Marjory Kennedy-Fraser

Music knows many different forms in Scotland, as a result of her radically different traditions: the Lowland Scots one, the Gaelic Highland one, and that one represented by the north-east, greatly influenced by ancient links with Norway. Poet Kenneth Steven chooses to explore the stories of five composers, almost seeking to weave a piece of tweed from the journeys of their lives as musicians.

The Celtic Revival: Marjory Kennedy-Fraser

Marjory Kennedy-Fraser was to become one of the leading lights of the Celtic Revival, born into an intensely musical family in Perth. This was no longer the Highland, Gaelic-speaking town it had been on the edge of the Highlands. That Highland line had moved north; history and politics re-defining the map. Marjory Kennedy-Fraser was born in 1857; she studied singing in Milan and Paris. This was an intense time of collecting; across Europe folk were going into the forests and hills to bring back folktales and songs. A time too of nationalism, of fascination for folk costumes and fiddle tunes and half-forgotten dialects. Marjory had had Gaelic-speaking ancestors, but the language itself had been denied her and she was acutely aware of that.

Presenter Kenneth Steven
Producer Mark Rickards

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 3