Village Hall, Carrbridge, Friday 23 July 2004

IT WOULD BE overstating the case to say that the cello has returned to the widespread role it once occupied in Scottish traditional music, but the past decade or so has seen a considerable resurgence in the instrument in folk circles. Musicians like Christine and Nathalie Haas from Canada and the USA, and our own Wendy Weatherby (as well as more specifically period-oriented projects like the Niel Gow Ensemble) have taken the instrument out of the purely classical context and back into the folk mainstream.

Hanson has worked with fiddler Bruce MacGregor before, notably in Dogstar’s The Strathspey King, and the addition of fiddler and guitarist Jonny Hardie from Old Blind Dogs added considerable lustre to the line-up. They played entirely acoustically with no P.A. in a packed Village Hall, and launched proceedings with a set of tunes by The Strathpey King himself, James Scott Skinner.

Bruce MacGregor

As expected, this was hugely enjoyable – and highly impressive – music-making. Bruce Macgregor was given ample opportunity to show off his high-octane fiddling on a wide-ranging selection of tunes from his own repertoire (both solo and with Blazin’ Fiddles), and that of his former teacher, the late Donald Riddell. An evocative set of “scary tunes” from his Loch Ness project and some lovely slow airs displayed another facet of his playing, a reminder that his playing is as expressive as it is virtuosic.

Christine Hanson’s accompaniments made splendid use of the cello’s rich, deeply burnished, but always singing sonority, and she finally won her battle with a slipping spike thanks to liberal application of gaffer tape to the hall’s stage. She took the melody lead on a number of her own attractive tunes, including a charming but unhackneyed pair of waltzes.

Jonny Hardie was principally featured in driving guitar accompaniments that added bite and momentum to the music, but broke out his fiddle to glorious effect on several tunes, including a spine-tingling version of Donald Riddell’s wonderful (and wonderfully unconventional) Lament for King George V and the piece simply known as Teudan (Strings), a 15-minute commission for this year’s Highland Festival. Designed to highlight the relationship between fiddle and cello, it was originally performed with five fiddles and three cellos, but came over superbly in this slimmed down version.

With Alistair Fraser and Nathalie Haas due to tour in August, this is a fine time to check out just where the cello does fit into the jigsaw of Scottish traditional music. Catch these three on their remaining dates if you can:

Raasay House, Wednesday 28 July 2004
Glenurquhart Public Hall, Thursday 29
Lochinver Village Hall, Friday 30 July
Dalguise Village Hall, Saturday 31 July

© Kenny Mathieson, 2004