The Mindful Bard

by Wanda Waterman
The Voice Magazine, Volume 22 Issue 34 2014-08-29

Album: Homecoming: A Scottish Fantasy (link here.)

Artists: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Rory MacDonald, with violinist Nicola Benedetti

“My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go.”
– Robert Burns

“The classical and folk story is one of endless collaboration and crossover, shared material and playing techniques. Our education categorises and separates traditions that were never that far apart. The more connections of this nature I discovered, the freer I felt to take liberties.”
– Nicola Benedetti

The Violin: The Great Isthmus
The violin is the isthmus between high culture and low culture in Scotland, its vitality the footing of the folk and the art song tradition, and its beauty and range making it the perfect vehicle for classical scores. Besides this, the classical tradition, deeply inspired by the melodies of shepherds, farmers, and working people, has reflected to an enormous degree the folk canon. (Read the rest here.)