The exhibition, Seinn Spioradal: Sacred Soundscapes of the Highlands and Islands, was launched at Museum nan Eilean at the weekend and will be touring Highland and Island communities throughout 2024 and 2025.
Research to highlight traditional forms of Gaelic singing has now been turned into an exhibition which will tour Hebridean communities in 2024 and 2025.
Dr Frances Wilkins, a Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, has spent the last six years undertaking fieldwork in the West Highlands and Western Isles and exploring sacred and spiritual singing from the region.
To help support the safeguarding of the tradition Dr Wilkins has been documenting and recording Gaelic sacred and spiritual singing to create an archive and bring the music to a wider audience.
Her research will form the basis of the new interactive exhibition, Seinn Spioradail: Sacred Soundscapes of the Highlands and Islands which she has co-curated with designer Ronan Martin.
The exhibition is at Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway from 20th January – 12th April 2024 before touring Highland and Island communities including Balallan (Lewis) from April - June 2024, Portree (Skye) from June - November 2024, and Lochmaddy (N.Uist) from December 2024 - February 2025. Visitors can learn more about sacred song traditions of the region and explore sound recordings, film, objects, and a digital archive, soundmap and interactive virtual tour.
Many of the sound recordings, photographs and videos made during the project form the basis of a website and online digital archive (at www.seinn.org), developed in partnership with the Open Virtual Worlds team at St Andrews University. A CD and book publication showcasing some of the sound recordings is due to be released later in 2024 and sold within the exhibition.
Dr Wilkins adds: “Language is a way to express culture. The deep spiritual connection it has with its people and the role which music plays in this, must be recognised and supported into the future if we are to keep some of the most precious aspects of Gaelic culture alive.”