Hello- From the Feb/Mar 1988 The Beaver magazine, article titled "A Parcel of Upstart Scotchmen": "...(a) persistence of Orkney separateness and identity well into the 19th C even after its attenuation by Indian & other ethnic admixtures...Observers of mid-19th C Red River (Winnipeg) commented on the distinctiveness of its Orkney-born settlers as did Alex. Ross in 1856, just as the Orcadians themselves retained a persisting sense of difference. And much more recently, a National Film Board of Canada production, "Fiddlers of james bay", demonstrated that some James Bay musicians, of Orkney desscent but classed these days as Cree, have actively preserved their Orkney musical heritage. When 2 of them were brought to the Orkneys (sic) to comapre their music with that of the Orkney fiddlers, their common heritage was clearly in evidence; in fact the james Bay players had preserved 1 or 2 Scottish tunes the Orcadians themselves had lost." My questions : 1/ what were the 18th & 19th C influences on Orkney music, specifically the fiddle- Neil Gow ? Norwegian ? 2/ what are the styles now ? 3/ has anyone seen "The Fiddlers of James Bay " ? Are there other similar films/programmes/tapes illustrating the Orkney styles ? One reason I ask is because in this part of Canada there is still a strong tradition of Irish/Scotch fiddling, with some Acadian (local French) influences, a style quite distinct from other parts of Canada/USA. yet obviously with some similarities to say the music in the Ottawa Valley, the Applanchians, and in Quebec. cheers Thompson