Musician Aidan O’Rourke is transforming National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh’s reading rooms into musical performance spaces for storytelling, music and song. Alongside musicians Allan MacDonald and Sarah-Jane Summers, and storyteller Eddie Linehan, O’Rourke has lined-up Beacon – two performances of Gaelic folklore on the evening of Saturday 30th Sept.

The Library is showing an exhibition, Sgeul | Story: Folktales from the Scottish Highlands, telling the story of John Francis Campbell (or Iain Òg Ìle), who fell in love with Gaelic language and culture in the 19th-century. He working alongside local storytellers and scribes, collecting and printing Gaelic folktales that were in danger of being lost, as the oral tradition dwindled. His collection of archival material and library books is held in the National Library.

George Webb Dasent, who first translated Icelandic sagas into English, wrote to John Francis Campbell about the stories Campbell – who served as Secretary to the Lighthouse Commission – had related to him, describing the ‘…beautiful likening of light to sound and stories.’ Struck by this analogy, O’Rourke adopted Beacon as the theme, adding, ‘…I thought we could all take a walk together through the reading rooms of the National Library. I imagine one of these beams, illuminating glimpses of the various riches that stimulated Campbell.’

The stories link to Ossianic ballads, which will be told by Eddie Linehan – one of the few remaining practising seanchaithe, or traditional Irish lore-keepers. There will be the chance to hear Gaelic in story, song and music from Allan McDonald – one of Scotland’s great pipers and singers, and O’Rourke will contribute Highland fiddle tunes, alongside Sarah-Jane Summers who plays Norwegian Hardanger fiddle – a nod to Campbell’s fascination for Scandinavia.

The event will take people on a walk through the National Library’s building on George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, starting in the vaulted foyer and finishing in its Special Collections Reading Room, which enjoys panoramic views towards Arthur’s Seat. There will be two performances, at 6pm and 8:30pm, as well as a chance to see the exhibition. There will be a bar selling refreshments, including alcohol, soft drinks and snacks.

Tickets are available via Eventbrite, with limited availability.

This event follows a performance of Heroic Gaelic Tales In Modern Music: a series of new pieces by composer Ned Bigham, performed by the Edinburgh Quartet and Mhairi McMillan on 23rd September, pictured below. The pieces are reinterpretations of the Gaelic heroic lays or laoidhean, which formed a central part of traditional Gaelic culture in the later Middle Ages.

Update (Oct 2024): following the performance last year of ‘Heroic Gaelic Tales In Modern Music’ (see below), an EP of songs will be released on Friday 25th Oct. The series of new pieces, by composer Ned Bigham and performed by the Edinburgh Quartet and Mhairi McMillan, revives a captivating chapter of Gaelic heritage. Entitled ‘The Heroic Ballads’, the recording showcases the laoidhean or lays that were central to Gaelic culture during the late Middle Ages.