Classic Music Shetland have numerous compositions, in several different genres,
and they are all available to purchase. Browse them and click on the icon next to
each piece to find out more.
At present we only have 1 sample piece available to listen to. It is named
Vallaberg and you can use the controls below to listen to it.
To enquire or purchase any composition below, please contact us.
To jump to a specific section, click on the button below.
| Baliasta |
| The first tune in the book is a lively reel called ‘Baliasta’, named after the hamlet near Baltasound in the centre of Unst. This reel attempts to reflect the active, enthusiastic nature of the small community situated close to my home at Berrybrake. |
| £1.99 |
| Belmont Waltz |
| The ‘Belmont Waltz’ is an attempt to imagine a dance at Thomas Mouat’s Belmont House. This Georgian mansion house was built in 1775 and is currently undergoing restoration. |
| £1.99 |
| Berrybrake |
| In contrast to the grandeur of Belmont House, we have my own house, ‘Berrybrake’. |
| £1.99 |
| Colvadale |
| One of my favourite walks on Unst is to the abandoned village of Colvadale near Baltasound. On a summer evening you can almost hear the animated chatter of voices from the past as you walk through the remaining huddle of houses. The ‘Colvadale’ reel hints at these voices calling from past generations. |
| £1.99 |
| Emohruo |
| ‘Emohruo’ is a tune written for Bryan Gear, Shetland’s most outstanding fiddle player. Bryan kindly recorded the slow air for my new website recently. |
| £1.99 |
| Gerratoun Waltz |
| I usually visit ‘Gerratoun’ at Aald Christmas, and I well remember my first Christmas there. Thinking that each nip glass of whisky presented had to be ‘downed’ for the sake of politeness, I endeavoured to prove that I was as ‘well bred’ as any native islander. Near the end of the evening I was lying stretched out on the floor giving a ‘virtuoso’ performance on a tiny toy keyboard while dancers tripped over me. Joan Ritch, who lives at ‘Gerratoun’, is an excellent dancer and I hope she enjoys this ‘Gerratoun Waltz’. |
| £1.99 |
| Hamar |
| Gordon Thomson is a great friend and fellow geriatric rocker from ‘The Bonxies’ band. Gordon lives with his wife Penny at ‘Hamar’. |
| £1.99 |
| Hannigarth |
| ‘Hannigarth’ is on the south of Unst, near Uyeasound. |
| £1.99 |
| Haroldswick Hall |
| Many fast and furious reels have been danced at ‘Haroldswick Hall’. The reel in this collection is yet another rapid dance tune. |
| £1.99 |
| Heogs |
| In the reel called ‘Heogs’ I have tried to represent the rugged, uneven nature of the land by quirky rhythms and an undulating melodic line. |
| £1.99 |
| Herma Ness |
| ‘Herma Ness’ can be played between the reels ‘Looss Wick’ and ‘Muckle Flugga’ to form the ‘Muckle Flugga’ set. The ‘Herma Ness’ melody should be played in a manner which aims to give a kind of breathless effect, in order to emulate the thoracic gasps of returning day trip ‘twitchers’ after their walk to the ‘Flugga’. |
| £1.99 |
| Looss Wick |
| The view of ‘Muckle Flugga’ from Looss Wick can be spectacular. Visitors, however, often experience the contradictory emotions of being both overwhelmed by the scenic beauty of the scene, and panicked by realisation that they are not in close proximity to the pub. ‘Looss Wick’ should be played with this in mind. |
| £1.99 |
| Lund |
| The tune entitled ‘Lund’ tries to capture the atmosphere of this lonely part of South Unst. Although it is similar in mood to a Slow Air, it has a much freer formal structure. |
| £1.99 |
| Millspindra |
| Andy and Mina Spence live at ‘Millspindra’ overlooking ‘the Banks’ at Norwick in the North of Unst. In the ‘Millspindra’ reel I have tried to portray the cheerful, optimistic spirit displayed by my two good friends. |
| £1.99 |
| Muckle Flugga |
| There has been a lighthouse on ‘Muckle Flugga’, Britain’s most northerly rock, since 1854. Robert Louis Stevenson visited here in 1869 and some say that Unst influenced his writing of ‘Treasure Island’. As already mentioned, this reel, like all of the reels, can be played as a part of a set for dancing. |
| £1.99 |
| Muness |
| Most people think that ‘Muness’, situated near Uyeasound on the south of the island, is known for its castle. On Unst, however, it is just as well known for the Muness Rock Festival. Thanks to the patience and tolerance of John Hunter and his family, an annual rock festival was established near John’s croft, giving the ‘Bonxies’ rock band a chance to enchant large audiences of islanders and visitors with their dulcet tones. |
| £1.99 |
| Nikkavord |
