OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness, 20 October 2009

Margaret Bennett

WELL KNOWN folklorist Margaret Bennett has worked extensively over the years in researching the songs and stories of the many thousands of Scots who emigrated from Scotland over the centuries in search of a better life in the New World, and this presentation of some of those songs was staged as part of the Highland Homecoming programme.

Given the prominence of the event in the Homecoming programme, a more substantial audience might have been expected, but the OneTouch was pleasantly filled – but less than full – for the event. That may perhaps be due to a degree of general confusion and lack of information in communities about what Highland Homecoming actually is and what is happening, rather than the artistic performance.

A returned emigrant herself, the singer was joined by several friends on stage, in an evening which had the atmosphere more of a traditional taigh chéilidh (house céilidh) rather than a theatre performance, but this was entirely appropriate given the subject matter, and suited the mix of professional and amateur performers.

Most of the songs performed were well-known and well-loved Gaelic songs, such as ‘Illean Bidhibh Sunndach’ (Boys Be Happy), one of the more optimistic and hopeful of all emigrant songs and the great Uist anthem, ‘O Mo Dhùthaich’ (O My Country), sung by Gillebride MacMillan who seemed, at his own admission, to be still recovering vocally from a hard week at the Mod in Oban.

He had recovered by the second half, however, to sing the well loved ‘Pheigi a Ghràidh’ (Peggy My Love). Tenor Paul McCallum was in fine voice with his own selection of songs which included the most poignant ‘Gu math slàn do na fearaibh’ (Health to the Men), a song of homesickness and pathos for those who left the Badenoch area of the Highlands in the 19th century.

His faultless and intimate rendition of ‘I’ll take you home again Kathleen’ (often believed to be an Irish song but in fact written by an American) was much appreciated by the audience, and ‘Gleann Bhaile Chaoil’ (Ballachulish Glen), that anthem beloved of Gaelic choirs, brought enthusiastic participation from the audience. For professional vocal quality, there was no one to touch Paul on this evening.

However, emotional and telling songs such as ‘Calum Sgaire’, sung by Margaret herself, are equally impressive in terms of the stories they tell and the feelings of homesickness and nostalgia they may impart to their audience. Ethel MacCallum of Tiree showcased some of the songs and tunes from her new release of her own compositions which arrived literally onstage for the encore, and she was joined by a group of the Ochtertyre singers for some of the songs.

Some of these singeable songs are destined to become céilidh favourites of the future. Piper Jamie Macdonald Reid performed a few short sets of traditional, authentic Highland dance, not competition style, to music performed on fiddle and clàrsach by Fiona MacAskill and Heather Downie .

Perhaps there was an important opportunity missed here with the absence of any form of multimedia backdrop, or indeed any form of backdrop, the stage being set in plain black drapes with no additional lighting or stage effects. Some pictures of the lands to which the emigrants sailed, or their journeys, would have vastly increased the audiences knowledge of the stories and the effect of emigration on the Highlands.

Indeed, the woman seated next to me, a non Gaelic speaker, said she enjoyed the songs but basically felt excluded because she did not understand the language and felt it was a bit of a ‘closed shop’.

Nonetheless, it was a pleasant enough céilidh evening which would fit well in any village hall, and good that at last Gaelic was given some prominence in the Homecoming programme. There are few other Gaelic focussed events in the programme and those that are there deserve the same degree of financial support and media attention.

After all, why is a Highland Homecoming being held at all? Surely the songs and stories of the Emigrant should be at the heart of the event – they are the ones who left and sometimes never returned, and they are the people and stories we should be celebrating.

Some of the more lauded events in the Highland Homecoming would appear to have precious little to do with anything related to the Diaspora. So let’s celebrate events such as this performance – it may not have been as musically slick as others, but at least the stories and songs come from the heart.

Fiona MacKenzie performs her own recital of Gaelic Emigrant Songs at Brodie Castle, Nairn, on 25 October (8pm) as part of Highland Homecoming.

© Fiona MacKenzie, 2009

Links

• Highland Homecoming
• Fiona MacKenzie