More examples:

(1) Someone like Natalie McMaster can play fast and loud and step dance at the same time--but she can start by playing a slow and heartfelt air that will move you to tears. And she is skilled enough that she can retain that soulfulness when she speeds up and plays a strathspey. And when it grows out of that set-up, the "flash" that eventually emerges is all the more wonderful because of what it's been set off against.

(2) I spent a long time searching for (and eventually acquiring) a wonderful out-of-print version of Doc Watson taking it slow and soulful on an a cappella rendition of "St. James Hospital." While Doc can be a speedy and accurate flashy flatpicker, he can also sing a slow soulful song with a rich baritone, and impress me much more with his emotional depth than with his speed skills.

(3) At the FSGW Minifest (see other threads), I just did a workshop with Lisa Null and Ed Trickett and Joe Hickerson called "The Soul of a Song"--about songs that run deep, and are designed to move you rather than merely to entertain. We realized that it takes a great deal of skill to maintain something at an adagio rather than an allegro (We got through 8 songs in 50 minutes)--perhaps different techniques are used than when you pull off something fast. But to infuse depth, you've got to make quiet spaces to give the music room to breathe and live.

--Charlie Baum