TEN new recordings of Gaelic songs have been added to an archive that encourages new generations of Gaelic speakers to chronicle songs in their area.
The Fuaran project, established by Fèisean nan Gàidheal, has published the recordings to coincide with Seachdain na Gàidhlig (World Gaelic Week).
The project aims to encourage a new generation of Gaelic speakers and singers to actively engage in the research and collection of Gaelic songs in their local area.
Six young people aged between 16 and 25 took part in the fourth series of Fuaran and the new recordings have been added to the Fuaran archive, which now consists of more than 100 songs.
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The participants were Shannon MacLean (Mull), Mirren Ward (Glasgow), Iris MacLeod (Edinburgh), Caitlin Yule (Cumbernauld), Aileas MacLeod (Isle of Skye), and Eilidh MacPhee (Inverness).
The participants carried out research in their own communities to find out more about the stories of the songs and over six months, had the opportunity to learn about the necessary skills for researching Gaelic song from experts such as Màiri MacFadyen, Ceitlin Lilidh and Gillebrìde MacMillan.
The songs were recorded at the Old Brewery run by Cromarty Arts Trust and the singers also attended workshops with Julie Fowlis, Eamon Doorley and Ewen Henderson (below with the group) to share their research with each other and have a sing together as well.
The videos for each song were recorded by John McDiarmid at the Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow.
Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s development officer, Abi Reid, who managed the project said: “It was a pleasure to work on the Fuaran project with such a lovely group. I was enjoyable to see their research come together over the months and we had a great, creative weekend in Cromarty last August. I’m really happy the videos are now online and hope the singers are feeling extremely proud of their achievements!
“Fèisean nan Gàidheal is very grateful to each singer who took part in Fuaran in 2023 and the songs that they found and the information that they researched will contribute greatly to the Fuaran archive. We would also like to thank Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Creative Scotland for funding to support the project.”
Ealasaid MacDonald, ceannard (CEO) of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, said: “Projects like Fuaran are very important to Gaelic culture. It's vital that young people are encouraged to engage with and learn about Gaelic songs and music, especially songs written in and about their own communities and the places around them. The fact they are then recorded and published for the rest of us to enjoy is a wonderful bonus.”
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