Fiddle Case

Fiddle Case continues where Pete Clark's work with Heritage left off in 1993. A student of Scottish fiddle music, Case is just as apt to pay tribute to the fiddlers of yore as he is the mentors and teachers he's encountered along the way. "Dumfries House" is a composition by 18th century fiddler John Riddell and is preceded on the album by "Harry Grant of Saline," a Clark original acknowleging the impact that Grant had on his development as a fiddler. Despite the 200-year span between the two pieces, they go hand in hand nicely. Similarly, "Gow's Lament for His Second Wife" written by Niel Gow (1729-1807) sounds perfectly natural aside Clark's salute to his contemporaries in "Nona's Waltz" (a cello teacher) and "The Quiet Hills" (Northumbrian piper, Joe Hutton). Pete Clark has a knack for recognizing a great melody and developing his own when he feels so inspired. He reveres the Scottish tradition laid out so handily before him, but he's not so awestruck by it that he feels unworthy of contributing to it. The beauty of his sparse arrangements could serve as a lesson to those who fall prey to the gadgetry and gimmicks which frequently overwhelm many traditional Celtic recordings.