Known as ‘The Strathspey King’, James Scott Skinner (5 August 1843 – 17 March 1927) was a fiddler, composer, and Scottish dancing master. He had over 600 of his compositions published and made over 80 recordings.
One of those recordings, ‘The Strathspey King’, celebrates its 100th Anniversary. To mark the occasion, Alice Allen (cello) and Patsy Reid (fiddle) are celebrating the milestone by releasing their take on his last, iconic recording from London, 1922. The album, appropriately titled Strathspey Queens, is out today, and if it’s passion, vigour, heart and soul you want, then this has plenty of it. Take a listen to the set: The Bride’s Reel / The Spinning Wheel / Largo’s Fairy Dance:
Album Notes: Each holding a first-class honours degree, Patsy and Alice are two of Scotland’s most in-demand ‘bi-lingual’ Scottish musicians. They both grew up steeped in the North East fiddle tradition, becoming effortlessly fluent in their native strathspeys, reels and airs, whilst simultaneously pursuing a hybrid musical education, achieving much sought after string technique (that Skinner himself flaunted) whilst remaining true to their respective roots.
It is little known that Skinner started off his playing career accompanying tunes on the cello for dances. From Banchory herself, Alice pays homage to his published bass lines, blending and contrasting them with her own vibrant and percussive, modern accompaniment style. As the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship, Patsy, born in Dundee, is in her element here, returning to her fiddling origins.
Together, Alice and Patsy breathe new life into these wonderful tunes and let us hope this recording may be enjoyed by Scottish music lovers for another century.
Released today on Ardgowan Records, Strathspey Queens is also available on streaming services and via Bandcamp (Digital/CD) here: https://patsyreid.bandcamp.com/album/strathspey-queens
Website: www.aliceallencello.com & www.patsyreid.com
For the curious, some of Skinner’s original recordings are available via Templ Records here, featuring cleaned up recordings from the period 1905-1922 made on cylinder and early vinyl.