Episode 1. Rocks and Bones
Sunday, 7th January 2007, 5.05pm, Radio Scotland
John Purser’s odyssey through Scotland’s musical history begins in the Stone Age with sacred stones, whistles and bones, an encounter with some Druids, and some spooked schoolchildren. Fiddler Chris Stout introduces us to Shetland’s ‘little people’, the trowies, and then things take a more earthy turn with a fertilisation rite in Orkney’s chambered cairn Maes Howe, and the terrifying sound of Bronze Age horns inside the Duke of Hamilton’s giant phallic mausoleum.
Episode Playlist
- Trad. - Da Day Dawn
Chris Stout, fiddle
BBC recording - Tiree ringing rock
Rick Bamford and friends
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust) - Druid Rock
Druids & John Purser
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust) - Arn Hill rock gong
from John Purser’s collection - Kilmartin Lithophone
Rick Bamford
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust) - Stone Whistles
Simon O’Dwyer
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust) - Trad. - Hylta Dance
Chris Stout, fiddle
BBC recording - Calling birds/Swan Bone
Rod Cameron
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust) - Eagle Bone
Rod Cameron
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust) - Maes Howe
Simon O'Dwyer, bronze age horn (dord iseal)
AN Other, crotal (John Purser's collection/Sabhal Mòr Ostaig) - Woodlands Reel
Simon O’Dwyer, bronze age horns
CD Horns of Ancient Ireland (Coìrn na hÉireann) - Wolf Dream
Simon O’Dwyer & John Purser
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust) - The Shadow of Light
Simon O’Dwyer & John Purser
CD The Kilmartin Sessions (Kilmartin House Trust)
