Two of the brightest stars on the traditional fiddle scene in Australia, Emma and Chris have applied the resources of the National Folk Fellowship to an exploration of the contemporary interpretation of traditional Scottish fiddle music being played in Australia.

Their study of the extensive resources of the National Library of Australia’s folklore and music collections includes the use of questionnaires, interviews and recordings to collect and study the background and performance practices (including repertoire choices, stylistic choices and context of performances) in order to compare historic and contemporary Scottish fiddling in Australia.

Both Emma and Chris are much in demand as performers at festivals around Australia. An exciting component of the Fellowship has been the development of a concert programme based on the material re- searched in the NLA collections. This programme forms an important part of the communication of the Fellowship’s outcomes to a wider audience at the National Folk Festival. Their performances at the 2012 Festival included a combination of relatively well-known tunes from the Scottish repertoire of the early 20th century and earlier tunes from previously unknown collections which have entered the NLA collec- tion only in recent months. The combination of these rare and exciting pieces with the experience and skill of these two fine players has formed a compelling and important performance, bringing together the significance and history of the National Library’s collections with the power of a live concert perform- ance in the festival context.

Emma, Chris and friends have recorded some of the music they uncovered, producing a CD of tunes, in- cluding some previously unreleased material. The music selected demonstrates Australian Scottish fiddle performance and dance repertoire from the early 20th century, and fiddle practice in the present.

This book is an accompaniment to the CD ‘Roots and All’ and includes digital reproductions of some of the original copies of the tunes, selected photographs from the NLA pictures collections, and background information to the recording project and tunes.

Though both Emma and Chris bring a significant body of knowledge, expertise and experience to the Fel- lowship as performers, researchers and academics, the Fellowship project was nonetheless an exciting and revealing process for the duo. The research and recording involved in pursuing the National Folk Fellowship has been a fascinating journey. The NLA collections include a vast wealth of musical material and history, much of which has not been performed in recent decades. The last twenty years have seen a resurgence in Scottish fiddle music in Australia and this exploration of the collection will be a valuable and local addition to that process.