When Sam Sweeney bought a violin from a store window, he had no idea of the journey he was starting out on.
The violin, far from new, actually held a century of history in its finery - and a heartbreaking story of war loss at its core. It's first owner was Richard Howard, who lost his life in war.
The remarkable story of the instrument, and the tragedy behind it, has since picked up huge interest. Sam Sweenedy spent years piecing the story together, and the story culminated when Sam played Richard's instrument at his graveside.
"He was unknown, no one knew anything about him, no one would ever have visited his grave, and all of a sudden, there I was, playing his fiddle to him," he recalled, "It's amazing to be a part of this instrument's life."
On Friday (May 3) Sam will make a welcome return to The Stables at Wavendon.
He went On Track with Total MK...
The song that first awakened your musical senses
There are videos of me standing on a foot stool when I was three years old conducting Ravel's Bolero with a chopstick in front of the TV!
I don't remember doing it, but I guess that was the first time I showed enthusiasm for music!
Physical or digital - how do you take your music?
For music I really care about it has to be physical. I'm one of those people that sits down and listens to a new album whilst looking at the artwork and appreciating all the work the artist put into the album as a whole.
I think what the digital world is doing to music is very dangerous, and it's also undermining the worth of musicians and their profession. Having said that, if I fancy downloading one song from The Greatest Power Ballads Of The 80s, I would use iTunes.
But I always pay for music!
The first time you thought 'Music - this is the job for me'
I can't remember a time when I didn't think that. I never wanted to be an astronaut or a footballer. I took up the fiddle at six and that was that. I really do appreciate how lucky I am in knowing what I wanted to do from a very young age and being able to do it straight out of school!
Your best on stage memory
The first time Bellowhead used confetti cannons on stage and I completely forgot they were going to go off!
It was like being in a giant snow globe and the crowd went completely mental!
And the worst gig you've ever done
It's hard to answer that and not be offensive. I think the worst gigs are the ones where you know the audience aren't listening. They are clapping because it's polite and they would show the same amount of appreciation whether they were watching a beginner recorder player performing for the first time or Martin Carthy being a genius.
I used to play a lot of folk clubs like that and it was soul destroying.
Playing weddings was a similar experience... everyone drunk, nobody listening!
What made you take up the fiddle
I took up the fiddle because my best friend at primary school had played since she was three.
I went to her house one night after school and her mum taught me Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and apparently I found it very easy. I started lessons a month later and taught myself folk tunes by ear from day one.
Which one song by another artist do you wish you'd have written
I wish I had written Wake Up by Arcade Fire. It's a desert island song for me.
The expression of human solidarity and collective human experience when we all sang along to that song is something I'll never forget. It's perfect.
And one - by yourself - which holds special significance I've never written a song, and I'm not a particularly prolific composer. The song in Made In The Great War, The Ballad Of Richard Howard, was collectively written between Hugh Lupton (who wrote the lyrics), Rob Harbron and myself.
Being a part of the creation of that song was hugely poignant for me as it's such an incredibly moving piece. M
If you could step into the shoes of another musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
Arcade Fire. I'm an enormous fan and what they're doing to music at the moment is more exciting than anything anyone has done in a long time. Which member of the band would I be? Probably Richard Reed Parry... but I'd have to learn the guitar, bass and piano first!
Are there any current musical influences that you might look to
I'm finding very little inspiration in the folk world at the moment. There's so little exciting traditional music coming out of England at the moment, which is a great shame.
People seem to be interested in profile over quality, which I find baffling. My current fiddle inspiration is a Norwegian guy called Gjermund Larsen. His trio made an album called Reise and it is one of the most beautiful albums I've ever heard.
And any genre of music that you simply can't stand?
I get told off for this by many jazzer friends of mine because Jazz isn't one genre. However, I don't own a single 'Jazz' record. It's not something I find much interest in.
But that's like saying "I hate folk music", and to that I'd reply "But you can't say that! There are so many different types..."
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