Celtic music scholar and musician Liz Doherty is no stranger to Cape Breton music – in fact, she has made a study of it. Doherty’s exposure to, and research of, the island’s music traditions was the germination for this compendium on the Cape Breton fiddle: its history, its people, the tunes, the recordings.

The fiddle music of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, has its own sound, artistic standards, performance practices and etiquette. The Cape Breton fiddler of the 21st century is performing a music that was transplanted from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Adapted and evolved as it has passed down through several generations, each of its exponents carrying an inherited responsibility to maintain the music’s integrity while also making it relevant for contemporary audiences.

The Cape Breton Fiddle Companion widens the field of view for future adherents and scholars of Cape Breton music, raises as many questions as it answers, and thus contributes to the ongoing conversation. Above all, it is a tribute to those who have carried and developed this wonderful music and shared it with so many of us around the world.

Liz Doherty, PhD, is a fiddle player, teacher and researcher of traditional music. A lecturer in Irish traditional music at Ulster University, Derry, Doherty has organized many traditional arts conferences and festivals, including Éisge na Laoi, a festival of Cape Breton music in Cork (1993) and The North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (2012). As a fiddle player, she has recorded and toured with various groups and as a solo artist. She has performed a number of times at Celtic Colours International Festival, including as artist in residence (2015).

Liz Doherty's profile page