Well-known Gaelic singer Paul McCallum from South Lochboisdale, South Uist, talks to James MacLetchie, from Sollas, North Uist.
Paul and James share the same experience of having been brought to Uist as young boys to be taken into local families. They had a lot to talk about!
The full conversation has been split into two parts of roughly the same length, which are first presented here unfiltered and unsubtitled.
Again, we’ve also cut the conversation up into smaller chunks and added subtitles and Clilstore transcriptions to help learners or non-speakers of Gaelic get a good sense of how the conversation flowed, summarised below. (Technical note: the YouTube Closed Caption (CC) subtitles are in Gaelic by default. However, if you are viewing on a laptop or desktop computer the settings wheel will allow you to select auto-translation into another language of your choice – English included. Alternatively, “Clilstore units” combine the embedded video with a wordlinked Gaelic transcript with one-click access to an online dictionary for any words you don’t know.)
In Part 1A Paul recalls his memories of arriving in South Uist as a four-year old with his two older brothers, to be looked after by a local brother and sister family in South Lochboisdale with Eriskay connections. He came from a musical family and found himself in a musical place – “Gleann a’ Cheòlraidh” – where he picked up Gaelic, before starting school, with the help of his musical ear. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12300)
In Part 1B he remembers his schooldays and some of his teachers, most of whom were Gaelic speakers even though education was conducted through English. He recalls how music came to him easily, and competing in mòds from an early age (at which he and James first came into contact). On leaving school he worked as a cook for MacBraynes on the Islay ferry, through which he came across Islay Gaelic, which was quite different from his own. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12301)
In Part 1C James notes how the advent of electricity marked a turning-point in Gaelic cèilidh culture, and Paul reflects that good singers would not necessarily be comfortable performing on a stage. Nevertheless he is encouraged by signs of natural musical ability in the local community. After MacBraynes he moved on to a Dominican centre helping people with drug or alcohol problems, where he mixed with people from all walks of life, and experienced a meaningful education. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12302)
In Part 1D Paul talks more about how his singing career took off, and how he received voice training in the classical tradition over a period of years. He points out that there are Gaelic songs that are classical, but notes also that the traditional worksongs of crofting communities provided natural voice training without the need for study, and that true vocal power is best demonstrated in soft singing. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12303)
In Part 1E Paul explores further the differences between classical and traditional singing, and the importance, in his view, of presenting Gaelic songs to islanders in a natural manner which chimes with their environment, albeit with the help of classical training. (He listened to classical singers as a boy and received help from classical teachers.) In Gaelic domestic culture he experienced an ingrained prayerful spirituality that combined naturally with music and the environment. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12304)
In Part 2A Paul and James share their experiences of being welcomed and absorbed into their respective communities in South and North Uist as young children. When James questions him about his later stage performances, Paul explains that that placed a distance between him and his audience, where he had the persona of “The Singer”, which was different from the Paul McCallum in his own home. Now retired from singing, he doesn’t miss the stage. He enjoys having his feet on the ground. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12305)
In Part 2B Paul talks a bit about his own writing, and how it’s inspired by the local environment. Moving on to discuss local poets from earlier times he notes the exemplary command they had over the language and how today’s Gaelic has changed. He regrets the loss of vocabulary and idiom and cautions against a felt need to change the language to “keep up” with today’s world. If the language is indeed “dying” we should be careful not to kill it off with words and idioms that don’t belong to it. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12306)
In Part 2C, reflecting on the disappearance of cèilidh houses, Paul suggests it is the community that is dying, more than Gaelic. He is reminded of recent visitors who talked of their memories, and about sloinnidhean – genealogies – and how much he enjoyed and learned from those visits. He believes young community members are also interested in old stories, but time needs to be found for such activities. Like James, he is a fluent Gaelic speaker and it’s the language he prefers to use in the community. Questioned by Paul about his own musical tastes, James talks about his influences, for example, Runrig. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12307)
In Part 2D James asks Paul if he thinks they both value Uist and Gaelic so highly because of the way they were taken there. Paul points out that, rather than being taught Gaelic formally, they absorbed it naturally. They arrived with nothing, and were given access to life, language, culture, music, beliefs, which may well have given them a deeper appreciation of their language and surroundings. James echoes his appreciation of the learning he received, especially from his adoptive father and other elders in the local community. (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12308)
In Part 2E Paul turns the tables on James and asks him about his own writing of songs, and encourages him to pass them on – “Bheir seachad iad”. Once they’re written they no longer belong to him. They should be shared, to help keep the language and the music alive. “You could take it all over the world.” James reflects on Gaelic connections with First Nations of North America, and Paul notes commonalities in their troubled histories. But looking forward, he repeats his warning about needless change to the language – “Mura h-eil e briste, na cuir air dòigh e”. (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.) (Clilstore unit: https://multidict.net/cs/12309)
These recordings were made with the support of the CIALL project, based in the Language Sciences Institute of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
