At her birth, a druid prophesies that Deirdre will be the most beautiful woman in the world. He warns, however, that if she is not killed immediately, her beauty will cause the downfall of her clan. Her father cannot bear to kill her, so he has her spirited away to be raised in solitude. When […]
This song was sung at the end of a waulking — a rhythmic, labor-intensive process of cloth-making that involves applying force to cloth, particularly wool, to make the fibers thicker and softer. Waulking songs are generally only sung by women, as men do not participate in the waulking at all. When the waulking proper has […]
Queen Maeve, jealous of the love of Fraoch for her daughter, sends him on a deadly quest for rowan berries that grow above the dragon’s mouth. Maeve’s daughter, guided by love, delivers a golden blade to Fraoch that helps him slay the beast; sadly, he himself is killed in the fray. Am béud chuir an […]
Scotland is full of legends of the selkie, an enchanted being that lives most of her life as a seal and comes to shore every so often to shed her seal skin and to mate with a man. If you find her skin and hide it from her, she will be unable to change out […]
Aillte is a warrior who, while traveling as a mercenary, falls in love with the wife of the powerful King of Lochlin. They run away together, taking refuge with the Fayne, Aillte’s clan in the Hebrides. Furious, the King of Lochlin descends with his army and the hosts of nine other clans upon the Fayne. […]
Morar is a small village on the west coast of Scotland. Every culture has call and response songs for communal physical labor, and this song has been sung during harvest for centuries. Heiteagan àirin huhuro, Heiteagan àirin hùo. A Mhór-thir bhoidheach, gorm do chò-ta, Fiamh an òir air t’aodainn. Heiteagan… Ianach canntaidh thu ‘s a’ […]
Sea Tangle Arranged by Marjory Kennedy-Fraser Voice, harp When I stumbled upon this cycle, I immediately noted that there were no recordings of these songs even though they were written in the early 20th century. Curious, I sang through some of them, and was captivated by the care and attention with which Marjory Kennedy-Fraser and […]