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Saturday, 17 March 2007 |
‘SHAMANS OF THE SPEY’
Friday 23rd March 2007.
GARMOUTH VILLAGE HALL
7.30PM -9.00PM
The background is that Howie Firth heard about the opportunities for developing events for the Year of Highland Culture and thought it would be nice to design something with some of the musicians he knows. So he has put together an idea for a series of three evenings on the theme 'The Roots of Moray', two of which would be with Moray Gaelic Choir, and this is the first one to be staged in Garmouth.
The theme of the series is the question of who were the ancient peoples of Moray. It is now possible to get a much fuller picture than it would have been not so long ago, as a whole series of discoveries have been made in fields such as archaeology, linguistics and genetics. Folklore and mythology also provide key clues. It's actually possible to draw up a possible picture of people up to 10,000 years back and their way of life.
It is possible to suggest what they looked like, what language they spoke - even to suggest some of the musical instruments they played and characteristics like a strong sense of humour.
Howie then wondered where the events should take place, and he felt that rather than being in the standard urban environment of Elgin, they should be more in the community. So he simply chose places that he liked! - and where he felt that there was the right atmosphere and feeling of community. He chose Garmouth because he had been to one of Moray Gaelic Choir's ceilidhs some years ago and enjoyed it very much, and felt a real spirit of community.
Howie was successful in getting funding to cover the various costs of the project such as newspaper advertising, hall hire and so on, and so he'd like the community to get the benefit of the door takings.
The format of the evening is aimed at being very atmospheric, telling the story of Moray's ancient peoples, starting with a picture of the Ice Age and its aftermath, and drawing on insights from a variety of sources which he has have worked on over the years. The choir will provide musical interludes, and we'll project background photographs of the Spey and other
images from the artists.
The aim is to have a really enjoyable evening, unravelling the story of the past and linking it with the present, and enjoying the singing of the choir.
So that's the story! And he would be delighted if we can make it a good occasion for the community.
Donations will be collected at the end of the performance and will go to the Hall funds
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 March 2007 )
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