Just thought I'd clarify the relationship, linguistically and
historically, between Welsh, Scottish, and Irish (and what the hell, also
Cornish, Manx, and Breton).
All are indeed Celtic languages. However, Welsh, Cornish, and Breton are
all products of the first Celtic incursion into the British isles, which
brought the Brythonic-rooted Celtic language to the islands, where it
evolved into Welsh and later Cornish and Breton, thanks to the zeal of
Dewi Sant to convert the heathen of Cornwall's and Brittany's
not-so-distant shores.
It wasn't until the second Celtic incursion that the Gaelic-rotted Celtic
language arrived in the British Isles, where it was first established in
Ireland, then moved - you guessed it, with missionaries - to
Scotland and the Isle of Man, evolving into the closely related but
essentially different Irish, Scottish, and Manx dialects of Gaelic.
In addition to their much closer linguistic relationship, there is a much
closer historical relationship between Ireland and Scotland than there is
between either country and Wales. Indeed, the original "Scots" were
actually the Celtic peoples of Ireland - called "Scots" by the Roman
Britons (who knows why?) who considered them another annoying thorn in the
side of Pax Romana (it was the Picts who were the native inhabitants of
Scotland at the time). In the 500s, the "Scots" of Ireland sent their
missionaries to convert the heathen in the Western Isles of Scotland, and
the rest is linguistic history. (Saint Columba, the chiefest among those
Irish Scots missionaries, also spread the word - and language - into
Northumbria, but it didn't "take" long term there.)
The Welsh, who I believe are essentially a gentler, more warm-blooded race
:) never made missionary overtures to the islands to their
north. Instead, Wales' evangelising Saint David (aka Dewi Sant) set his
sights southward, spreading the Word - and by extension his
Brythonic-rooted tongue - to Cornwall and Brittany. Though Cornish has
died out, Breton has survived the ages, a charming version of Welsh with a
French accent.
Of course, there is another consideration when it comes to deciding
whether to sing Irish, Welsh, or anything but Scottish music at your
Kirking of the Clans. Since the death of Mary, Queen of Scots, the Scots
have been a fervently *Protestant* people. In this, they actually have
much more in common with the Welsh than with the profoundly (one might
even say primitively) Catholic Irish, though the Scots have tended to be
Calvinists, Presbyterians, and Church of Scotland (i.e., Anglican), while
the Welsh have tended toward Chapel (Methodist) and Church of England
(also Anglican, but with a different accent). I mention this because it's
likely that the sentiments of any Irish sacred text set to music are
likely to be entirely too "papist" for Scottish consumption.
Then also think about the nature of the event. It's *VERY* Scottish. I'd
be extremely hesitant to sing anything that isn't also *very* Scottish at
an event that is so strongly and clearly celebrating SCOTTISH culture.
You'd be far better off just singing a hymn by the great Scottish
hymnodist Horatius Bonar - in the absence of a more sophisticated choice -
than to go looking around for an Irish, Welsh, or English song. By the
way, there's a page devoted to Bonar and his hymns in the Cyberhymnal at:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/o/bonar_h.htm
Or you might consider singing "O God, Thou art the Father" - which was
originally written by Saint Columba, the Christianiser of Scotland, and
later translated by the very Scottish poet Duncan Macgregor, albeit sung
to the tune "Aurelia" by the very English Samuel Sebastian Wesley, a
member of the notorious Wesley clan of chronic hymnodists.
Another Scottish hymnodist of note was John Ross Macduff.
Karen Mercedes
............................
NEIL SHICOFF, TENORE SUPREMO
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Own Website
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ I sing hymns with my spirit, +
+ but I also sing hymns with my mind. +
+ - 1 Corinthians 14:15 +
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