Compliments to Duncan Chisholm

Yesterday the fan and I went to see Duncan Chisholm. Duncan brought a couple of his pals along. One was Jarlath Henderson (although the person behind me confidently told *his* pals that it was Ross Henderson...) The other was Matheu Watson. I'm not one to get excited about guitarists, but Matheu is a thoughtful accompanist. I know his work from James Duncan Mackenzie's CD. I nearly saw him once before as he was due to be at our local folk club with Emma Sweeney  but he'd gone down with a bug and wasn't able to be there.

It was good to have another chance to see Jarlath in acton. He's a lovely piper. Sadly we heard less from him than the others. Some sets he sat out, some he only had a bar or two on whistle. It can't be easy sitting still under hot stage lights, listening for your cue for two bars, and it wasn't surprising when he started to yawn. Still, I think the evening would have been the less without his presence.

The Strathglass trilogy - and I think all of the music came from that - isn't really live gig, foot-tapping stuff (many of the rhythms are so complex that it feels next to impossible to tap along). It's thoughtful, quiet and dreamy music. Still, it was good to be able to see Duncan play. I think you understand someone's music differently when you've not just heard them but seen them too. Hearing tunes from all three albums in a different order from  usual made me hear some of them afresh. Duncan also told some of the stories behind the tunes, and it was good to hear those as the sleeve notes on the albums are skimpy.

At the interval I screwed up my courage and went to speak to Duncan, who was, as is the way in our folk club, selling his CDs at a small table. I explained that I wasn't buying as I already own the set...but could I ask a question? He had talked about his sense of belonging to a place where his ancestors had lived for 800 years, about tbe trilogy expresing that place, about the Scottishness of it...and yet he had Irish pipes. Why? He said that it is very much because he loves the sound of Irish pipes, and also in part to do with the greater range of the instrument. I did suggest that Allan MacDonald, a set of small pipes and a wee smidgen of pibroch might have been a not unattractive addition to the trilogy...and he said yes, but he really did like Irish pipes. We shook hands and I left him selling CDs.

So now I know. In some ways I can't blame him. Irish pipes are lovely, and who wouldn't want an excuse to play music with Jarlath? But it seems very strange to me to use an instrument from another country to evoke your own  country. I enjoyed the evening out, hearing the music, and speaking to Duncan, who did seem to be a really nice chap. I will be listening to the triology again soon. But as I listen and dream of Scotland I will cherish that vision of Duncan's fiddle lifting up its voice with Allan MacDonald's smallpipes in a reimagining of pibroch to recreate the heart and soul of the Scottish landscape.