This is a past event
Elphinstone Institute Public Lecture Series
The North-West Highlands and Western Islands of Scotland are home to a wealth of Gaelic spiritual singing which has spanned centuries and underpinned Highland culture and identity in many ways. These psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and the traditions associated with them, have helped form the backbone of cultural and religious expression in the region but have also been impacted by growing secularisation and language decline in recent years.
Since 2018, Frances Wilkins has been conducting fieldwork - interviewing singers and recording their songs and memories, discovering more about the repertoires of sacred songs from the region and which resonate so strongly in terms of cultural and spiritual identity. Drawing mostly on music from the Catholic and Protestant traditions this talk aims to introduce us to the wealth of spiritual singing in the region, some of the key songs and their composers, and the people who sing them today. Wilkins will explore the meaning of the songs within the communities, whilst addressing some of the pressing concerns amongst singers for the future of these traditions.
- Speaker
- Frances Wilkins
- Hosted by
- Elphinstone Institute
- Venue
- MacRobert Building, MR051