The Scots Fiddle: v. 2: Tunes, Tales and Traditions of the Lothians, Borders and Ayrshire

In the second book of a three-volume set, the author offers a collection of the fiddle music of Scotland relating to Edinburgh and the Lothians, Borders and Ayrshire. It includes a selection of traditional fiddle tunes and song airs that are played and sung wherever Scots meet at festivals and on special occasions. these include many that were collected and adapted by Robert Burns and feature in the Ayrshire section, which also contains extensive notes on Burns as a fiddler, musician and songwriter. Biographical sketches, narratives and anecdotes accompany the tunes and provide an insight into the rich inheritance of Scottish culture. Famous fiddler/composers and songwriters past and present; famous characters and landmarks; history, legends and traditions; language and dialect, poetry and song are all represented. The selection contains over 160 tunes, including airs, pastorals, reels, strathspeys, marches, jigs, hornpipes, waltzes, polkas and minuets. There are melodies by well-known and less well-known figures, new and unpublished tunes, and compositions from the 18th and 19th centuries.