Gospel Music Performance in Scotland 2005-2008

This collection comprises video footage of gospel music events taking place during fieldwork in North-East Scotland from 2005 to 2008. While the first two field recordings in the collections were filmed by Dr Ian Russell in early 2005, the subsequent recordings were made by Frances Wilkins as part of her PhD research project into sacred singing traditions of fishing communities of North-East Scotland and the Scottish Northern Isles. Many of the members of fishing communities in this region are members of evangelical Christian denominations such as the Baptist Church, Assemblies of God, Salvation Army, and the Brethren (Open, Exclusive and Churches of God) in addition to a number of independent congregations. These denominations have been dominant in the region since the Great Awakening of 1859-60 and subsequent revivals in the area including the 1874 visit of Dwight L Moody and Ira D Sankey. This visit resulted in the introduction of organ accompaniment in worship and a new gospel song repertoire which could be found in Sankey's Sacred Songs and Solos collection and the Redemption Songs hymn book. These field video recordings provide a cross-section of some of the events in the region in which gospel singing and instrumental music are fundamental features. The collection includes the following: The second half of the annual 'Sirree' (or 'soiree') held in the Cairnbulg Gospel Hall in connection with the annual Cairnbulg flute band walk. This is an evening concert/service comprising guest singers (in this case two female groups, Reality and New Life), the North of Scotland Gospel Male Voice Choir (GMVC), congregational singing, votes of thanks, and prayer. The event took place on 7 January 2005 (recorded by Dr Ian Russell). The twenty-first annual Sankey sing-along event which took place in an Open Brethren hall in Torry, a residential area of Aberdeen. The event featured a short interview with the piano accompanist, congregational and solo singing with speeches, announcements, preaching, and prayers. It took place on 13 May 2006 (recorded by Dr Ian Russell). A lecture on the life and work of Dwight L Moody and Ira D Sankey in North-East Scotland in 1874 dispersed by singing from the congregation of traditional gospel songs. This is held in Dyce parish church, just outside Aberdeen City, and is led by an elder of the Church of Scotland, Raymond Mack and the organist Tom Fobister who are both from Aberdeen. The event was held on 2 November 2005. The footage includes congregational singing, prayer, and address and lasts roughly two hours (recorded by Martha Stewart). An annual flute band walk in the coastal villages of Inverallochy and Cairnbulg, situated a few miles from the town of Fraserburgh in December 2005. The origins of this event date back to the temperance movement which started in the 1840s. It is attended by numerous members of the local population and includes a group playing evangelical hymn tunes on small wooden flutes, drummers, a band leader and pedestrians following behind (recorded by Frances Wilkins). Gospel sing-along event which took place in an Open Brethren hall in Torry, a residential area of Aberdeen. The event featured congregation, solo and duet singing with preaching, Bible readings and prayers, and took place in May 2006 (recorded by Frances Wilkins). Anniversary celebrations of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen in St Fitticks Parish Church, Aberdeen. The event included choral singing from the North of Scotland Gospel Male Voice Choir and St Fitticks Youth Choir, and includes Bible readings, prayers and sermon. This collection covers sacred singing in the evangelical Christian tradition in Scotland (recorded by Frances Wilkins). An interview with two evangelical English concertinists, Gordon Haxton and Peter Donald, in the town of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire (recorded by Frances Wilkins).