The fiddle music playing in the Borders owes much to Niel Gow and his family who performed and taught some of the local Borders teachers of the time. Also Scott Skinner early recordings, festivals and nearby Northumbrian music have all had their influence on present day Borders fiddle music. It is generally regarded that the main points are a fairly “heavy” style of double stopping or chording as used in tunes played by tradition bearer Tom Hughes and passed on to him from parents and grandparents. Poplar exponents of Borders Fiddle Music today are Lori Watson and Shona Mooney Back to Scottish fiddle music
There always has been a thriving tradition of fiddle music on both sides of the Border, and this CD is a fine example of a style of playing often overlooked.
Borders fiddler Shona Mooney was the winner of the BBC Radio Scotland "Young Traditional Musician 2005" Award and the opportunity to make this CD was part of her prize as the winner. It has turned out to be a beauty of a fiddle CD!
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