Scottish Gaelic Music
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Recent papers in Scottish Gaelic Music
A look at the background of two pipers, one from each side of the battle which includes William Cumming who was the subject of the iconic full length portrait of the 'Piper to the Laird of Grant', usually taken to be a picture of a... more
Active in both the women's suffrage movement and local politics, musician and Gaelic song-collector Marjory Kennedy-Fraser started promoting Scottish Independence, widely discussed at present but front-page news also a century ago,... more
Having heard Marjory Kennedy-Fraser perform Hebridean songs at a house party in 1907, English composer Rutland Boughton brought her work to the attention of his friend Granville Bantock. In 1913, Professor Bantock met Mrs Kennedy-Fraser,... more
Anns na leanas thathar a’ coimhead air Iain Criathrar 1750-1840, fìdhlear à Garbh-chriochan Siorrachd Pheairt. Gu sònraichte, bheirear sùil air a chuid ciùil agus stoidhle fìdhleireachd na sgìre san 18mh agus an 19mh linn. Thèid... more
Draft of a colloquium presentation given in 2014 at the University of Arizona as part of their ancient ethnomusicology series. Herein, the mechanics of the bagpipe as well as the basic structure of Ceol Mor (Piobaireachd) are briefly... more
In this paper, a centuries-old religious tradition of song is presented, which is unique in the world in this form. Whereas it might seem unfamiliar and strange to inexperienced hearers, for the participants themselves the Gaelic psalm... more
The principal aim of this article is to refine our understanding of the Gaelic place-name element cailleach. This will be done primarily through analysis of a cluster of cailleach-names and associated place-lore from one area of the... more
In Scotland today, traditional dancing is commonly accompanied by instruments like the fiddle, accordion and bagpipes. In the past, instruments were not always available for dances, or even preferred. Amongst the Gaels, dances were often... more
The clàrsach (a wire-strung Gaelic harp) was the pre-eminent instrument in musical culture of the Scottish Highland élite during the medieval period until the late seventeenth century. Yet by the end of the eighteenth century the... more
Reviews: ‘outstanding […] of the first importance in the study of Scottish music and social history’ (Scottish Gaelic Studies), ‘a major contribution’ (Cothrom), ‘enormous added value’ (The Scotsman), ‘imaginative and thorough’ (Scottish... more
This is my PhD dissertation. The third chapter might be interesting since it shows that the natural scale was the primary scale used in European antiquity (the so-called Folk Music Scale). It combined with the early diatonic scale... more
Waulkings, or millings, were a necessary aspect of life in the Scottish Highlands. These millings produced cloth for clothing and blankets that were much needed by those who lived and worked in this mountainous region. Since the Gaelic... more
A further contribution to the debate about the origins of the reel (as a dance form) and the strathspey reel (as a musical genre), particularly within the context of Scottish Gaelic culture.
There is little question that the Gesto Collection ranks amongst one of the premiere sources of Gaelic song and music. Along with his other books, the Skye Collection of fiddle music and Puirt-à-Beul, its compiler, Dr Keith Norman... more
According to the conventionally held view, the strathspey or 'strathspey reel' was an eighteenth century innovation instigated by fiddlers of the Speyside region, such as the Browns of Kincardine and the Cummings of Grantown. However, the... more
Detailed liner notes, containing introductory and contextual information, from the two-CD set Cruinneachadh Chaluim: Field Recordings of Gaelic Music and Song from the Highlands and Islands by Calum Maclean. The CD, issued by Greentrax... more
A concordance table mapping 854 transcriptions by 10 pipers to 313 pibrochs, combining and correcting the concordances by Frans Buisman and Roderick D. Cannon. I have added analytical data that allows the material to be sorted by... more
A look at the pre 1650 distribution of players of the clarsach in Scotland and how that compares with the embryonic development of 'Highland Piping'.
http://www.wirestrungharp.com/harps/harpers/mapping-clarsach.html
http://www.wirestrungharp.com/harps/harpers/mapping-clarsach.html
My research on the nature of Scottish Gaelic performance culture has focused mainly around seanchas or discourse on tradition and the semiotics of words contained in such discourse (Falzett 2007-2010; 2010; 2012). However, as John Shaw... more
The conundrum of the title refers to the problem of reconciling an authentic repertoire for those wishing to use replicas of the three early wire strung harps, with what little real evidence exists. Since as in any such exercise the... more
According to the conventionally held view, the strathspey or…
Myth and Mist: The early history of the Harp in Scotland. Given at the 24th Edinburgh International Harp Festival. 5th April 2005. An exploration of the history of the Scottish harps viewed in their historical setting when the... more
In the light of a two-volume glossary, focusing upon musical terminology in particular and aesthetics in general, compiled by Angus Fraser (1800–1870), this article offers a brief lexicographical overview of the Gaelic word port, a term... more
When Disney and Pixar launched the computer-animated film Brave in June 2012, the film was praised for its strong flame-haired heroine and its lush landscapes inspired by the Scottish Highlands. This also marked the first time the “Disney... more
A look at the progress in the history of the Scottish harps over the last thirty years
The background to the MacLean Clephane Manuscript Harp Tunes. Given at the Irish Harp School in Kilkenny. August 2007
This article brings to light a previously understudied area of Gaelic work song, the songs of herring gutters.
Some articles exploring the background to the collection of pipe music known as the Campbell Canntaireachd published in the Piping Times Vol 58. No. 1 (October 2005), Vol 58. No. 2 (November 2005), Vol 58. No. 10 (July 2006) and Vol 67.... more
Article of Interview by Mike Paterson
This is a hymnbook that I recently published (and was layout, musical notation editor, graphic designer, etc.). It is a book of six modern religious hymns in Scottish Gaelic, written by Mòrag Burke. Mòrag hails from Big Pond in Cape... more
A hymnbook of ecumenical Gaelic psalms and hymns used in Nova Scotia Canada. The psalms were set in an original way where the singers would read the entire first verse and then flip the book for the next two or three verses.
Ranald MacAllan Og, of the MacDonalds of Morar has been the subject of numerous traditional tales but with few hard facts. Indeed that the traditional tales mostly have a supernatural element should arouse the suspicion that they are,... more
A review of the third and final volume of Campbell and Collinson's compilation of waulking songs from the Western Isles. This volume includes songs collected in Vatersay, Barra, South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula.
The song “Oran a Mhaorach” that appeared in the Sydney, Cape Breton-based Scottish Gaelic-language newspaper Mac-Talla (1892-1904), edited by Jonathan G. MacKinnon (1869-1944), on July 29, 1893 provides a rare glimpse into the... more