Product Review

Airs & Dances is a collection of Scottish strathspeys (rugged, lyrical dance tunes) for violin and other melodic instruments. Strathspeys are usually played slower than reels, with many long-short dotted rhythmic patterns. This compilation features some of the best-known strathspeys as well as some of the quirkier, rarer tunes in this wonderful repertoire. The pieces are arranged chronologically. The melodies as written are the skeletons of the tunes, without much additional information like bowings, dynamics, and articulations. This presentation allows the reader to both learn the melodies in their most general sense as well as use their creative judgment to vary each tune's melody and nuances. Each piece is framed with historical and cultural context, and audio is available online. 118 pages.