Farrar Review by David Kidman

FARRAR – Duncan Chisholm (Copperfish Records CPFCD. 003)

The fiery fiddler from Wolfstone has on his solo ventures thus far (Redpoint and The Door Of Saints) shown an altogether more mellow and relaxed side to his artistry, and album number three leans even more in this direction with six out of its ten tracks built around slow airs, a musical form of which he’s proved a consummate master. Compositions come from the pens of established writers (Gordon Duncan, Fred Morrison, Michael McGoldrick), topped up with a couple by Duncan himself. And Farrar turns out to be as magical as the mountain which inspired it, producing a succession of atmospheric tunes-as-tone-pictures. Duncan’s magnificent playing is so at peace with its inspiration, yet its sheer silken eloquence can also be slightly deceptive in that it can sometimes conceal the depth of emotion within the notes and the phrasing. There’s a wonderfully unforced sense of flow to Duncan’s playing, a classical kind of poise allied to a miraculous control of line. Take his majestic rendition of Alasdair’s Tune (composed by Charlie McKerron), or the sublimely tender and haunting A’ Mhairead Og. On the graceful and poignant Lorient Mornings, Duncan doubletracks a viola part and Phil Cunningham provides a supremely sensitive piano accompaniment. Other supporting musicians – Kris Drever (acoustic guitar), Ross Hamilton (bass, electric guitar) and Martin O’Neill (bodhrán) – help Duncan to realise his vision, and such is the high quality of the recording (all credit to Brian McNeill here) that all contributions are given a credible perspective while allowing Duncan’s own playing to bloom and shine; for example, the glistening tones of The Hill Of The High Byre are a model of restrained accompaniment yet add considerably to the atmosphere and impact of the contours of the tune. On the more animated selections such as Duncan’s own reel The Farley Bridge and the Galician-inflected 250 To Vigo (composed by Shooglenifty’s Angus Grant), the tune loses absolutely nothing in forward momentum while Duncan’s trademark unhurried lyricism still permeates the playing. Throughout, Duncan’s musicianship is miraculous, outstandingly stylish and eloquent, and this is a significantly classy record which I can’t praise highly enough.

Among the local artists making the journey down the A9 will be two of Scotland’s leading fiddle players Duncan Chisholm and Bruce MacGregor.

They, together with MacGregor’s Blazin’ Fiddles bandmate Iain MacFarlane from Glenfinnan, will be paying tribute to their fiddle teacher Donald Riddell, who farmed at South Clunes seven miles west of Inverness.

The three fiddlers have already recorded a tribute to their old teacher in the album "A Highland Fiddler", but the album was predated by a couple of live shows for the Highland Festival.

Now "A Highland Fiddler" is making its Glasgow debut at St Andrew’s in the Square in just over a week on Saturday 24th January and is already a sell out.

"The one thing we would all say we got from Donald was a pretty good idea of technique," said Chisholm who was a pupil of Riddell for eight years.

"He wasn’t a very strict man, he was a very caring teacher, but you had to do it his way up until the point when he decided to let you fly the nest. I remember him saying: ’You’ve spent the last eight years playing like Donald Riddell. Now you’ve got to go and play like Duncan Chisholm.’"

Riddell died in 1992, by which time Chisholm was already making a name for himself with the Celtic rock band Wolfstone. Chisholm does not know if his former mentor ever heard Wolfstone, but does not think Riddell would not have disapproved of his pupil’s new direction.

"Ultimately he was a musical man and I’m sure he would have seen it as a step forward for the music. Although he was a strict disciplinarian about the music, he had a very open mind as well," Chisholm added.

Many more of Riddell’s former pupils continue to play, demonstrating his continuing influence on fiddle playing in the Highlands and beyond.

Chisholm calculates that Riddell was seeing around 50 students a week when he was a pupil, with some of them also going on to musical careers, such as Inverness fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers of the trio Fribo, who released her debut solo album last year.

One important aspect of Riddell’s teaching, Chisholm believes, was that his music was grounded in the traditions of both west and east Scotland.

One of Riddell’s own teachers was Alexander Grant Battan, the best friend of the great Aberdeenshire fiddler James Scott Skinner, but Riddell was also influenced by the West Coast tradition and pipe playing. A piper himself, he served as Pipe Major for the Lovat Scouts throughout World War II.

Though he appreciates the grounding in the fiddle technique that learning the Scott Skinner repertoire of strathspeys and reels gave him, Chisholm confessed: "I was always more into the pipe marches and Gaelic airs. That meant more to me than the tunes of Scott Skinner, but I was lucky to get both of them in the teaching."

Another plus for Chisholm about next weekend’s concert is that unlike most of his other musical outlets, it allows him to play along with fellow fiddlers.

"I can play with Bruce and Iain and get totally different things from playing with either of them," he said.

"I just love playing with both of them and it’s always a pleasure."

This will not be Chisholm’s only Celtic Connections date.

On Thursday 29th January he will take his regular role in backing Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis on a double bill with Canadian band La Bottine Souriante.

"It’s Julie’s first full gig in her own right in the main auditorium in the Royal Concert Hall. It’s a big step for her and the perfect venue as well, so I’m really looking forward to it," Chisholm added.

Looking further ahead, Chisholm will accompany Fowlis on a trip to Paris next month, but will also be coming closer to home in April on his annual Scottish tour with singer Ivan Drever.

The tour will also give him a chance to promote solo album "Farrar", recently named Album of the Year at the Scottish Trad Awards, though surprisingly given the eight year gap between it and its predecessor, "The Door of Saints", Chisholm is already thinking about a follow up.

"It’s almost a year since I recorded ’Farrar’. Throughout that period I was thinking what I wanted to do next," he said.

"The album was very traditional and just exactly what I wanted to put out, but I don’t want to put out the same album as it were. I’ve got very