In Fiddles & Folk, his companion volume to Highland Balls and Village Halls, now acknowledged as a classic on Scottish dancing, Wallace Lockhart meets up with many of the people who have created the renaissance of Scotland's music today.
From Dougie MacLean, the Battlefield Band, the Whistlebinkies, the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, the McCalmans and many more come the stories that break down the musical barriers between Scotland's past and present, and between the diverse musical forms which have woven together to create the dynamism of the music today.

I have tried to avoid a formal approach to Scottish music as it affects those of us with our musical heritage coursing through our veins. The picture I have sought is one of many brush strokes, looking at how some individuals have come to the fore, examining their music, lives, thoughts, even philosophies.
Pipers have crossed the divide into folk and we bless the day the possibilities of the small pipes were recognised. The guitar was eventually taken up as the outstanding accompaniment to the folk singer, and then there seemed to be the sudden discovery (known long enough in Shetland) that the guitar was a superb instrument for backing fiddles and it moved into a new function.

It is good to see the way the barriers between the different facets of our music have completely broken down. Eddie McGuire of the Whistlebinkies writes music for the Scottish Ballet; Hamish Moore on the small pipes joins Dick Lee on clarinet in a series of swing concerts; folk fiddlers freelance with classical orchestras; the assistant conductor of the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra plays with the folk group Ceolag; the clarsach becomes not only a solo but a group instrument, Strathspey and reel societies offer guest spots to folk singers; and, Cape Breton is now a name on the lips of everyone with an interest in Scottish music - the urge to bring Scotland and Nova Scotia into closer union is stirring.

"Today people are singing and making music the way the mood takes them. I believe this not only stimulates creativity, but, coming from the heart (or grass roots if you prefer) strengthens the culture."

 

For anyone whose heart lifts at the sound of fiddle or pipes, Fiddles & Folk provides a delightful journey, full of humour and respect, in the company of the performers who have taken Scotland's music around the world and come back singing.