The fiddle has long played an important parting Scottish musical tradition. Here in MacPherson's Rant and Other Tales of the Scottish Fiddle there are stories that reflect that importance. Whether the fiddle is in the hands of the notorious Highland freebooter MacPherson or being played by a young man learning a fairy tune, these tales reflect a traditional culture that us still thriving. Some of the stories are truly ancient while others quite modern, but all show that throughout Scotland there has long been a ready audience for music made by horsehair on catgut. Today as Scottish culture continues to thrive in the face of all the modern world can throw at it we should perhaps think on what Robert Burns once aid to a friend, 'Lang may yer elbuck, jink an diddle.' In addition to introducing some of the most famous, as well as some of the lesser-known, tales of the Scottish fiddle, Stuart McHardy also examines the history of the instrument, its repertoire and the place the fiddle and the fiddler have played in Scottish culture over the centuries. The result is a lively and informative companion to one of the central elements of the Scottish musical tradition.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Stuart McHardy is a writer, storyteller and lecturer. His interest in Scotland's past has led him to re-evaluate the role of the oral tradition in gaining a clearer picture of our history. He believes that while history is written by winners, story flourishes amongst history's survivors. He was Director of the Scots Language Resource Centre from 1993 to 1998 and is a founder member and past president of the Pictish Arts Society. An experienced broadcaster Stuart McHardy has long been interested in Scotland's musical traditions, playing music professionally since his teens. He lives in Edinburgh.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fiddlin' Around,
By Theo Logos (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: MacPherson's Rant: And Other Tales of the Scottish Fiddle (Paperback)
`MacPherson's Rant and other tales of the Scottish Fiddle' is a fun collection of folklore and oral history of Scottish fiddlers, fiddle tunes, and fiddle lore. A longish introduction outlines the development of the fiddle and fiddling in Scotland and the Shetland Isles, the role of storytelling and the oral tradition, and some brief notes on languages. From there, the book launches into a collection of many brief tales of various famous Scots fiddle tunes, notable fiddlers, and a wide collection of fiddle related folklore.
The first chapter deals with legendary fiddlers made famous by song, the most notable of which is James MacPherson, of the titles' MacPherson's Rant. Here you find the back-story legends of this song, as well as other famous fiddler songs. Also related here are the stories of Rattlin Willie, nearly as famous as MacPherson, and Johnny Faa, whose story inspired several songs, including The Raggle-Taggle Gypsies and Gypsy Davy. The next chapter moves on to tell the tales of many famous Scottish fiddlers from the 17th through the 19th centuries. There is a chapter on Otherworld tales, where fiddlers interact with the fairies or even the devil, Auld Nick himself. Following chapters relate fiddle lore in all aspects of Scottish life, from fiddling and the Kirk (church), the fiddle and jail, fiddling and the military, as well as many more. The writing style here is adequate, though seldom overly captivating. Each chapter is split into several tales, and the book is best read a story or two at a time. Trying to read it straight through becomes rather monotonous, and all the different fiddler's names and exploits began to run into each other in one indistinguishable mass. It is the information presented here, rather than the beauty of the prose, which makes the book worthwhile. This book will have a limited appeal. But if you are interested in the fiddle, Scotland, or folklore, this could be a fun and useful book to add to your library. Theo Logos
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