SCOTLAND's history, iconic landscapes and rugged coastlines are being immortalised in a new film which will feature three native languages - including a rare Shetland dialect.
The one-of-a-kind ten-minute film Light Waves is set against the backdrop of some of Scotland’s most iconic locations including Blackness Castle and Iona Abbey and Urquhart Castle.
It features the artwork of St Columba, the Irish monk and missionary who set about converting most of pagan Scotland and northern England to the Christian faith in the sixth century.
It will contain animated archive imagery of the herring girls, the women of the Hebrides that for almost 100 years, from 1850 up to the Second World War. were the backbone of Scotland's fishing industry.
Historic maps will also help showcase the heritage and traditions of Scotland’s coasts and waters.
The film, that is to be beamed live next month, will be narrated in English, Gaelic and also Shetlandic Scots, which is derived from the Scots dialects brought to Shetland from the end of the fifteenth century.
The film that will be premiered by Historic Scotland will be accompanied by a specially commissioned soundtrack by the four-piece Isle of Skye band Niteworks, who have created waves with their unique fusion of electronica, Scottish traditional & Gaelic music..
Three Scottish poets were commissioned to create poems in response to the provocation of the Gaelic word ‘Aiseag’ which can mean ‘sea vessel’ ‘crossing’, ‘journey’ or act of deliverance and restitution in English. It begins with Colin Bramwell who reflects on the importance of past connections with coasts and waters and how they have shaped communities with his poem Caledonian Canal, narrated in English.
Following this, Pàdraig Macaoidh explores Scotland’s long-standing connection to the seas, coasts and lochs through myth and folklore with his Gaelic poem Mìorbhailean (Wonders).
The film then climaxes with award-winning poet Roseanne Watt who considers the past, present and future relationship with coasts and waters with her poem.
The verse is narrated in Shetlandic Scots - a combination of English, Lowland Scots and Norroena, or Norn, which was the language spoken in the islands from their settlement by the Norsemen in the early Viking Age until well into the eighteenth century.
The dialect is used less and less as the multicultural nature of the isles has made the adoption of 'the Queen's English' essential for the ease of communication.
According to the last census just 3,500 people use it at home, and 11,000 say they "can speak" it.
Ms Watt, who writes in both English and Shetland dialect won multiple awards with her first poetry collection Moder Dy, a Shetland dialect phrase meaning an underlying swell of the sea.
Gillian Urquhart, events manager at Historic Enterprise Scotland, said: “With dramatic and immersive displays which have been projected onto historic sites located near Scotland’s shores, and powerful soundscapes of the multilingual poetic narration and emotive music, viewers will be taken on a journey to see Scotland’s history light up like never before.
The Light Waves trailer.
“Aiseag is a fascinating word that has many meanings that correlate to the narrative and themes explored in Light Waves which not only celebrates our love of Scotland’s coasts and waters but showcases the important link with Gaelic and Scots culture and traditions, and the impact that Scotland’s waterways have had on communities throughout the country.”
Produced by Double Take Projections, Light Waves will premiere at 7pm on October 17 on the HES Facebook and YouTube accounts and is free to watch.
It has been established as part of Scotland’s year of Coasts and Waters, a programme of activity designed to support the nation’s tourism and events sectors.
Paul Bush, director of events at VisitScotland, said: "Scotland offers the perfect stage to explore our natural environment and built heritage, and this film provides a great opportunity to celebrate the best of our Gaelic and Scots culture, heritage and our beautiful coasts and waters."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel