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Gaelic music is today alive, well and in better shape than for many years. It is served with more imagination and inspiration than ever before. Only the compositional element is weak; however, what this lacks in quantity it make up for in quality in the shape of Calum and Rory MacDonald of the group Runrig. Our current riches stem from a recent revival of fortunes. For much of the century, right up until the end of the 1970s, everything Gaelic was on the wain and to the youth of the Highlands, the culture was the opposite of "cool". During these years, only a few stood up for Gaelic. The current revival has brought money and prestige to the culture, and some, who a few years before would have admitted to speaking Gaelic, have jumped eagerly on the bandwagon. However, previous revivals have come and gone, and it remains to be seen how much of this one survives once the media gloss has rubbed off.
Gaelic is not static, in fact there is an obvious and ongoing evolution taking place if one compares earlier collections of music with the current tradition. In this final chapter we consider some of the more modern outside influences, such as rock, pop and folk on Gaelic music and also what influence Gaelic has on these in return.
The National Mod is the premier festival of Scottish Gaelic music and is modelled loosely on the Welsh Eisteddfod. The first Mod (although not at the time called the "National Mod") took place in Oban in 1892. It was organised by An Comunn Gaidhealach, also known as the "Highland Association" a year after its foundation. From 1905 onwards, the National Mod was supplemented by smaller local Mods. Basically, the format of the Mod is a number of competitions in choral and solo singing, instrumental playing, recitation and composition. The most important of these competitions is the primary prize for solo singing - The male / female Gold Medals. This competition has been won, in the past, by most of the greatest Gaelic singers performing today and is a good indicator of future talent. The choral competitions are also popular and choirs from all over Scotland and occasionally from further afield attend.
The Mod is important for several reasons: Firstly, it attracts national media coverage making it an important vehicle for raising awareness of Gaelic culture and related issues. Secondly, it certainly helps to keep tradition alive - for example, it exposes hundreds of young people to Gaelic music in school choirs. Finally, it brings Gaels from all parts of the Highlands together and fosters personal and cultural links; it also brings delegations from Ireland and Man into contact with the Scottish Gaelic "scene".
Another interesting and important aspect of the Mod is its role in expanding Gaelic Culture by introducing it to new forms. An excellent example of this is the Gaelic choir: Before the advent of the Mod, formal Gaelic choral singing did not exist, but now it is a large and important part of Gaelic musical tradition, with dozens of Gaelic choirs throughout Scotland. Many interesting two and four part harmony arrangements of Gaelic materiel have been made for these choirs. It also played a part in the emergence of the Gaelic folk group and now has a thriving "fringe" of artists not competing.
Not everything in the garden is rosy however, and Mod regularly comes under robust criticism from Gaels and non-Gaels alike. Some of these criticisms do have a basis and certain parts of the Mod system do need to be modernised and overhauled. Many of the competitions are based on the outmoded and non-authentic "drawing room" style of singing, it is often amusing to hear a pianist play a starting note for a competitor and then hear him / her start singing in a completely different key! The competitions put an emphasis on formal musical values, which are inappropriate for Gaelic singing. Often, the competitor keeps to a stilted style of singing quite at odds with the tradition, with no ornamentation and in strict rhythm - this should result in points being deducted from a performance - not added! Some of the problems seem to originate with the musical adjudicators. Gaelic music is not simple and in many respects is not related to other folk traditions, only someone with an in-depth knowledge of the music?s unique forms is really qualified to judge interpretation.
One of the great delights of Gaelic song is the way in which the traditional material can be used in many forms from solo singing to rock music to orchestral arrangements. At the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, Gaelic folkgroups emerged, inspired by the wider folk revival. These groups were based on singers and acoustic guitar. They took the basic songs and breathed new life into them. At the time, most of the recorded Gaelic material was either solo, piano accompanied "Mod type" singing of the drawing room style or singing with an elaborate accompaniment.
Two groups, both from Lewis, were particularly popular at the time: The Lochies, who had a large local following and Na h-Oiganach, who were extremely important in later developments. Na h-Oiganaich consisted of Brother and Sister Donald and Margaret MacLeod and Glasgow man Noel Eadie. One of the reasons for their importance is that, as well as traditional material, they used new songs by The Melbost Bard, Murdo MacPharlan (see section 4.7), this turned their music very much into a living art. The group acted as ambassadors for Scottish Gaelic through their attendance at international festivals. Their ground breaking work and use of new material makes them the most important Gaelic group before Runrig (although not the most successful in terms of records sold).
