Poignant return for Catriona with Tom’s special fiddle
By Melissa Duncan
SHETLAND fiddler Catriona MacDonald is set to play a concert at the opening of the first Hardanger fiddle museum in Bø, Norway, this evening.
In a poignant concert, she will play the same Hardanger fiddle made for the late Tom Anderson after he met two Norwegian brothers at the first Shetland Folk Festival in 1981.
It will be the first time the intricate instrument has been back to Norway in almost 30 years.
Hauk and Knut Buen, from Telemark, are exponents of the Hardanger fiddle and during their visit to the first folk festival they had the opportunity to play with Tom Anderson. They were so in awe of his talent that they filmed and made a programme of their meeting with him and it was broadcast to high acclaim on Norwegian television.
The brothers quickly struck up a friendship with Tom and decided to give him a Hardanger fiddle – made by their uncle and painted in rose paint by Knut – as a gift of thanks.
After his death the instrument was bequeathed to Catriona, who has kept it safe ever since. The fiddle has never been back to Norway until now and with the opening of the museum Catriona thinks it’s the perfect time for a visit.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a really poignant moment and I know that Hauk will be delighted to see the instrument again.”
Meanwhile, you can tune in to BBC4 on Sunday evening and catch Catriona commentating on the Folk Proms which are being televised from London’s Albert Hall.
