New Gaelic song resource hits right key

The project was established by Fèisean nan Gàidheal with financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund Young Roots scheme and delivered over two years in partnership with Tobar an Dualchais and Lews Castle College UHI.

In total 22 songs have been researched and recorded anew by nine young Gaelic singers aged 16 to 24. Throughout the project singers received mentoring support from folklore specialists and respected Gaelic cultural tradition bearers and had the opportunity to work with a range of audio and visual professionals.

The singers are Anna MacDonald (Tiree), Ceitlin LR Smith (Lewis), Ellen MacDonald (Inverness), Isabelle Bain (Lewis), Jamie MacDonald (Tiree), John James Galbraith (Barra), Mairi MacLennan (Lewis), Morvyn Menzies (Perthshire) and Robbie Greig (Edinburgh).

This research has resulted in a new educational resource of Gaelic song, distributed on CD free of charge to fèisean, schools, arts organisations, heritage groups and libraries.

A corresponding free online resource has also been created where all song recordings and lyrics are available for streaming and download. A video showcase of each song – sub-titled in Gaelic and English – is also available to view on the website.

Fèisean nan Gàidheal Development Officer and Fuaran co-ordinator Rachel Harris said: “We are delighted with the outcomes of the Fuaran project and are very proud of the achievements of our young team – they have put in a huge amount of work and the standard of the performances is very high indeed.

“We hope that Fuaran will be a useful and engaging resource for singers, teachers and audiences and encourage more research into Gaelic song.”

Fuaran can be explored at: www.feisean.org/fuaran.