This 72-minute CD is the result of eight days of recording, in Cape Breton and at live events, in July 2000. The fiddle music of Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia, is strongly influenced by
Scottish folk
, as much of the community was established by Scottish immigrants in the 19th century. The most popular Cape Breton fiddlers,
Ashley MacIsaac
and
Natalie MacMaster
, actually aren't on this compilation, which includes the work of almost ten different combinations of musicians, with individual musicians frequently found in more than one combination. To the casual listener, it will sound like much
Celtic
music, particularly in the danceable fiddles and the frequent reels, or reel-like structures. It differs from much of the music from which it's derived, though, in the frequent use of piano to complement the fiddles, giving it a depth and drive of a different nature than
traditional Scottish
music. Too, the beat is more pronounced than it often is in
music. You can sometimes hear the musicians' feet stomping out the time, particularly in the 4/4 strathspeys, which are often dance tunes in Cape Breton, though they're often slow reels in Scotland. There's not enough variation in the tunes to win over the non-specialist. But there is variation, particularly when the foot-beating gives it a solid bottom, gathering full-steam energy in extended medleys like the closing strathspeys and reels by
Brenda Stubbert
,
Brian Doyle
, and
Richard Wood
. The sound quality is good, though these were recorded in performance in halls, arenas, schools, and dances. ~ Richie Unterberger