that trip to Aberdeen so long ago still lives vividly in my mind.
A sideline to the trip was my conversation in Gaelic with John Junner mother, a grand old lady from the Highlands who spoke fluent Scots Gaelic which I found easy to understand due to its close resemblance to Donegal Gaelic.
During subsequent visits to Aberdeen, which I considered the hub of Scottish fiddle music, I had the good fortune to meet the late Tom Anderson, a Shetland Isles fiddler and composer of note who composed the well-known airs, ‘The Auld Resting Chair’ and ‘The Slockit Light’ and numerous dance tunes in his Shetland mode which has a strong Scandinavian flavour.
Tom subsequently invited Sean McGuire, Josie Keegan and Joe Burke to Shetland to give concerts for the Shetland enthusiasts where there were at least 200 active fiddle players and who play en masse in groups of up to 30 players together and produce fine music indeed.
The talented trio of McGuire, Keegan and Burke, made annual trips to Shetland for a decade. They played in Lerwick to capacity, enthusiastic and knowledgeable audiences.
Sean McGuire informed me that Shetlanders were the best audiences he ever played to, and Joe Burke agrees with this.
Bert Murray of Aberdeen, apart from being a fine fiddle player has composed more than 100 fine tunes which he has published recently and there isn’t a poor tune in the whole collection. His best known composition in Ireland is the reel ‘Sean McGuire’, composed in 1954.
Bill Hardie, another fine fiddle player and collector of tunes, is descended from six generations of fiddlers and fiddle makers. He has now moved to Edinburgh where, with his son, Alasdair, he has published a fine book of music entitled ‘The Beauties of the North’, a collection of airs and tunes from the Aberdeen area and in collaboration with Alasdair produced ‘The Caledonian Companion’ which apart from its fine collection of tunes and airs gives instructions to the music reader how to bow and finger the various melodies. It is a ‘sine qua non’ book for anyone playing Scottish fiddle music.
My last trip, October ’78 to Aberdeen was with the late Sean Reid, a fellow Tyrone man who was born and reared in Castlederg and who was very fond of Scottish fiddle music.
We traveled by car from Ennis and drove all the way to Aberdeen taking the Larne – Stranraer ferry to and from Scotland. It was cold and wintry weather but the warm reception we got in Aberdeen more than compensated for the snow on the ground outside.
We spent a week there and were entertained by the late Hector MacAndrew, Bert Murray and visited two fiddle clubs with Bill Hardie. The clubs were in Banchory and New Meldrum, both about 20 miles outside Aberdeen and a more enthusiastic and jolly collection of fiddlers I have yet to meet.
The fiddlers were from all walks of life and included farmers, whisky distillers, doctors and school teachers. The average size of each group was 20 players including a pianist and they all played from music and were conducted by Bill Hardie. Our reception was warm and the music was good.
Scottish music today is in a fairly healthy state, but some of the older fiddlers are worried at the dearth of young talent coming along. Unfortunately for Scottish traditional music in general there is no blanket organisation in place, such as the CCE in Ireland to promote the music and encourage the youth to take up fiddle playing. There are a few promising newcomers, however, the best being a young Aberdeen player in his 20’s names Alex Bain (no relation to Ali) and who has produced a fine tape of Scots fiddle music very well played.
There, of course, exists the solid body of recorded fiddle music ranging from re-recordings of old 78s by Scott Skinner to modern recordings by Ron Gonella, Bill Hardie, Bert Murray, John Cunningham, the late Hector McAndrew and many others.
For the sake of fiddle music in Ireland and Scotland, I sincerely hope that Scottish fiddle music prospers and increases in popularity, particularly here in Ireland where a lot can still be learned by all fiddle players by listening to Scottish music.
Footnote : Dr Kevin McCann, M.D., D. Ph., is a native of Dungavan, Co. Waterford, now living in Newfoundland, and has written many excellent articles which will be published in future issues of the ‘B&F’. Thanks to Bert Murray for pointing me in the right direction – Ed.
