SANDWOOD
The new album – AVAILABLE NOW
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Forthcoming Shows
FESTIVAL OF SMALL HALLS, Breakish, Isle of Skye
27 November @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pmBreakish Community Hall, Isle of Skye, IV42 8PY.FESTIVAL OF SMALL HALLS – Braes, Isle of Skye
28 November @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pmBraes Village Hall, Isle of Skye, IV51 9LJ.FESTIVAL OF SMALL HALLS – Edinbane, Isle of Skye
29 November @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pmEdinbane Hall, Edinbane, Isle of Skye, IV51 9PW.FESTIVAL OF SMALL HALLS – Sligachan, Isle of Skye
30 November @ 7:30 pm - 11:30 pmSligachan, Isle of Skye, IV47 8SWAN TREAS SUAILE / The Third Wave
27 January, 2019 @ 7:30 pmEden Court’s Empire TheatreHaze Across The Sun
Duncan Chisholm
A Precious Place
Duncan Chisholm
Islands On The Edge
Duncan Chisholm
About Duncan
Duncan Chisholm is one of Scotland’s most recognised and accomplished fiddle players and composers. Born and brought up near Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland, Duncan has spent most of his life developing his unique musical voice. Fiddle playing at its best, Duncan’s feather-light handling of dynamics and ornamentation, allied with his pure-distilled tone, lend his characteristic spine-tingling magic to his music.
Taught to play by the great Donald Riddell, few can match Duncan’s expressive feel for a Highland air. Duncan’s well-established musical career has taken him throughout the UK, Europe and the USA, both through his solo work and while playing with other musicians and bands. Duncan plays regularly with gaelic singing sensation Julie Fowlis, sets the heather on fire with his folk rock band Wolfstone and is much sought after as a composer and accompanist.
Duncan’s latest release Live at Celtic Connections, was recently awarded ‘Album of the Year’ at the Scots Trad Music Awards in December 2014. Performed at an exclusive concert as part of the world famous Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, Duncan recorded this special event where he played music from his acclaimed Strathglass Trilogy of albums, as part of a six piece traditional band who were backed by an orchestral ensemble.
The culmination of six years work, The Strathglass Trilogy – Farrar, Canaich and Affric, is Duncan’s musical representation of the ancient Chisholm Clan lands. With such a personal interest in and connection to these Highland glens, Duncan has worked hard to instil great pride and passion into three individual but very much connected musical masterpieces. This unique and inspired idea of producing a suite of fiddle music recordings, influenced by one of the most beautiful wilderness areas of Scotland, gives a solid representation of Duncan’s ability to get right to the heart of a tune, and communicate the emotion behind it, in what seems a totally natural way.
Duncan’s first solo album, Redpoint catapulted his solo career into the public eye. The Door of Saints closely followed Redpoint; a beautiful album inspired by the music of Northern Spain. Duncan then embarked on his Strathglass Trilogy, mixing traditional tunes with contemporary sounds. Having composed music for several BBC documentaries and written more than half of the tunes presented on his latest release, Duncan has been labelled “the new sound of traditional Scotland.”
“My creative world widens with each passing year and the possibilities for self-expression are limitless. Enjoy the music.” Duncan Chisholm.
Eden Court Theatre Performance: An Treas Suaile (The Third Wave)
/in news, Uncategorized /by adminOn 27 January 2019, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness will host ‘An Treas Suaile’ (The Third Wave) which Duncan was commissioned to write with fellow musician Julie Fowlis.
Late on New Year’s Eve 1918, HMY Iolaire set sail from Kyle of Lochalsh carrying nearly 300 seamen home to the Isle of Lewis after the war. The ship was lost at the entrance to Stornoway Harbour and 201 servicemen perished in one of the worst maritime disasters in modern British history.
Written to commemorate 100 years since the disaster, this is a deeply reflective audio-visual piece which has taken 12 months of research and writing. It will feature newly composed music, traditional material and archive recordings with onstage visuals and projected images. The title and central concept refers to John Finlay MacLeod, who leapt overboard from the stricken Iolaire with a rope, and whose bravery saved many lives.
Full box office details are available on our Live page, here.
Wolfstone to perform at the Blas Festival 2018
/in news /by adminThe Blas Festival, which takes place between 7 – 15 September 2018, celebrates the culture, traditional music and Gaelic in the Highlands of Scotland.
Duncan will perform with folk-rock band Wolfstone as they make a rare appearance on Highland soil when they perform in Lochinver on Friday 14 September. For full box office details, please visit the Blas Festival website here.
Enjoy the music….
Sandwood Review / Duncan Chisholm Feature
/in news /by adminTwenty years ago this summer, the first issue of Penguin Eggs surfaced on the Internet. This publication continues to be bursting with features, interviews, news and reviews from the traditional scene and the current summer special 20th Anniversary Issue (No.78) is no exception. Read Roddy Campbell’s full review of Sandwood, accessible via the publication here, as he considers Duncan “the indisputable eminent fiddle composer of his generation“.
Duncan is also the subject of an in-depth feature interview in the August 2018 issue of The Scots Magazine. ‘Sandwood – A Place Beyond Words’ by Cameron McNeish considers how Duncan captures an indefinable location through his music and how Duncan has “produced something quite exceptional” in his Sandwood album. The full feature is accessible in The Scots Magazine via this link.