| The jig ‘Nikkavord’ refers to that part of Baltasound where my friend and fellow ‘Bonxie’ Derek Thomson lives. His musically talented sister, Pat Burns, and her husband John, also live at Nikkavord. Pat sings, along with Lorraine Thomson, Louise Spence, Angela Fraser, Dougal Fraser, Kevin Tulloch and Colin McLeish, in ‘ZE2’, a band that I played keyboards with for a while. Kevin also plays for the well loved ‘Cullivoe Fiddlers’
from Yell. |
| £1.99 |
| Norwick Waltz |
| In the ‘Norwick Waltz’, I hint at the friendly, sociable nature of this vibrant community at the north end of Unst. The waltz doesn’t really come to a firm conclusion. It seems as if it has not quite ended, just the frequent social events in this part of Unst take a while to draw to a close. |
| £1.99 |
| RAF Saxa Vord |
| I worked for two and a half years at RAF Saxa Vord in Haroldswick, North Unst. The base opened in 1957 and was closed in a rushed fashion in April 2006, significantly, just before the 50th anniversary. The closure has brought Unst’s population down to less than 600 and has had a serious economic impact on the island. On the positive side, though, some Unst residents have looked for new opportunities and, in a spirit of optimism, have em- barked on new bus- iness ventures. My reel entitled ‘RAF Saxa Vord’ refers at two points to the famous ‘Dam Busters’ march by Eric Coates. |
| £1.99 |
| September Sunday in Shetland |
| The last piece of music in the book is called ‘September Sunday in Shetland’. Alphabetically, it is out of sequence, since it is not written in any traditional form such as a jig, reel, slow air or waltz and is closer in style to some contemporary ‘classical’ music. I’ve included it in this collection as it aims to describe one particular bleak rainy afternoon at Berrybrake. The clouds do clear from time to time, however, and I hope these brighter moments can be heard in the music. |
| £1.99 |
| Skaw |
| The jaunty ‘Skaw’ reel was written after an early morning New Year’s Day visit to Britain’s most northerly house. |
| £1.99 |
| Slantigarth |
| ‘Slantigarth’ was also written after a seasonal New Year visit. This time it was to Laurence Robertson’s house in Baltasound, known as ‘Slantigarth’, at the beginning of January. |
| £1.99 |
| Sunny Side Up |
| ‘Sunnyside’, in Uyeasound, is the home of my friend Steven Spence and his son George. |
| £1.99 |
| Tonga Reel |
| The group of islands that make up Tonga (or the ‘Friendly Islands’, as they were named by Captain Cook) lie in the southern Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Hawaii. The Tonga to which I refer, however, is situated to the north of Woodwick on the west coast of Unst. It is a beautiful, isolated and rugged place and, apart from a dram, I enjoy nothing better than a walk from my house to Tonga on a fine day. The ‘Tonga Reel’ has a kind of honky tonk piano effect in the second half. On the fiddle it sounds a bit like annoyed Shalders. This piece was written for my good friends Mike and Gill MacDonnell from Yell who both enjoy a tune. |
| £1.99 |
| Uyeasound Waltz |
| In Uyeasound I was introduced to the wonders of the Uyeasound Hall and it was there that I heard a Shetland waltz for the first time. My ‘Uyeasound Waltz’ is written in two versions, the second version being for two fiddles. |
| £1.99 |
| Uyeasound Waltz - 2 Fiddles |
| In Uyeasound I was introduced to the wonders of the Uyeasound Hall and it was there that I heard a Shetland waltz for the first time. My ‘Uyeasound Waltz’ is written in two versions, the second version being for two fiddles. |
| £1.99 |
| Valaberg |
| Bryan Gear, Shetlands most outstanding fiddler, recorded the slow air ‘Valaberg’ for my website in December 2006. Valaberg is fairly close to Tonga on the west coast of Unst. Although often quite rough, the sea can sometimes be quite still in this area and I wrote this slow air following a walk to Valaberg on such a calm day. |
| £1.99 |
| Westing Waltz |
| The Westing, on the south west end of Unst, has a splendid rugged coastline and is an ideal place to walk if you want to blow the cobwebs away on a wild day. I often walk along the Vallafield ridge above the Westing. The view from here is nothing short of spectacular and well worth the climb. The ‘Westing Waltz’ was written after a walk to the Westing. |
| £1.99 |
| September Eleven |
| Not available at present. |
| £1.99 |
| Shetland Fiddle Concerto |
| Not available at present. |
| £1.99 |
| Shetland Jazz Session |
| Not available at present. |
| £1.99 |
| Shetland Peerie Symphony |
| Not available at present. |
| £1.99 |
| Shetland Piano Concerto |
| Not available at present. |
| £1.99 |
| Shetland Spirits |
| Not available at present. |
| £1.99 |
| Unst Bitten Twice Shy |
| Not available at present. |
| £1.99 |
Please contact us for information regarding solo pieces.
Please contact us for information regarding chamber pieces.
Please contact us for information regarding Christmas pieces.
Please contact us for information regarding bespoke pieces.
