As Scotland’s churches close at a rate of more than three per month, it is not just the nation’s unique cultural inheritance of religious buildings and the thousands of objects contained within them that are threatened. As historic bells and organs are silenced forever, choirs and groups of singers disbanded, the very soundscape of Scotland is also altering all around us. In this blog, ethnomusicologist Dr Frances Wilkins reflects upon her recent work exploring and documenting the evocative and expressive Gaelic hymn and psalm traditions of Scotland.

Church singing is a vital ingredient when it comes to Scotland’s religious and cultural heritage. As with church buildings and the wealth of material culture found inside them, church hymnody and psalm singing traditions and the rich repertoires associated with them, are fundamental to our understanding of Scottish religious practice throughout history. And as with material culture, they are being adversely affected by the ongoing decline in church attendance and closure of so many church buildings.

We have an incredible wealth of hymns, psalms, sung prayers, and spiritual compositions associated with church worship, and some of these are unique to Scotland. Gaelic church singing in particular, is a precious aspect of our religious, cultural and linguistic heritage and it has become increasingly under threat in recent years – not only due to a decrease in church attendance, but perhaps even more significantly due to a decline in the use of Gaelic as a language of the church.

In the project, ‘Seinn Spioradail: Sacred Soundscapes of Highland and Island Communities’, which began in 2018, I have been working with singers to explore and document the wealth of sacred song traditions in the region. In particular, I have been looking at singing and song repertoires that reflect and reinforce local culture and identity

Presbyterian church services in areas including Lewis, Harris, North Uist and Skye, are dominated almost entirely by psalm singing in both Gaelic and English. Gaelic psalm singing is unique to Scotland. This style of unaccompanied precentor-led congregational singing dates back to the time of the Reformation when it was stipulated that singing in worship should be in the vernacular, and participated in by the entire congregation (in contrast to the Latin choral singing of the pre-Reformation church). It took off in Gaelic-speaking congregations post-1659 when the Psalms of David were first published in Gaelic. Unlike other Protestant areas of the British Isles, this style became ingrained into church worship in Highland churches. It continues as a form of sung worship to this today, bucking the trend we see in most other Protestant churches, where hymnody, followed by contemporary praise music, has superseded the post-Reformation psalm singing tradition.

The result in the Gaelic speaking churches has been the beautiful, haunting, evocative sound of Gaelic psalm singing. Often considered a musical reflection of the surrounding environment, emulating the ebb and flow of the sea, Gaelic psalmody is an iconic symbol of the Hebrides – much in the same way that Male Voice Choir singing is symbolic of Wales. It is hard for outsiders to consider the possibility that this will not go on for ever as a musical expression of culture and faith.

In the Southern Hebrides (South Uist, Eriskay and Barra), we have a wonderful Gaelic hymn tradition that is again unique to the region. Reflecting the strength of the bardic tradition, there are many local and regional compositions that have entered the church repertoire and these include hymns and sung commentaries on the mass written by Father Allan MacDonald, a priest, folklorist and poet who was stationed on Eriskay in the late 1800s. Father Allan was a trailblazer in his time. He understood the linguistic needs of his congregations and the importance of Gaelic singing within the church, and he found ways for his congregation to take part in church worship through their native tongue.

In more recent years, and following a move towards the vernacular in church worship in the late twentieth century, the famous South Uist bard Donald John Macdonald was commissioned by Hebridean priests to write a body of new Gaelic hymns, in partnership with the composer Ishbel T Macdonald. These have gone on to become the mainstay for worship in the Gaelic-speaking Catholic churches, alongside older hymns including the well-known Christmas carols Taladh Chrìosda (Christ Child Lullaby) and Leanabh an Àigh (Child of Joy).

In a bid to increase awareness of these wonderful traditions I have been working on various outputs and resources to showcase the music and encourage people, whether religious or not, to interact with the music and celebrate it as a vital part of Scottish cultural life. These outputs include a touring exhibition, which was launched in January 2024 and has been at numerous venues across the Hebrides including Museum nan Eilean (Stornoway and Benbecula) and the Skye & Lochalsh Archive Centre (Portree). From March-November 2025 the exhibition will be open to the public at Comunn Eachdragh Nis in the north of Lewis. If you are unable to visit in person, all the panels and the exhibition film can be found on my website.

Another significant resource is the project’s online digital archive and soundmap, with around 300 recordings of singing from the region. The archive includes information on each recording and lyrics in both Gaelic and English (just click the information button in the sound player to access these). Other resources currently being developed include teaching materials and a CD/book publication of some of the field recordings, due to be released later this year.

It has been an absolute privilege to work on the Seinn Spioradail project and to discover some of the incredible music of the Gaelic churches. If you would like to get in touch about any aspect of the project, or would like a guided tour of the web resources, please email me. 

Our sincere thanks to Dr Wilkins for sharing this wonderful account of her recent and ongoing research. Our thanks also to Dr Wilkins for permission to share her image of St Michael’s Church in Ardkenneth, South Uist and to Mairi M Martin for allowing us to share the images of Murdo Morrison in Fivepenny, Ness, Lewis and the Psalm Boat Singers in Rodel Church, Harris.

If you would like to share your thoughts on any matter relating to Scotland’s religious built or cultural heritage please do get in touch with us.