Fonn - The Campbells of Greepe

Fonn: The Campbells of Greepe *

Music and a Sense of Place in a Gaelic Family Song Tradition

The Whittaker Library acquired a copy of Kenna Campbell's family CD, Fonn, a couple of months ago, so we warmly welcome the publication of the accompanying book, published by Acair.  It's big and beautiful, has bi-lingual narrative about the family and their immersion in Gaelic music, and has lots of songs with their tunes, the Gaelic texts and English translations, not to mention contextual notes.  And the CD appears at the back.

So lovely is this that we're ordering a copy for our shelves straight away.  Watch this space!

* Greepe is in a remote corner of the Hebridean island of Skye.

Musical Limericks no.4. The Piper's Reply

Blue-Skye Thinking

There was a young man from Skye

Poked by a bass drone in the eye
He said to the blaggard
Your crunluath is haggard
And your hiharin fair makes me cry!

Fabulous image from Aros on Skye
http://www.aros.co.uk/wp-content/uploads//piper2.png

Authored by James Beaton, Piping Librarian and Project Officer, College of Piping, Glasgow

Musical Limericks no.1 (flute, oboe, clarinet)

Musical Limericks no.2 (bassoon)

Musical Limericks no.3 (trumpet, horn)

Musical Limericks no.4 (Piper, by James Beaton)

Musical Limericks no.5 (tuba, trombone)

Musical Limericks no.6 (saxophone)

Musical Limericks no.7 (violin, viola)

Musical Limericks no.8 (cello, double bass, timpani)

Looking ahead: Celtic Connections

A new diary for Christmas?  Get planning!

When you get your new diary, you'll want some dates to put in it. 

• Glasgow's Celtic Connections, 19th Jan - 5th Feb 2012.
• Then Broadford (Skye), for the Celtic Connections Big Top, 23rd-24th March 2012.

Homecoming

Home again ...

Scottish clans regularly have gatherings and homecoming events.  For example, Skye had a special event this summer, and next year there's one for Clan Maclean in Mull:-

• Skye - Glendale Trust annual homecoming event, June 2011
• Mull - Clan Maclean Association Centenary 2012

Thinking of homecoming, reminds us of the recent Homecoming Scotland in 2009.  Was it really two years ago?  Following on from Homecoming Scotland 2009, the  Scottish Government is building on this initiative with further celebrations.  2012 is the Year of Creative Scotland.  Watch this space.

• Creative Scotland homepage - bookmark this!
• Andrew Dixon - Reflections on a Creative Scotland (blog)

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Still thinking of homecomings, on this day, 23 October 1815, Highland song-collector Alexander Campbell arrived back in Edinburgh after his 3-month trip round the Hebrides.  Despite his Highland ancestry, Edinburgh was home.  He published his Albyn's Anthology collections  in 1816 and 1818. 

Know your Scottish musical history! On this day, 12th October 1711

William Tytler, Scottish music historian, was born in Edinburgh on 12th October 1711. 

Followers of the WhittakerLive blog will already know about Tytler, of course.  'Whittaker' blogged about him when it was the anniversary of his death on 12th September.  (He died in 1792.)  Remind yourself who he was here.

Also on this date, but many years later, the Scottish song-collector Alexander Campbell was beginning to head home after 3 months of hard toil gathering Hebridean traditional songs.  On 12th October 1815, Sandy arrived in Broadford Bay on 'a heavenly morning' to see fishing boats on a perfectly calm sea.  He admired the morning view before making his way by ferry to Glenelg, where he was going to interview Lieut. Donald MacCrimmon, 'the celebrated performer on the Great Highland Bagpipe'.  He spent the day with MacCrimmon and his family, enjoyed hearing his playing and discussing piping, and then had a night in the pub with Alexander Bruce, the Piper of Glenelg, continuing to increase his knowledge of the manner by which pipers were trained.

• Why not look up "MacCrimmon" in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Library catalogue? - look here.

Hebridean tradition comes to an end

On the BBC News website:- Skye crofter 'last' to swim his cattle between grazings. Read - and watch it - here. Surely this will prompt a Gaelic singer to write a song about it?