First revival From the late nineteenth century there was renewed interest in traditional music, which was more academic and political in intent.
Harvard professor
Francis James Child's (1825–96) eight-volume collection
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882–92) has been the most influential on defining the repertoire of subsequent performers, and the English music teacher Cecil Sharp was probably the most important in understanding of the nature of folk song. In Scotland, collectors included the Reverend James Duncan (1848–1917) and
Gavin Greig (1856–1914), who collected over 1,000 songs, mainly from Aberdeenshire. The tradition continued with figures including
James Scott Skinner (1843–1927), known as the "Strathspey King", who played the fiddle in venues ranging from the local functions in his native
Banchory, to urban centres of the south and at
Balmoral. In 1923 the
Royal Scottish Country Dance Society was founded in an attempt to preserve traditional Scottish dances that were threatened by the introduction of the continental ballroom dances such as the
waltz or
quadrilles. The accordion also began to be a central instrument at Highland balls and dances. This revival began to have a major impact on classical music, with the development of what was in effect a national school of orchestral and operatic music in Scotland. Major composers included
Alexander Mackenzie (1847–1935),
William Wallace (1860–1940),
Learmont Drysdale (1866–1909),
Hamish MacCunn (1868–1916) and
John McEwen (1868–1948). Mackenzie, who studied in Germany and Italy and mixed Scottish themes with German Romanticism, is best known for his three
Scottish Rhapsodies (1879–80, 1911),
Pibroch for violin and orchestra (1889) and the
Scottish Concerto for piano (1897), all involving Scottish themes and folk melodies. Drysdale's work often dealt with Scottish themes, including the overture
Tam O’ Shanter (1890), the cantata
The Kelpie (1891). MacCunn's overture
The Land of the Mountain and the Flood (1887), his
Six Scotch Dances (1896), his operas
Jeanie Deans (1894) and
Dairmid (1897) and choral works on Scottish subjects Similarly, McEwen's
Pibroch (1889),
Border Ballads (1908) and
Solway Symphony (1911) incorporated traditional Scottish folk melodies.
Second revival in
South Gyle After World War II, traditional music in Scotland was marginalised, but, unlike in England, it remained a much stronger force, with the Céilidh house still present in rural communities until the early 1950s and traditional material still performed by the older generation, even if the younger generation tended to prefer modern styles of music. This decline was changed by the actions of individuals such as American musicologist
Alan Lomax, who collected numerous songs in Scotland that were issued by
Columbia Records around 1955. Radio broadcasts by Lomax,
Hamish Henderson and
Peter Kennedy (1922–2006) were also important in raising awareness of the tradition, particularly Kennedy's
As I Roved Out, which was largely based around Scottish and Irish music. The
School of Scottish Studies was founded at University of Edinburgh in 1951, with Henderson as a research fellow and a collection of songs begun by
Calum Maclean (1915–1960). Acts that were popularised included
John Strachan (1875–1958),
Jimmy MacBeath (1894–1972),
Jeannie Robertson (1908–1975) and
Flora MacNeil (1928–2015). A number of festivals also popularised the music, such as
Edinburgh People's Festival (1951–1953), Aberdeen Folk Festival (1963–),
Girvan Folk Festival (1964–1965 and 1975–present) and Blairgowrie Folk Festival (1966–1971). The programmes and their music were immensely popular, although their version of Scottish music and identity was despised by many modernists. The fusing of various styles of American music with British folk created a distinctive form of
fingerstyle guitar playing known as
folk baroque, pioneered by figures including
Davy Graham and
Bert Jansch. Acoustic groups who continued to interpret traditional material through into the 1970s included
Ossian and
Silly Wizard.
