Home is where the highland heart lies.
Duncan Chisholm - Canaich

Traditional Scottish music can be an acquired taste - even amongst Scots.
I grew up listening to a lot of it, via school music lessons or classes, radio, TV programmes and the odd ceilidh (a traditional Scottish (or Irish) gathering or party, featuring music and dance).
However I have to admit it generally leaves me cold, and large full-on fiddle bands and pipe bands can have me heading for the Scottish hills.
However there are exceptions to every Muirsical rule...

Solo airs, a lone piper playing a lament, tunes performed in duet, a quartet on traditional instrumentation playing a medley of reels...they can be haunting, stirring or captivating.
As can Duncan Chisholm and his fiddle playing.

Duncan Chisholm tends to be known more for his role in the Celtic rock band Wolfstone, and is sought after as a guest musician by many artists.
But he is also a solo artist, and a pretty damn fine one at that.
'Canaich' is the fiddle player's fourth solo album and the second of what will form the 'Strathglass' trilogy' of releases, and is a beautiful mix of tunes self-composed and borrowed, light airs and reels, emotive and enlightening. 
Chisholm is as comfortable firing off rockin' reels in Wolfstone as he is playing a poignant piece of music, but with 'Canaich', and the album that preceded it, 'Farrar', he has truly come home. And there is good reason for that...

The tunes also double as descriptive musical images, or musical landscapes, of the 'Chisholm lands' of Inverness, and on each and every piece the fiddle is painting a picture of those lands. This is intentional, with Chisholm forming a picture in his mind first, then building the appropriate tune around that image.
It makes for a very personal, yet very accessible, collection of tunes, as the listener can also create images in his or her own mind from their own memories, sparked by the emotive and inspired playing.
It's Duncan Chisholm's journey, but we're all along for the musical ride.

'Farrar', released in 2008, started that journey, and was deservedly the MG Alba Scots Traditional album of that year. 'Canaich' is at least its equal in musicianship and song-craft.
The first part of the Strathglass trilogy was inspired by Glen Strathfarrar, and this time Chisholm has concentrated his thoughts on Glen Cannich and the surrounding areas for his musical inspiration. This includes places such as the township of Craskie, where the Chisholm side of Duncan's family came from, and the waters of Loch Mullardoch. Both have tunes named after them on the album.

'Canaich' is probably a more melancholy release than 'Farrar', typified by the beautiful arrangement of Phil Cunningham's 'The Gentle Light that wakes Me', but it also has its lighter and pacier moments.
And although it's very much a solo album, 'Canaich' also features a number of guest musicians who contribute to the album's feel and traditional sound, including Tony Byrne (acoustic guitar), James MacIntosh (percussion) and Hamish Napier (piano).

In conclusion, 'Canaich' is a collection of tunes that has me heading for those aforementioned Scottish hills...but with the album playing on repeat on the iPod.

Ross Muir
September 2010


The following audio tracks are presented to accompany the above review and to promote the work of the artist/s. No infringement of copyright is intended.

The Gentle Light that Wakes Me
The Exile Reels