The Coigach and Assynt Collection (book)
An amazing collection of new and old tunes, Gaelic and English songs, great photographs, local history and stories of the people past and present from Coigach and Assynt.
In 2015, the project Music & Tales of Coigach & Assynt was proposed, partly as an attempt to gather some of these tunes and stories and partly to make new music, inspired by the landscape and its people. The opportunity was there to preserve some of the area’s heritage and share it with a wider audience.
In 2019, journalist Lorraine Kelly interviewed ten people from Coigach and Assynt: some of the interviewees were prominent figures in the music and art world of Scotland; some highly-respected grassroots tradition-bearers. In early 2020 the designer and musician Ronan Martin was tasked with distilling the contents of those fascinating interviews and shaping them into a book, to be illustrated with archive photographs. The Coigach & Assynt Collection is the first collection of tunes, songs and stories from the area. Some of the music was written in the area, some comes from elsewhere and has been adopted by the people here and is now a part of its musical fabric. Some of the composers in this collection are well-known nationally and by those of the Gaelic diaspora; others are known only locally. Underpinning all of the songs and tunes is the deep love of Coigach and Assynt, of its landscape, its history and its people.
The Coigach & Assynt Collection is a beautifully presented, absorbing and moving celebration in music, words and pictures of the people, past and present, of this remote corner of North West Scotland. It is a marvellous record of how the landscape, its ownership, its treatment and its stewardship have influenced and shaped people’s lives.
The book is in a spiral bound format. There are a limited number of perfect bound copies with a spine. Please indicate if you would prefer perfect bound.