The historical instrumental music of south-west Scotland is largely unexamined. Narratives of Scottish fiddling often portray the 18th century as the ‘golden age’ of the tradition, and the repertoire and style of regions such north-east Scotland have tended to attract the attention of players and scholars alike. This talk introduces our current research on the lively local culture of fiddle music and dance in Dumfries and Galloway – its performers, composers, teachers and collectors – during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This period saw the development of an extremely diverse musical culture throughout Scotland: manufacture and marketing of instruments, publication of collections, leisure-time music making and educational uses of music. But much of this activity remains under-researched. Our talk will draw on a range of sources to raise interesting questions around the roles of personal fiddle manuscript collections, the diversification of music in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and on accepted ideas of regionality in traditional music.
Dr Jo Miller is an ethnomusicologist, performer and community musician. She has worked in various roles across diverse contexts including local authorities, arts associations, community settings, schools and Higher Education. From 1995-2005 she designed and co-managed the traditional music degree course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She currently coordinates a traditional arts mentoring programme for Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland. Her research interests and publications encompass two main areas: the pedagogy and learning practices of musicians - her monograph Community-based Traditional Music in Scotland: A Pedagogy of Participation was published in 2023 - and the traditional music and culture of south-west Scotland, where she grew up. Also in 2023 Jo released ‘A’ the way to Galloway’, an album of traditional songs and tunes from Galloway, described as ‘a wonderful piece of living social history’ (Darren Johnson).
Dr Stuart Eydmann worked in architectural conservation until retiring in 2013 to concentrate on his musical life. He has undertaken special projects and authored published material for Historic Environment Scotland, including scoping music aspects of intangible cultural heritage of properties in care. As a fiddle and concertina player he is a long-standing member of the ‘The Whistlebinkies’. He has co-produced several of the group’s CDs and is currently finalising a DVD recording of the band’s performances of works specially written for it by composer John Cage for Mode Records of New York. In 1995 Stuart gained a PhD for his work on musical instrumental traditions in Scotland. As a scholar, he is concerned with popular and traditional music in the modern era, especially instrumental revivals. Published work on this topic includes ‘Routes, roles and folk on the edge: Scotland’s instrumental music through the revival lens’ (Understanding Scotland Musically: Folk, Tradition and Policy, ed. McKerrell & West, Routledge 2018). Stuart is co-founder of the online archive raretunes.org that he curates. He was a post-doctoral Research Fellow and then Traditional Artist in Residence at Celtic and Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, where he has recently been made an Honorary Fellow.
Online event starts at 7.30pm
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Library Lectures, Spring 2025
