Duan Nollaig

A traditional carol from the west of Scotland, arranged with simple (though occasionally dissonant) harmonies and flexible voicing. The choruses hail the traditional Christmas bannock — a flat bread, made in different ways for different occasions. (For a fascinating article on festival bannocks and bannock traditions, visit the website www.tairis.co.uk and go to the Recipes section).

The beautiful and poetic verses describe the Christ child. In this arrangement, two of the verses are sung pianissimo, for a dramatic contrast with the rowdy choruses surrounding them.

The voicing is flexible. The alto part can easily be sung by tenors, allowing altos to join the sopranos on the tune and more sopranos to sing the descant.

Time is needed for non-Gaelic speakers to become familiar with the language. Don’t be put off – they’re not hard, and the alliteration in the lines of the verses is wonderful to sing. We provide a full pronunciation guide, including a transcription in the International Phonetic Alphabet, and an audio file.