The Boys of the Lough and
Battlefield Band, emerged from the flourishing Glasgow folk scene. Many of these groups played largely music originating from the Lowlands, while later, more successful bands tended to favor the Gaelic sounds of the Highlands. While fairly popular within folk circles, none of these groups achieved the success of Irish groups such as
The Chieftains and
The Dubliners. Some of these bands produced noted solo artists, including
Andy M. Stewart of Silly Wizard,
Brian McNeill of Battlefield Band, and
Dougie MacLean of the Tannahill Weavers. MacLean is perhaps the best known of these, having written "
Caledonia", one of Scotland's most beloved songs. Though perhaps not as popular as some of their Celtic fusion counterparts, traditional Scottish artists are still making music. These include Hebridean singer
Julie Fowlis, 'Gaelic supergroup'
Dàimh, and
Lau.
Old Blind Dogs have also found success singing in the
Doric Scots dialect of their native
Aberdeenshire.
Albannach has gained recognition for their distinctive combination of pipes and drums.
Celtic rock live at the "Rätsche" in Geislingen/Steige (Germany) in 2006 Celtic rock developed as a variant of
British folk rock, playing traditional Scottish folk music with rock instrumentation, developed by
Fairport Convention and its members from 1969.
Donovan used the term "Celtic rock" to describe the folk rock he created for his
Open Road album in 1970, featured a song with "Celtic rock" as its title. The adoption of British folk rock heavily influenced by Scottish traditional music produced groups including the
JSD Band The Natural Acoustic Band (1970) and Spencer's Feat. Out of the wreckage of the latter in 1974, guitarist
Dick Gaughan formed probably the most successful band in this genre
Five Hand Reel, who combined Irish and Scottish personnel, before he embarked on an influential solo career. From the late 1970s the attendance at, and number of, folk clubs began to decrease, as new musical and social trends, including
punk rock,
new wave and
electronic music began to dominate. However, in Scotland the circuit of
cèilidhs and festivals helped prop up traditional music. From the 1980s
Capercaillie combined Scottish folk music, electric instruments and haunting vocals to considerable success. While bagpipes had become an essential element in Scottish folk bands they were much rarer in folk rock outfits, but were successfully integrated into their sound by
Wolfstone from 1989, who focused on a combination of highland music and rock. More recently, bands such as
Mànran and
Tide Lines have also focused on a combination of Celtic music and pop-rock. Additionally, groups such as
Shooglenifty and
Peatbog Faeries mixed traditional highland music with more modern sounds, such as dubstep rhythms, creating a genre sometimes referred to as "Acid Croft".
Niteworks inspired the two aforementioned bands and the electronic sampling of
Martyn Bennett have further developed Celtic electronic music which has been described as both Gaelictronica and Celtictronica. Successful Scottish stadium rock acts such as
Simple Minds from
Glasgow and
Big Country from
Dunfermline incorporated traditional Celtic sounds onto many of their songs. The former based their hit "
Belfast Child" around the traditional Irish song "
She Moved Through the Fair" and incorporated accordion into their line-up, while the latter's guitar and drum sounds on their early albums were heavily influenced by Scottish pipe bands, particularly on songs such as "
In a Big Country" and "
Fields of Fire". Big Country also covered Robert Burns' "
Killiecrankie". One by-product of the
Celtic Diaspora was the existence of large communities across the world that looked for their cultural roots and identity to their origins in the Celtic nations. While it seems young musicians from these communities usually chose between their folk culture and mainstream forms of music such as rock or pop, after the advent of
Celtic punk relatively large numbers of bands began to emerge styling themselves as Celtic rock. This is particularly noticeable in the United States and Canada, where there are large communities descended from Irish and Scottish immigrants. From the U.S. this includes
Seven Nations,
Prydein and
Flatfoot 56. From Canada are bands such as
Enter the Haggis,
Great Big Sea,
The Real Mckenzies and
Spirit of the West. These groups were influenced by American forms of music, some containing members with no Celtic ancestry and commonly singing in English. The mandolin has become increasingly common in Scottish folk ensembles during the 21st century, particularly within acoustic duos and contemporary folk groups drawing influence from both traditional dance tunes and modern Celtic arrangements. ==References==