Review of CD Book 17

CD for RSCDS Book 17 plus 3 Dances for 2009

Neil Copland and his Scottish Dance Band; Keith Smith and James Gray

This musical offering from the RSCDS is not only a double disc but also features two groups of renowned musicians. Neil Copland and his Scottish Dance Band provide the music for the 12 dances from Book 17 and the duo of Keith Smith and James Gray perform three of the 5 dances from the 2009 leaflet. There are 15 tracks in total on the two discs providing over 100 minutes of thrilling music. Neil Copland’s 6-piece band offers a rich and full sound. Neil plays lead accordion and is accompanied by his wife Maureen Rutherford on the fiddle, Ann Rutherford on piano, Gary Muir plays the 2nd accordion, John Sinton the bass and Robert Simpson the drums. Book 17, which is also known as the Coronation Book as it was published in 1953, is unusual in that almost half of the dances have 40 bars, there are three 8 x 40 strathspeys, a 8 x40 jig and a 8 x 40 reel. The sets of tunes used for the Book 17 dances are a balanced mix of traditional and modern. For a number of the dances the lead tune is followed by the suggested published alternate tune. I was intrigued by the names of some of the selected tunes; in fact if you enjoy Strong Tea or Glenfiddich or are looking for A Cheap Meal then this CD is for you. The three dances from 2009 A Capital Jig, The Valentine and Forty-five years on have an appropriately modern tune selection. (In case you are curious the music for the remaining two dances from the 5 for 2009 can be found on the Book 7 CD.) The tracks where Keith Smith on fiddle is accompanied by James Gray on piano are wonderful not only to dance to but to listen to as well. There is some masterful fiddling by Keith in the second tune in the reel Forty-five years on. Our group particularly enjoyed dancing The Valentine where there is symmetry in the composers, the original tune is by Marian Anderson, the second by James Gray, the third is by Muriel Johnstone and Keith Smith wrote the fourth tune.