Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has fingered Irish music and its Celtic fiddling of being the connection between American folk music and classical music. In the North Sea region, the influence of the Scandinavian tradition with its Norwegian farmers and Vikings permeated the Celtic culture, more in Scotland than in Ireland.  The roots-web is even more tangled than that once the Italian contribution to the development of the violin is considered  (Antonio Stradivari in Cremona.) For this New Sounds program, listen to the shared musical territory between Celtic, Scandinavian, “early music,” & Appalachian fiddle music.

There’s music from Boston-based Mariel Vandersteel, a fiddler who also plays the Norwegian Hardingfele.  Also, hear Hesperus, who began as an early music band, but have branched out to embrace Scandinavian and Appalachian music.  Then listen to music from Minnesota-based Steve Tibbetts and the Norwegian fiddler Knut Hamre.  Plus hear something that draws from both Nordic and Celtic traditions featuring Scottish fiddle master Aly Bain and Swedish multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller. Their music plumbs the depth of the influence of Bain's Shetland Islands home in the North Sea. That, something from an outfit called Fiddlers 4, and more.

PROGRAM #3356 , (First aired on 7/10/2012)