A very short film to music played by Eddie McGuire.

The first of a planned series of new short works commissioned from Scottish musicians during the time of Covid.

Fraser Fifield

Mary Garden

Calum Johnston

John D. Burgess

Kitty MacLeod

During 2020 Raretunes attracted 7300 visitors who made 19000 separate page views. These figures are more than twice those recorded in 2019.

The top 20 most viewed pages, starting with the most popular and listed in order, were:

• Yehudi Menuhin
• Sarah Hoy and Fin Moore
• Tony Cuffe
• Heloise Russell-Fergusson
• Davy Hutchison
• Professor MacLellan of Berkeley
• Jock Tamson’s Bairns
• Gizzenbriggs
• Easy Club
• Mick Broderick
• Marjory Kennedy Fraser
• Bella McNab’s Dance Band
• Patuffa Kennedy Fraser
• Derek Hoy
• Alf Edwards
• North Rising
• Molendinar
• Chorda
• Norman MacCaig
• William Hannah

A 1968 poem by the late Freddy Anderson of Monaghan and Glasgow found as a typescript in the papers of Mick Broderick to whom it was dedicated. With walk-on parts for folk like Luke Kelly, Christy Moore, the Humblebums, Clutha and others it perfectly captures the atmosphere of the famous musical howff in Glasgow.

Freddy Anderson

In the 1960s and 70s, Alf Edwards played English concertina on numerous records and radio broadcasts and on stage alongside Ewan MacColl, A.L. Lloyd, Peggy Seeger and others. His music had a strong impact on the direction of aspects of the folk music revival in the British Isles. In 1960 he made an influential record of English, Scottish and Irish tunes.

Alf Edwards

Jean Redpath

The great Pete Seeger had a great fondness for Scottish folksongs both old and new and his interest and music was a stimulus to the fold song revival in Scotland. Here we link to material from the 1960s hosted by the Internet Archive.

Pete Seeger