Test Drive Celtic Cover

This is the piece Test Drive from How to Train Your Dragon, by John Powell. Although the movie focuses around Vikings, the adults have Scottish accents, while the teens do not. Now, Vikings are from Scandinavia. More specifically, Norway. They did spread out through the rest of that area too, such as Sweden and Finland, as well as other islands and continents. An interesting thing about this is that the oldest texts we can find of their myths are in Iceland, and the corresponding language of the time and region thereof. From this, it can be deduced that their religions/mythologies were more oral tradition, while the film portrays the knowledge of the Vikings of Berk as documenting everything on paper that isn't common knowledge. Furthermore, John Powell is an English composer, and the topography of the main island of Berk is a cross between Iceland and Norway, albeit exaggerated in some parts and downplayed in others (so more inspired by them than anything else).
So, I decided to pick one of the cultures that were present (in a limited capacity) to use as the basis for my instrument lineup. As Scottish actors were voicing most of the adults, I figured a Celtic lineup would work. Also, Ally the Piper did a portion of this track on the bagpipes, so... I had a good idea how that would work.
I did a bit of research into Scottish and Celtic instruments and the modern instruments derivative of those and did the best I could to make a lineup that would fall under those classifications and arrange the track for that ensemble. The instrument list is as follows, with the justifying history under the header, and my sources below the whole section. Enjoy.
Flute:
Irish flutes were the Celtic equivalent to flutes, but only in name. They functioned in a similar manner, but sounded different. They also come from Ireland, but at the time of the film, that distinction was not made, those who used it were part of a Celtic tribe, not a Scottish tribe or Irish tribe. Furthermore, they were somewhere between the use of a tin whistle and the standard concert flute, which uses the Boehm system.
C Tin Whistle:
A whistle (sometimes called a penny whistle) developed in Scotland that has a whistle shaped mouthpiece (big surprise), and a body similar to that of a recorder, where it has six holes that the player can use to change pitch.
Bagpipes:
I don't think that this needs much explanation, but the bagpipes are the national instrument of Scotland, and although they were found everywhere across numerous time periods, the Scots weaponized the instrument, and it became associated with the Scots on the battlefield, leading to the modern correlation between the two (and they are still considered an instrument of war, due to some laws and mental gymnastics back in the 1700s. That has since been modified so that they are considered musical instruments during times of peace due to an issue in 1996 in London)
Horn in F:
I added this instead of a trumpet for two reasons. One, it is smoother than the sound of a trumpet, at least in musescore. Two, is that the carnyx isn't available in musescore due to incredibly limited samples of the sound. However, it was a Celtic instrument used as a war trumpet, and probably sounded harsh and dissonant. Either way, I wanted to acknowledge it, and needed some brass due to the nature of John Powell's score.
Bass Drum:
Doesn't actually have explicit precedent, I just included it to add lower frequencies to the percussion and balance some parts of the score.
Snare Drum:
Used as a replacement for the Scottish Tenor Drum, because it was used in military marches and such, and a snare sounds similar, although these drums can be pitched
Cymbal:
Similar reason to the bass drum, except for higher frequencies in transitions and to add emphasis.
Accordion:
Although not Scottish in origin, it is a common instrument in ceilidh bands, loved for its versatility and volume.
Electric Piano:
I used it as an alternative to the dulcitone, as the closest in sound was a weird celeste soundfont. So, I decided on the electric piano, as it was the forerunner of the electric piano, and complimented my other chosen instruments quite nicely.
Acoustic Guitar
The guitar is derivative of a Scottish instrument called the cittern, which had some influence over the guitar's Italian predecessor. Modern citterns are different from the version mentioned, which bore a great resemblance to the lute.
Harp
The clarsach is one of Scotland's oldest instruments, and was the national instrument before the bagpipes. It has a long history, a lot of which was oral tradition, and was lost during the Highland Clearances.
Violin/Viola Sections
Fiddles are very similar to violins, but have some marked differences that affect playing. I added the violas to add some lower range to the strings in this arrangement. I do like the viola's sound, and find it somewhat underrated/dissed (looking at you TwoSet), regardless, there are times where it cannot be used.

[@CBROrchestra]

MP3 Download: drive.google.com/file/d/1mS7UWGxL9HmPO-1rZIhoND7MnzZQy-qB/view?usp=share_link