On the Seventh Day of Christmas

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.

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