Traditional music
Far from being reduced to folklore, traditional Scottish music is alive and well and frequently resounds throughout the country. Starting with the iconic bagpipes, the national pride whose music fills the streets at every opportunity. The bagpipes are closely linked to Gaelic culture and are divided into two main traditional styles: Ceòl Mór and Ceòl Beag (literally "big music" and "little music"). The first, Ceòl Mór, includes the pibroch style, a slow, more classical form of traditional bagpipe music. The second, Ceòl Beag, includes dance music such as jigs, reels, strathspeys and slow airs.
There are bagpipe competitions, which are a good opportunity to hear the best bagpipers, both solo and in pipe bands. The Scottish ensembles Glasgow Police Pipe Band and Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band are the great world champions of the genre with respectively 20 and 16 victories in the World Pipe Band Championships. As for soloists, two great Scottish pipers to remember are Gordon Duncan and Fred Morrison.
Almost as famous and emblematic as the bagpipes, the Celtic harp (called clàrsach in Scottish Gaelic) is also considered a national instrument. Until the late Middle Ages, the clàrsach was the most popular instrument in Scotland, and harpers were important figures often employed by kings. Since then, the instrument has gone through successive waves of affection and disinterest, but in recent decades it seems to have returned for good to the hearts of the Scots. The latest generation of harpists offers some very interesting names to get an idea of the instrument such as Savourna Stevenson, Maggie MacInnes or the group Sileas.
Last traditional instrument among the most common, the fiddle is none other than the Scottish fiddle. It appeared in the country at the end of the 17th century, and has acquired several particularities over time, such as being played on several strings simultaneously and often being held on the elbow or the chest, instead of the chin. Aly Bain and Alasdair Fraser are the two great Scottish representatives of the fiddle.
One of the best opportunities - because it is so authentic - to crossbreed with Scottish musical traditions are the ceilidh (pronounced "keïli"). Originally referring to gatherings of storytelling, music and dancing, this Gaelic word now describes traditional dance and music balls that play a vital role in the social and cultural life of the Scots. They are mostly seen in pubs in the summer or sometimes in the street. Another good opportunity to see ceilidhs is theArran Folk Festival in Brodick, which organizes concerts around ceilidhs during three days in early June. Other very popular traditional music events are the Shetland Folk Festival in Lerwick (late April to early May) or the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow (last two weeks of January), which are dedicated to Celtic music in all its diversity, like the Hebridean Celtic Festival on the Isle of Lewis. On the Isle of Skye, there are also two interesting events: the Feis An Eilean Skye during two months (!) as well as the Accordion & Fiddle Festival which during a weekend in May puts the accordion and the fiddle on a pedestal. More focused on dance, let's also mention the Highlands & Islands Music & Dance Festival, mainly based in Oban.
Folklore
In the 1950s and 1960s, a wave of revivalist folk music swept through Scotland. Adding to the "voice + guitar" format traditional themes or melodic motifs, sometimes even Gaelic, this Scottish folk was first carried by Kenneth McKellar (1927-2010), Moira Anderson (born in 1938) and Andy Stewart (1933-1993) - who sang sentimental ballads accompanied by accordions and bagpipes. These artists benefited greatly from the development of radio and television in the country. At the same time, a star duo emerged, Robin Hall & Jimmy McGregor, considered the first real big stars of Scottish folk and exported throughout the UK. In the 1970s, bands like the Irish-Scottish The Boys of the Lough began to mix traditional folk and rock, quickly followed by Battlefield Band and Runrig and then Capercaillie a little later.
These are the bands that gradually forged a new genre, the "Celtic rock" which, as its name indicates, is a rock incorporating Celtic instrumentations or themes and which has massively contributed to promote a pan-Celtic culture. In Scotland, JSD The Natural Acoustic Band and especially Five Hand Reel were pioneers of the genre, paving the way for other big bands like Big Country or Wolfstone in the 1980s. If the punk and new wave waves have diminished the interest of the public for Celtic rock, the spirit of the genre has crossed the generations and made grandchildren. First in the 1990's with bands such as Shooglenifty and Peatbog Faeries, then more recently with Mànran or Tide Lines who have revived the spirit of Celtic rock by adapting it to the current pop-rock canons.
