Record audience sees and hears island tales
An audience of more than 100 people saw and heard the sights and sounds of everyday life in the Highlands and Islands during the 1920s and 1930s as musical trio Cuillin Sounds performed as part of the Music in Dollar season of concerts last month.
The turnout was a record audience for the season.
Cuillin Sound’s performance included‘Distant Lands’a trilogy of silent documentary movies showing life in the Highlands, and the islands of Eriskay and St Kilda shortly before it was evacuated in August 1930.
Julian Reeves, from Dollar Music Society, said:“This combination of vintage film accompanied by live music proved to be very popular with our audience. Soon this way of life will no longer be within living memory, so we’re very fortunate that film material like this is being so well preserved by the Scottish Film Archive and that it is being brought to audiences who might not otherwise see it by Cuillin Sound.
“I was particularly pleased to see more young people in the audience who were so obviously totally engrossed in the grainy black and white images. The boost in audience numbers was partly thanks to the publicity given to the concert by Clackmannanshire Council and Hillfoots Music for Youth - which supports young musicians throughout the county and beyond.
“We’re also very grateful for the support we have received from Enterprise Music Scotland and our concert sponsor, local estate agents, Henderson Roche.”
The next concert in the Music in Dollar Season features the Ruisi String Quartet whose repertoire includes works by Haydn, Mozart and Ravel. The concert is on Saturday, February 25, starting at 7.30pm in the Gibson Hall, Dollar Academy. Tickets are available on the door priced £10. Admission is free for everyone under 18 or in full-time education. A bumper night of drama will take place at Menzies Hall in Fintry next month. The One Act Play Festival is being held on Saturday and Sunday, March 4 and 5 at 7.30pm. Fintry Amateur Dramatic Society and Killin Drama Club will be among those performing. Tickets on the door at £8 per night or £15 for both nights.