Na h-Oiganaich inspired a number of other Gaelic groups, including the extremely successful Capercallie, who took Gaelic- folk into the 1990s by adding a rhythm and electric keyboard element, fulfilling a similar role to the Donegal group Clannad. A number of current bands/folkgroups have emerged since these first groups, including: MacTalla, Cliar, Mouthmusic and Tannas. These groups produce innovative and interesting arrangements of Gaelic song, often by combining it with elements of other traditions (for example African rhythms in the case of MouthMusic). However, they also keep the u nique scale and melodic structure of the song, so preserving its unique Gaelic "feel".
In the closing years of the 20th century, there has been no greater influence on Gaelic music than the rockband Runrig. Their popularity throughout Scotland and further afield has led directly to the present Gaelic revival and they have been responsible for the large increase in awareness of Gaelic culture among many non-Gaels. But much more than this, the quality, inventiveness and quantity of songs by their two song writers - brothers Calum and Rory MacDonald makes them the most important Gaelic songwriters to have ever lived.
Runrig was formed as a "holiday" band with members Calum and Rory MacDonald and Blair Douglas. Douglas left and became an important figure in other modern Gaelic music. Runrig meanwhile expanded and widened their horizons, releasing their first album "Play Gaelic" in 1978. The format of the band changed and solidified with the addition of two excellent instrumentalists who have remained the musical backbone of the group ever since - Iain Bayne on drums and Malcolm Jones on Guitair. All this culminated in the release of two classic albums - "Recovery" and "Heartland". After these artistic triumphs, the music because progressively more commercial and polished, but of less artistic merit - although the Gaelic songwriting has remained of a consistently high standard.
The main importance of Runrig from the point of view of Gaelic music lies in their compositions. Calum MacDonald started writing first, and shouldered more of the burden in their earlier efforts, but was soon joined by his brother Rory. Like many young Gaels, they had to first rediscover Gaelic music, the catalyst for this seems to have been the great Scalpay singer Angus MacLeod. They were influenced by The Melbost Bard and the success of Na h-Oganaich and also by rock music writers such as Bruce Springsteen and others and melded all these influences into their own unique compositions.
The MacDonald's Gaelic songs are wide ranging, including songs based on Oran Luaidh such as An Toll Dubh, on Puirt a beul such as Mairi and even on Gaelic psalms, An Udhal as Airde. Quite apart from these excellent songs - enough to establish a songwriter as one of the foremost in Gaelic, they have expanded traditional forms while still preserving the uniqueness of the music through its scales and melodic structure. For example, they have expanded the Puirt a Beul form by adding sub-beats to the traditional rhythm in the chorus of the song mentioned above. They have also expanded the material of the songs for example: anti-war in Tir an Airm, how historical events shape current lives in Siol Ghoraidh and the relationship between the natural and supernatural world in Cnoc na Feille. Only history will decide on their final importance, but already they have written a classic song which has passed into the Gaelic cannon in the form of Cearcal a Chuain. This ensures that long after fickle fashion has consigned their rock group to history, the songs will continue to be sung for as long as Gaelic is spoken. The Gaelic world is in dire need of a songbook of their material.
In many European countries, "Art Music", commonly (and incorrectly) referred to as "Classical Music", has been strongly influenced by local folk tradition. An excellent example is Hungry, where the great composer Bela Bartok collected many traditional folksongs. These later influenced his own compositions and like many of the greatest composers allowed him, in combination with other influences, to develop his own unique musical language. This school of music, strongly influenced by folk traditions (sometimes stories and the natural environment, rather than music) was influential from the late 19th to the mid 20th century and was called "The Nationalist School". The Nationalist School produced most of the 20th century's greatest composers.
Unfortunately Scotland, let alone the Highlands, has never produced an art music composer of the stature of Bartok or his contemporaries. However, a host of lesser composers have used Gaelic material in their compositions. These range from minor attempts such as Malcolm Arnold's Scottish Dances to full symphonies. Perhaps the most important figure was the English composer Granville Bantock (1868 - 1946), who had a strong interest in "Celtic" music and especially Gaelic music. He composed several pieces using traditional Gaelic forms and melodies, including the "Hebridean Symphony" and arranged Gaelic songs in harmony for Mod competitions. In more recent times, the well-known composer James MacMillan has tried to incorporate elements of Gaelic music such as psalm singing into his work.
None of these attempts have been particularly successful. Probably because (as I hope I've shown in this site), Gaelic music is a complex and diverse living tradition who's forms require years of study to fully understand. This means that a composer would have to make it a lifetime's study before attempting to use it. However, the music - possibly the most interesting and beautiful folk tradition in the world, lies waiting to be transformed by a composer of the right stature with a love of the tradition. And since the great Art Music of the world is among mankind's most noble achievements, perhaps Gaelic music's finest hour is yet to come.
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