Classical music
Contrary to the English neighbor, few Scottish composers have acquired international fame. The first to make a real impact on musical history was undoubtedly Robert Carver (1485-1570), who remained famous for his polyphonic choral music. Later, in the middle of the 19th century, the visits of Chopin and Mendelssohn brought about a revival of Scottish classical music. Thus, at the end of the 19th century, a national school of orchestral and operatic music in Scotland clearly emerged, whose principal composers were Alexander Mackenzie (1847-1935), William Wallace (1860-1940), Learmont Drysdale (1866-1909) and Hamish MacCunn (1868-1916). The first, Mackenzie, is undoubtedly the most famous. After studying in Germany and Italy, he mixed Scottish themes with German Romanticism and produced some of the great works of his time, such as the three Scottish Rhapsodies (1879, 1880, 1911), Pibroch for violin and orchestra (1889) and the Scottish Piano Concerto (1897), all of which include Scottish themes and folk melodies. A prolific and pivotal work that establishes Mackenzie as one of the fathers of the British musical renaissance at the end of the century. William Wallace's work was more romantic, particularly influenced by Liszt and Wagner, while Drysdale's was full of Scottish themes, as was Hamish MacCunn's work, which was very much inspired by Scottish folk songs. A great pianist to mention was Frederic Lamond (1868-1948), a pupil of Liszt and one of his best interpreters.
After the First World War, the three great names of Scottish composition are the organist Robin Orr (1909-2006) and Cedric Thorpe Davie (1913-1983), both influenced by modernism and Scottish musical cadences, as well as Erik Chisholm, whose approach is close to Béla Bartók. After the Second World War, the creation of the Edinburgh Festival in 1947 led to an expansion of classical music in Scotland and the founding of the Scottish Opera in 1960.
Scottish composers influenced by Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) include the prolific Iain Hamilton (1922-2000) and Thea Musgrave, who was also a student of Nadia Boulanger. More recently, James MacMillan (born in 1959) has established himself as one of Scotland's leading composers, strongly influenced by national folk music, alongside Craig Armstrong (born in 1959), author of numerous film scores including Moulin Rouge (2001), Love Actually (2003) and Gatsby the Magnificent (2013). Let's also mention William Sweeney whose work is particularly influenced by Scottish traditional music but also Leoš Janáček. Among the contemporaries, the great names are James Dillon (1950), affiliated with the "New Complexity" movement or the composer Helen Grime (1981) whose music is played by some of the world's greatest orchestras.
Scotland has two major symphony orchestras, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Søndergård of Denmark, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Donald Runnicles of Scotland. Both orchestras are resident in Glasgow and regularly perform on the city's two major stages: the Theatre Royal and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Scotland's busiest performing arts venue, with no less than 500 performances per year. In Edinburgh, the big stages are the Usher Hall, hosting operas and contemporary music stars, and the Queen's Hall, home to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra all year round. And let's not forget to mention the Edinburgh International Festival, one of the world's largest in its category.
Pop, rock and electro
With the success of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the dawn of the 1960s, the United Kingdom appears as the center of the (pop) world. An aura that overflows to its neighbors, such as Scotland, whose music scenes become more dynamic and populated with important artists. At the same time as the aforementioned giants, Donovan also appeared, the "Scottish Bob Dylan", whose folk, devoid of traditional elements, took root in the beginnings of the psychedelic folk to come. It is also the case of Bert Jansch, Scottish guitarist of avant-garde whose folk will inspire Jimmy Page or Neil Young.
In the 1970s, a few local pop bands began to enjoy commercial success outside their own borders, but it was in the 1980s that Scotland was to shine on the international scene, with some of its citizens writing the great hours of rock and pop music. A dream cast including Iain Anderson, leader of Jethro Tull, Annie Lennox of Eurythmics, Mark Knopfler fabulous guitarist and founder of the band Dire Straits as well as giants of post-punk and new wave such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tears for Fears, Cocteau Twins, Primal Scream or Wet Wet Wet and Simple Minds
The 1990s in Scotland were also marked by big names like rock bands Teenage Fanclub and Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian and their beautiful indie pop or The KLF, acid house pioneers. Since 2000, the musical production cultivates a similar richness with big hits like the rock revival of Franz Ferdinand, Biffy Clyro or The Fratellis and icons like Shirley Manson leader of Garbage. Let's also mention Calvin Harris, called the king of electro-pop, gold record in the UK since his first album in 2007.
Joesef is the new rising star of neo-soul. Young Scottish musician, he has just released his first album Permanent Damage on January 13, 2023. He has already conquered Great Britain with his melodious voice.
Edinburgh has no reason to be jealous of the big European capitals and also has many quality stages. One of the favorites of the local youth is undoubtedly The Liquid Room, which can accommodate up to 800 people on two floors and is loved for its cutting edge programming. Another popular venue, The Hive, is distinguished by its underground labyrinth layout and its varied artistic line-up: pop, indie, electro, rock or electro. Some other venues where to see good concerts: Cabaret Voltaire with very good DJs, The Voodoo Rooms with its beautiful Victorian decoration, 3th Note, a real place to be for independent bands or the SGW3, a big hangar refurbished in the south with a smart program.
