>> 1. I remember reading somewhere , that there were Classicly trained >> violinists living, teaching, etc in and around Edinburgh in the mid to >> late 18th century. Can anyone confirm this with names , dates and >> possible stylistic idiosyncricies? Oh! and of course sources I may >> consult.Maybe its in your book Kate?
It's in a heck of a lot of books. Try David Johnson's "Scottish Fiddle Music in the Eighteenth Century" or "Music and Society in Lowland Scotland in the Eighteenth Century" for two. Johnson has edited a number of their works over the years, most recently in the "Musica Scotica" series. Or for some of the (rather seedy) socio-political background to what they were doing there, look at my CD-ROM (which also reproduces many of their tunes). Some names (not just fiddlers, but also people who wrote fiddle music with classical tradition and forms behind them a lot of the time): Stabilini, Jarnovici, Schetky, the Reinagles, the Earl of Kellie, Domenico and Natali Corri, Alexander Munro, Alexander Baillie, James Oswald, William Macgibbon, Charles Maclean, and Rob Mackintosh. Their influence permeated the whole musical culture of Scotland as far as the most remote parts of the Highlands; there's no sharp line between art- music players and traditional fiddlers. Classically-trained players like Catriona Macdonald and Alasdair Fraser are not a 20th century aberration. (Conversely, Scottish trad briefly became the "world music" of Europe, 1780-1830ish, the same people being responsible for transmission in both directions). The most phenomenal example must have been Isaac Cooper, who composed a lot of straight-up traditional idiom dance music but could also teach more instruments than most people would think of learning in three lifetimes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Campin * 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland tel 0131 660 4760 * fax 0870 055 4975 * http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ food intolerance data & recipes, freeware Mac logic fonts, and Scottish music Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
