Fiddle music is fascinating because it is essentially local music from around the world and therefore encompasses a huge diversity of styles and musical approaches. It’s used for listening and dancing, and ranges from simple beauty to complex expression.
Today Ed and Neil will perform tunes rooted in the Scottish musical tradition, but composed by themselves and their family. The family has performed under the name Highland Soles, as they include both dance and music.
The music you’ll hear is comprised generally of medleys. Individual tunes are connected in arrangements to create longer pieces for listening. The fiddle mainly plays the melody but with rhythmic and expressive variation, while the piano improvises supportive rhythmic and harmonic ideas, and sometimes carries the melody.
Ed and Neil Pearlman have toured together for many years throughout the US, and in Canada and Scotland. They’ve made 3 recordings together, and recently published a tunebook of their tunes, The Pine Street Collection.
Ed Pearlman draws on 40 years of playing for concerts, dances, classes & ceilidhs, and making 4 albums, as well as teaching, promoting and writing about Scottish music. He has taught fiddle to ensembles and individuals aged 8-88, at the Portland Conservatory of Music since 2003. Ed ran the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club and its associated events 1981-1999, as well as many other camps and groups, served as music columnist for Scottish Life magazine for 24 years (his book compiling these writings is available from Amazon), founded and runs fiddle-online.com, and co-leads summer music & walking tours in Scotland.
Neil Pearlman is internationally known as an innovative pianist, immersed in the music of Scotland and Cape Breton. His unique style is enhanced in organic and thrilling ways by his deep knowledge of jazz, funk and other styles. He is also a mandolinist and stepdancer. Neil has performed solo, and has toured and recorded with the well-known Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson, the Katie McNally Trio, Alba’s Edge, Party of Three, and the quartet Fàrsan. His podcast/record label TradCafe comprises over 60 interviews and duos with top traditional musicians and now features regular recordings by Neil, both solo and with guests.
SUPPORT NOONDAY
The Noonday Concert Series is free to the public because of the continued support of our sponsors: Norman Hanson DeTroy and the Portland Rossini Club.
As a nonprofit, we also rely on individual donations, and The David Nichols Charitable Trust will once again match all donations.
We thank our sponsors and YOU for your generosity.