event details

"Hallaig" - A Celebration of Sorley MacLean

Sunday 18th January 2009, 7.30pm

City Halls : Grand Hall

Please Note: This is a past event event.

Somhairle MacGill-Eain (1911-1996), better known to the wider world as Sorley MacLean, was the pivotal modernising figure in contemporary Gaelic poetry.

Commissioned by the Sorley MacLean Trust, which seeks to celebrate his artistic legacy and bring his work to a wider audience, tonight’s performance comprises new settings of MacLean’s poems, along with instrumental pieces inspired by his life and work, composed by leading traditional and classical musicians.

As well as material originally premiered as part of the Highland 2007 programme, the concert will feature a brand-new composition, Hallaig, by Stuart MacRae known for his astonishingly original and powerfully expressive works, often inspired by aspects of the natural landscape.

Performers include some of today’s finest Gaelic singers, including James Graham, Jenna Cumming, Alasdair Whyte and Kirsteen MacDonald, along with the Glasgow Gaelic Musical Association Choir and the Islay Junior Gaelic Choir. The all-star house band, comprises Gordon Gunn (fiddle), Dougie Pincock (pipes), Brian McAlpine (accordion), Christine Hanson (cello) Jack Evans (guitar) and Mary McCarthy.