Gaelic Song with Christine Primrose

www.christineprimrose.com

**Please note our accommodation options have changed.  We now offer accommodation on a FULL-BOARD basis only.  Please see our accommodation page for further details.**

In this 5-day course, students will be introduced to a variety of Gaelic songs from the Highlands and Islands, covering melody, words and their meaning.  The historical context of the song will also be discussed and where possible information given on the composers and the influence of political, social and cultural events in the songs. Whilst studying these songs, students will also receive some basic Gaelic grammar and Gaelic pronunciation.  A basic knowledge of Gaelic is desirable but not a requirement to attend the course which will be conducted in a mixture of Gaelic and English.

Throughout the week, the following styles and subjects in particular will be explored:

Puirt-a-beul (Mouth-music)
Lullabies
Waulking songs
Love songs
Homesickness, Nostalgia and Emigration  
Sailing
The Supernatural

This course is therefore open to anyone who has an interest in Gaelic song and they are not expected to be stage performers, although the ability to sing as part of a group will be an advantage!  At the end of the course, students will have a small repertoire of Gaelic songs to take away with them.  You may wish to take a small recording device/Dictaphone with you to record some of the songs covered in the course.

Acclaimed Gaelic singer, Christine Primrose who hails from Carloway on the west side of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides. Christine has been singing ever since she was a little girl and grew up immersed in traditional song. Over the years she has travelled throughout the world – to the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and various countries across Europe – to sing, and share her a deep understanding and connection with her native language and culture. Her recent accolades include ‘Gaelic Singer of the Year’ at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards in 2009.  Christine is also in demand as a tutor and has held classes all over the world and is currently a tutor on the (BA) Gaelic and Traditional Music Course at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. She also launched her new album in 2017 Gràdh is Gonadh – Guth ag aithris (Love and Loss – A Lone Voice). In 2018 Christine received an MBE for all the work that she has done for the Gaelic language and culture, Gaelic education and Gaelic song, nationally and internationally.

For further information and to hear a sample of Christine’s singing, please click here.