'Gaelic Songs of Drink and Revelry' with Margaret Stewart

Dates: 29/07/13 - 02/08/13
Price: £180 (£110 for students)
Tutor: Maighread Stewart
Eiligible for ILA funding: No

Book now!

Photo courtesy of Euphoria Photography

As part of the 2013 year of celebration at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, we are offering an exciting new short course in our themed Gaelic song series, taught by renowned singer and folklorist, Margaret Stewart. 

This five day course will explore many of the songs relating to drink and revelry, ranging from celebration of such drinks as whisky, wine and brandy;  panegyric praise of hospitality, humorous wedding songs and indeed songs of the temperance movement,  The course will also feature songs of regret at over-indulgence and will span the ages from the time of the famous MacMhuirich bards of Clanranald to those composed in more recent times.

The course will also offer the chance of a visit to the distillery of Skye’s own whisky, Talisker.  Here students will not only learn how the MacAskills established this distillery but also have the chance to sample some “Uisge Beatha”, purely in the pursuit of academic understanding of course!

BIOGRAPHY
Margaret Stewart was born and raised in the village of Upper Coll on the Isle of Lewis, where song and poetry surrounded her as a child.  This brought about a love of music in her and she went on to win the coveted Gold Medal at the Royal National Mod in Airdrie in 1993.  Since then, her reputation as a singer has travelled far and wide.

Margaret is also widely admired as a singing teacher and many singers, young and old, have benefited from her expertise at various venues from Ceòlas in South Uist, to Willie Clancy's Fèis in Ireland, the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow and here at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.  Margaret has also put her knowledge of music and song to good use in the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o' Riches project, where she was one of the experts tasked with cataloguing songs from the School of Scottish Studies archive in Edinburgh.

Margaret has done much collaborative work with other singers and musicians, and the two albums she made with piper Allan Macdonald from Glenuig, Fhuair mi Pòg and Colla Mo Rùn, are widely acclaimed, as is her own album, Togaidh mi mo Sheòlta.

As well as acquiring the title "Gaelic Singer of the Year" in 2008, Margaret was the Gaelic Musician in Residence.at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig last year researching Gaelic songs connected to war and strife.

For more information on Margaret Stewart please click here  and to hear a sample of her music, please click here.