Three research projects based on audio material from the University of Edinburgh’s archives are bringing traditional Scottish music and song back to life for a modern audience.
The School of Scottish Studies Archive (SSA) and the Greig-Duncan Folk Song collection are a valuable source of information on Scotland’s rich heritage of music and song. Researchers wanted to find a way to bring old and forgotten audio materials to a modern audience, and to learn more about the role of tradition in Scotland and internationally.
Under the umbrella of ‘Reinvigorating Traditional Arts in Scotland’, three research projects have combined traditional music with new media. By mixing the old with the new, researchers have found a unique way to communicate Scottish heritage to the public.
Volumes 5-8 of the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection were published in new editions between 1993 and 2003. Dr Campbell was a co-author of volume 8 and wrote notes on the music in the collection. She also edited ‘A Selection for Performers’ published in 2009.
Dr West’s work uses the Scottish Studies Archives at the University of Edinburgh to analyse how musicians today use traditional music. From 2008 to 2013, he focused on a modern revival in piping and singing. Dr West is himself an expert composer and performer. This meant he could take part in the research project as a musician, as well as an academic.
In partnership with the BBC and the National Trust for Scotland, the website Tobar an Dualchais (www.tobarandualchais.com) was created in 2010. This website provides public access to over 34,000 oral recordings of Gaelic and Scots recordings.