Winter 2025: Bright Stars Arising
A selection of carols of peace and hope around the world. We sang songs from the West Gallery tradition, Slovenia, America, Germany, Croatia, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, the Bahamas and other traditional carols from the UK. We performed in Thornhill and Dunscore before Christmas and in Keir and Moniaive for our traditional twelfth night concerts.
Videos from the concert will be added soon!
Spring 2025: Long Live the Weeds and the Wilderness Yet
Our Spring concert theme was "Songs of renewal and hope". The theme was taken Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem 'Inversnaid'. The poem cries out for nature to be 'rewilded' and captures the essence of Dumfries and Galloway's wild and rugged landscape.
We performed at Moffat, Moniaive and Beeswing.
Winter 2024: And to the Earth be Peace
Our winter theme for 2024 was "Songs of hope in the depths of winter. We sang carols and songs from around the world at our usual venues of Thornhill, Dunscore, Keir and Moniaive, welcoming in Christmas and Twelfth Night with a selection of readings by choir members.
Winter 2023: Little Gifts of Light
Our theme for these concerts was "Songs magical and medieval for Twelfth Night". We sang songs from the West Gallery tradition along with English and Welsh pieces from the 13th, 16th, and 20th century, and songs from Germany, France, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia.
We performed In Thornhill, Loch Arthur (Beeswing), Dunscore, Keir, Dumfries and Moniaive.
Spring 2023: Rise up Singing
Our theme this Spring was "Songs for justice and hope from down the ages and around the world". We sang songs from the UK from the 19th and 20th century including some Chartist songs from the National Chartist Hymn Book. We also sang songs from America, 16th century France, 20th century South Africa, songs from the Scottish Gaelic tradition, a Roma Gypsy song and a song about Jane Haining from Dunscore, who returned to war torn Hungary to care for her pupils and later died in Auschwitz.
Winter 2022: Travellers Far From Home
Our theme for winter 2022 was "Festive songs to bring hope, love and kindness to the coming year". This was to acknowledge the traditional Christmas story as well as the many people around the round who are often displaced from their homes due to man made and natural disasters. Our aim was to incite a spirit of kindness and love to all people.
We sang songs from the West Gallery tradition, carols from the UK, Slovenia, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, Ukraine, and the Georgia Sea Islands to audiences in Moniaive, Dunscore, Loch Arthur and Thornhill
Spring 2022: Singing to the Trees
In Spring 2022, we were invited to be part of Dumfries and Galloway's Arts Festival - 10 days of performing arts across the region. Our concerts were a combination of indoor and outdoor locations, combining singing with walks in nature in Dunscore, Moniaive, Kirkland and Dumfries. There is something special about singing not only about nature but immersed in it with our audiences.
Another feature of our concerts in Dumfries was singing with STORM, a ten metre tall goddess of the sea, emerged from the deep to encourage us all to celebrate our seas, care for our coastlines and empower us to put the environment first. A feat of mechanical mastery made from recycled materials in response to the climate crisis by puppeteering duo Symon Macintyre and Kim Bergsagel at Vision Mechanics.
Winter 2021: Winter Wassail
In the winter of 2021, while we were able to rehearse indoors, we were not performing in indoor locations. As such we followed the wassailing tradition of gathering outdoors to bring communities together and to bring "good health" for the coming year. On a very cold and snowy winters day, we 'toured' outdoor locations in Dunscore, Wallaceton, Kirkland and Moniaive singing to those who braved the elements!
Singing through COVID
As the world responding to a global pandemic, the need for singing and maintaining connections became ever more important. Unable to meet together in person, we continued to rehearse and learn new songs on Zoom. This presented challenges and a lot of laughter as various pets joined us, we wrangled with the mute button and had an insight to our fellow choir members homes! As restrictions lifted and the weather improved we were blessed with opportunities to sing in people's gardens and the local pub gardens and it was an emotional time to reconnect and feel the joy of creating sound together in close proximity.
Spring 2019:
Long Live the Weeds and the Wilderness Yet
This was the first of two concerts with the same title and theme - that of the need for rewilding and to capture the essence of our region's wild landscape (See our Spring 2025 concert). In 2019, there were a number of protests across the globe where people demanded change from governments and citizens. This set of concerts reminded us of the power of song to voice for change, reflecting on sad times for animals on our planet but also expressing hope for the future for our environment. Songs came from Croatia, the USA, South Africa and various parts of the UK.
We also collaborated with the wonderful Galloway Agreement, a unique group of traditional musicians from Dumfries and Galloway including Cairn Chorus's own Wendy Stewart on clarsach. You can find out more about them here.
Winter 2019: The
Conversation of Sheep
Sheep feature heavily in the carols of Christmas and Midwinter and there are over 100 versions of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, each version capturing the essence of the farming community they hailed from. Our Music Director, Kate, grew up with sheep on a North Yorkshire Farm and sheep dominated the landscape there as they do in Moniaive, tying us to the seasons with their rituals. Much loved local Penpont poet Hugh McMillan has written a book of poetry about sheep - The Conversation of Sheep - so a collaboration with him for these concerts was a match made in heaven! Songs originated from the UK, Europe, the USA and the Caucusus Republic of Georgia
Spring 2018:
In Freenship's Name
The theme for this concert was "Songs that Celebrate Unity in Harmony". The concert offered songs from around the globe in an effort to lift our audience's spirits and bring unity through harmony to our small part of a troubled world. Songs were from the UK, Bosnia, Serbia, America, South Africa and Korea.
You can listen to a excerpt from one of our songs Motha a Wela, a traditional folk song from South Africa.
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Winter 2018: Star of Wonder
Our theme for this set of concerts is the Watch Night Service. It's Christmas Eve. Picture a single room, wooden meeting house in South Carolina. Or a third century church in the mountains of Georgia. Or a pub in Sheffield. The songs tell the Christmas story from the sighting of the first star to Mary's journey to Bethlehem. Songs about shepherds and their sheep. The concerts recreated this magical ceremony with songs from the 'shape note' tradition, the USA, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, the UK, Russia, Ireland, Germany and the Georgia Sea Islands.
We sang at Loch Arthur (Beeswing), Dunscore, Thornhill, New Galloway, Moffat and Moniaive.
Spring 2017: Eden Festival
Winter 2017: Hail Smiling Morn
This concert included a mixture of familiar and new material and of course sheep! Songs came from various regions of the UK and USA, Croatia, Georgia and Ukraine.
We sang at Loch Arthur (Beeswing), Dunscore, Thornhill, and Moniaive.
Winter 2015: Hoary Frost and Fleecy Snow
A programme of seasonal songs and readings performed at Loch Arthur and Moniaive. Songs were both traditional carols as well as songs from the UK, Ukraine and America, including songs from the shape note tradition.
Winter 2016:
Winter Wassail
Our first wassailing concert with both old and modern songs from this ancient tradition. This included shape note songs, and songs from across the UK, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Germany. We performed at Loch Arthur, New Galloway, Dunscore and Moniaive.
Spring 2015:
Celebrating Love
Concerts at Loch Arthur and Moniaive with songs celebrating love in all its glory from Eastern Europe, to pop classics and traditional Gaelic.
