Celebrating Auld Year’s Night or Hogmanay with a gathering of family and friends has long been a Scottish tradition. So, for what is also the seventh day of Christmas, I’ve chosen music from Scotland. It’s from the tradition of puirt à beul or mouth music, a form of song which sets Gaelic lyrics to instrumental dance tunes. It was originally a way of providing music for dancing when no instruments were available. These songs feature a strong rhythm and tongue twister like lyrics. Here’s Hug Air a’ Bhonaid Mhoir performed by the wonderful Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis. You can also hear Julie Fowlis presenting ‘Inside Music‘ on BBC Radio 3 tomorrow at 1pm.
Month: December 2021
On the Sixth Day of Christmas
The most relaxing and peaceful Christmas television for me this year, was the film of Norway’s Sami reindeer herders guiding their animals’ migration, 160 miles across the region of Finnmark. It’s a trek across an expanse of snow, hundreds of reindeer, no commentary, just the natural sounds of the breeze, the animals and the song of the Sami people known as yoik. It’s a sound which seems to belong in this landscape, calling out across vast mountainous regions and a centuries old way of life.
The programme is available on BBC iPlayer for a year.
On the Fifth Day of Christmas
Carol of the Bells composed by Mykola Leonovitch in about 1916, is based on a Ukrainian folk chant, Shchedryk, a traditional New Year song. Of the many versions created since, it is perhaps well known as part of John Williams’ soundtrack for the film ‘Home Alone’ where it has new lyrics in English. The tune happens to sound great on the cello. I am biased: I play the cello and loved playing this piece with my students. I like this version by Daniel Demian which weaves in two other melodies. Warning: if you don’t like heights, this clip contains mountain top views.
Liv's Music World 