Customer Reviews

MacPherson's Rant: And Other Tales of the Scottish Fiddle

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

`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