In my opinion the fiddle in Scotland has seen little in the way of personal
expression within the tradition and Dickie's highly personal arhythmic
interpretations with their extreme shortening and lenghtening of notes and
dramatic pauses are both welcome and curious. 20 years ago I had no time for
the JF Dickie recordings but now see him as an important landmark in the
otherwise gently varied landscape of the scottish fiddle. In some ways they
make me think of the recordings of Tommie Potts in relation to the fiddle
tradition in Ireland.
As to whether I'd like to play like him or think others should emulate his
style, well that's another thing altogether.
What gives me most concern is that these recordings are not easily available
for others to judge.
What do others think?
Stuart Eydmann
Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To
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