[scots-l] Celtic Connections/SHSA Comps/fusions/the whole nine yards

[Cheyenne Brown]

Hi guys!

As Celtic Connections comes to a close this weekend, I thought it would be interesting to relate my experiences from it to some of the things that have been discussed recently. For those of you who don't know me, I am from Alaska but have come to Scotland to study traditional music (particularly the clarsach) at the RSAMD in Glasgow.

Having never been to Scotland before, it's been especially great the last few weeks as Celtic Connections has been going on. I have never in my life experienced so much wonderful music. I did not grow up with traditional music, and even after I started playing the harp there was only a couple of weeks out of the year when I'd be with lots of other musicians. So coming here was a big change in terms of the amount and the variety of music I was exposed to. This vast exposure has led me to realize some things. I think the main thing is that all traditions change. Scottish music would be so dull if everyone played exactly how people played hundreds of years ago. What makes going to all these concerts at Celtic Connections so exciting is seeing what each combination of people have done to make the music meaningful and stirring. Everybody takes ideas that have been passed down through the ages and adds their own twist to it to make it stimulating. When a group or band is doing something really cool, the audience can tell they have something going. There is a certain feeling that ripples through the crowd, and my stomach kind of flipflops in excitement. The whole process of a continuing tradition seems to be one of drawing from the past but looking towards the future.

It seems to me that practically all these groups who are doing interesting things with Scottish music could be called fusions. They are all bringing in influences and ideas from different places and adding them to the tradition. Same as people did long ago. The tradition is built up from people adding to it and changing it. But I realize that this change doesn't always appeal to everyone. For instance, one concert I went to at the Glasgow/Skye convention a while ago featured a Gaelic singer with harp, piano, or fiddle backing. I loved it and thought it was brilliant, but after talking to some of the others there, they thought it was 'way too new-age, and wasn't traditional enough.' To me, there is merit in doing things as 'traditional' as possible, but it isn't always as fun to listen to. The bits of syncopation and upbeat accompaniments that the singer's backup band were doing added excitement and interest to the performance.

Other performances featuring things such as Tony McManus's electric guitar, or Lunasa's electric bass, or Fiddler's Bid's cool backup chords, or the drum sets that many bands are bringing in are not historically authentic, but they sound good and are enjoyable to listen to. Croft No. 5, for instance, seems to be a cross between punk rock and Scottish music (they looked more like punk rockers, though). They were about as fusion-ed as you can get. And the crowd at the festival club at 4:00 in the morning could not get enough of them.

And the stuff that is going on with the clarsach in Scotland right now is amazing in my opinion. Ingrid Henderson is using it to back Gaelic singing in Cliar, Catriona McKay is using it to back fast and furious fiddles, Shine is a trio of electro-harps that do funky bass lines and cool harmonies. When they're not busy backing up other instruments, they're all doing cool things with the traditional tunes. Maybe it is 'too new-aged' for some tastes, but everything changes and was new at some point or another. I'm all for harp fusions!!

I feel very lucky to have gotten this opportunity to experience music in Scotland and be immersed in it. When I think of my background in America, there is NO PLACE where I would get the same immersion and exposure to this type of music. That's why it seems to me that competitions in America, as controversial as they might be, need to continue so people can hear as much as they can. Competitions in Scotland in the traditional music world are controversial as well. With the advent of the Mod in the last ten years, there is a lot more funding and promotion of Gaelic arts and music, but many argue that the mod is not promoting the right things. For instance, for the harp competition you have to sight read some things, which seems more reminiscent of a classical music competition, not a traditional one! Nothing is perfect anywhere, hopefully in America we can just keep working towards getting a competition environment that is both helpful and motivating for people.

This is getting insanely long, but these are topics I could ramble on about for ages...

Cheyenne Brown


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