PhD candidate, Ronnie Gibson, has been invited to present his research on Scottish fiddle music at the Institut für Volksmusikforschung und Ethnomusikologie's European Voices IV International Symposium in Vienna, Austria, this November.
Ronnie will present the paper, ‘Ringing Strings: Governing Aesthetics in the Performance of Shetland Fiddle Music’ as part of the ‘Soloist Multipart Instrumental Music’ strand of the Symposium, in which he compares pre- and post-revival fiddle performance in Shetland. As he explains, ‘There’s a stark contrast between the performance aesthetics of the old and new generations of Shetland fiddle player, with the practice of the former marked by an intricate rhythmic impetus suited to the accompaniment of dancing, and that of the latter shaped by the demands of the public performance platform, resulting in highly-rehearsed recitals of tunes. Each generation’s approach to “ringing strings”, or the playing of drones on the lower or upper strings, is particular revealing of their governing performance aesthetics, and it is this topic I will explore with recourse to analyses of archive and commercial audio recordings’.
Ronnie is no stranger to the international conference scene, having presented his research in diverse locations including Shanghai, Salzburg, Prague, and Istanbul, in addition to numerous places in the UK. Prior to the Symposium in Vienna this November, he is will be speaking at the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention Conference in Cape Breton in October.