Rita Hamilton wrote:
>
> As Alsion Kinnaird says(Paraphrased):"You can tell by my voice that I am from
> Scotland. Thus you can also tell Scottish music when you hear it." I've heard
> her say that often enough in US Scottish Harp Competitions. And, when you hear
> her speak, you know she's Scottish. So, I believe her.
>
She's probably an exception because of her expertise (she invented a
great deal of the idiom herself) but the more I listen to the various
musics of Scotland - definitely in the plural - and dig around old music
sources, the more I hear very considerable differences between a) gaelic
Highland Scotland, lowland Aberdeenshire, south west, and eastern
Borders b) all music before the influences of Haydn, Pleyel, Kozeluch,
Beethoven etc and after this watershed.
The unexpected thing is that the south-eastern corner of the country has
kept very close to 17th or 18th century origins while the Highlands and
Islands (starting with an entirely different sort of music) has been
much happier with the 20th century.
I've been listening to William Jackson's Ancient Harp of Scotland CD for
the last month, once a day, and conclude that it is essentially modern
music and has few special hallmarks which make it Scottish. This is not
a criticism, I like what he does in its own right or there's no way I
would keep listening (the idea is just to absorb the tunes - I don't
play harp, I play guitar, but these pieces are suitable for adaptation).
In contrast some of Alison's stuff has some really unique hallmarks and
mannerisms and sounds distinctly Scottish to me even when I can't follow
what on earth is happening.
One of the things I really like about harpers/clarsairs is the
incredible variety of approach and repertoire you get to hear from them.
Most guitarists sound like others unless they muck around with
percussive effects or tunings, but harp players have more available to
them (I think) to create personal style. I made a couple of recordings
of Elspeth Smellie and her trio BEL last year and her harp style is
radical (and I would say not especially Scottish).
David
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