Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Scots Corner - music to inspire the soul

For whatever the reason the Highlands and Islands of Scotland have inspired many composers to write gorgeous pieces of music.
Felix Mendelssohn was inspired by Fingal's Cave after a visit in 1829 and wrote an overture called The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave). It is a lovely piece to listen to and I hope you enjoy this version found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3MiETaBSnc He was inspired, in part, by the cave's old name An Uamh Binn - cave of melody. Internally the cave is often described as having the atmosphere of a natural cathedral i.e. eerie sounds produced by the echoes of waves.

Photograph shot by Gyuszi Bacsi. I also found it credited to Jim Richardson.
Fingal's Cave, Staffa is composed of Basalt pillars. The cave was formed by seawater eroding the soft volcanic ash that lies beneath the columns.

Photograph taken c 1900
The cave entrance looks out on to, and frames, the Holy Isle of Iona.
In addition to composers, Fingal's Cave has also inspired poets, authors, playwrights, musicians, photographers and artists.
This painting was created by JMW Turner

2 comments:

John'aLee said...

How cool is that? I'd love to see it!

A Daft Scots Lass said...

I'd love to see it too.