Shetland-Music.com

Of all the Shetland fiddlers in living memory so far, the best all-rounder is freely acknowledged to be 'young' Willie Hunter, son of 'old' Willie. Willie received his grounding in the fiddle from Gideon Stove, and studied later with Geoffrey di Mercado. In his book 'The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles' Peter Cooke says of Willie:

Willie Hunter

"He combines with great talent his father's flair for bowing and his virile yet finely shaped phrasing with the tone production, including the use of vibrato, of a classical violinist. He makes expert use of higher positions, especially when playing slow airs, for to a repertory of traditional Shetland tunes he has added slow airs in Scottish style, strathspeys, pipe marches, Irish and North American fiddle pieces and even light classical pieces such as Monte's 'Czardas'. "

Willie was equally at home in all these genres, and his performances were the highlight of every musical event in which he took part. His compositions reflect the breadth of his abilitites, while his recordings were and are much sought after, both solo and as a member of the Cullivoe dance band. His tune collection was published in 1998 by his widow Pat. By far the best known of Willie's tunes is the slow air Leaving Lerwick Harbour, followed in prominence by reels such as The Cape Breton visit to Shetland and the Kiwi Reel, along with the jig Da Sooth End and the strathspey Willie Hunter's Compliments to Dan R. MacDonald.