New Accordion Music Inspired by Highland Folklore: Tales of the Brahan Seer (Part I)
A few years back, while taking a short online course in contemporary composition with Cardiff University, I composed a series of six miniature pieces for accordion, inspired by the folklore of The Brahan Seer, a legendary figure of old from the Scottish Highlands. Known in Gaelic as Coinneach Odhar, or Dark Kenneth (Mackenzie), he is surrounded by countless tales and mysteries. During that autumn and winter's study, as I worked on the music, I was inspired to open with a little nocturne about Kenneth's mother and the ghost of the fair lady, resulting in a piece I called 'The Encounter of Baile-na-Cille.'
The story goes that one summer's night, Coinneach’s (Kenneth’s) mother was out watching over the cattle near a quiet country burial ground when, just as the clock struck midnight, something strange began to unfold. The earth shifted, and the graves slowly opened, releasing the spirits of the dead into the warm night air. Silent and ethereal, they floated away in every direction, only to drift back a short while later. But one grave stayed open, its dark entrance beckoning. Drawn by curiosity, she stepped closer and, with a sudden instinct, placed her distaff, a spindle used for winding wool, across the opening, convinced it might somehow stop the wandering spirit from returning to its final rest.
Before long, a ghostly figure appeared, but she was unable to return to her grave. She asked Kenneth's mother to remove the distaff. As the conversation continued, it became clear that Kenneth’s mother was a remarkably brave woman. The spirit explained she had come from Scandinavia, the daughter of the King of Norway. She recounted how she had drowned in the frigid Norwegian waters, her lifeless body drifting across the sea until it washed ashore nearby, where she was laid to rest in the very grave she now haunted.
Touched by the fair lady’s moving story, Coinneach’s mother let the spirit return to her rest. As a token of gratitude for her bravery and kindness, the fair lady offered her a remarkable gift; instructions to visit the loch and seek out a small, shimmering blue stone. This stone was to be given to her son, and with it came an extraordinary power, the ability to glimpse into the future. Little did they know, this enchanted gift would weave itself into the fabric of Highland folklore, becoming a cornerstone in the enduring legend of the Brahan Seer.
The Encounter of Baile-na-Cille by Stewart Walker.
