Mike's world: What I heard in Duncan's fiddle

Current mood: enthralled

Went to see my friend, the fiddler Duncan Chisholm and his guitarist/singer buddy Ivan Drever play tonight at Universal Hall in Findhorn. About 150 people there, not a packed house but respectable enough.

Duncan is a particularly fine Scottish fiddler, and his playing, which is full of beauty and eloquence, draws on many of the colours and styles of the Scottish fiddle tradition. And as I sit in the Hall listening to he and Ivan playing slow airs, jigs and reels I notice I'm hearing aspects of the soul of Scotland transmitting clearly through Duncan's playing.

I can hear in his playing the passage of time, an expression of the deep wells of the Scottish past, an unbroken connection to memory, to ancestors. And I can hear passage across landscape; a sense of place, and of the movement of the Scottish peoples within and beyond this land.

Then in a slow air Duncan evokes the loneliness of the high, lone places of Scotland, Scotland of the shepherds, the moors, the mountains and sea lochs. Then, moving into a bustling reel, like a wild mountain stream that has descended to the lowlands, his music suddenly evokes community, gatherings, celebration, good cheer.

From our seats three quarters of the way back, Janette and I watch Duncan's hands. His left hand, playing the notes on the neck of the fiddle, is a blur, an incredible miniature dance. His bowing right hand is full of intention and mastery, working with the dynamics of tempo, power and momentum. Then I notice how Duncan moves as he plays. The movements are gentle; now he leans in towards the fiddle, now he shakes his head slightly side to side, but these slight movements are the expression of a deep, active, applied emotion. This man is living each note, putting his soul into every moment. As I watch, the hands, the fiddle, the bow and Duncan's body become one dance, one expression.

Afterwards we drop in on the dressing room to congratulate Duncan and Ivan on the show. It's great to check in with Duncan again - I don't see him often enough - and to meet Ivan, who has shone himself tonight through lilting songs and strong, sensitive guitar playing, for the first time. We tell them we enjoyed the show, and share news and some stories, yet somehow there isn't an opportunity, a clear space, to tell my friend that I experienced the soul of Scotland dancing through and from his beautiful hands.

But I did.