Ronald Stevenson was a composer, transcriber/arranger for piano, music educator and conscientious objector. This arrangement for clarsach, pedal harp or piano is from a collection called Sounding Strings (the translation of clarsach, the Scottish word for harp) written for his daughter, the well known Scottish harp player, composer and arranger, Savourna Stevenson. Touchingly, the cover artwork of the sheet music collection is by Gerda Savourna’s sister, making it a united family endeavour.

I am sure that most of my harp playing colleagues will be familiar with this simple arrangement and make no apologies for including it here. English speakers were first mainly introduced to this song through the collections of Marjorie Kennedy Fraser 1957 – 1930 whose salon interpretations of Scottish tunes did much to popularise the Gaelic culture.

Also known in Scots Gaelic as Tàladh ar Slànaigheir Ronald Stevenson’sarrangement of this Hebridean carol has a rapt quality and is one of the loveliest of all arrangements of the Christ Child’s Lullaby with its warm harmonies.

A further name for the Carol is Tàladh Chrìosda (Christ’s lullaby). This version has as many as 29 verses. Traditionally, it was sung in the Outer Hebrides in such places as St Kilda (which we visited earlier in the year) on Christmas Eve at Midnight Mass.

The words are supposed to be a cradle song sung by the Virgin to the baby Jesus but were allegedly written by Father Ranald Rankin, 1799 – 1862. One almost senses the awe of Mary in this setting, seeing and holding her tiny child.

The melody is taken from the tune Cumha Mhic Àrois (the Lament for Mac Àrois) and it was said in Typographia Scoto-Gadelica from 1915 that this carol setting was first published in 1855 when Fr Rankin emigrated to Australia. He was a firm advocate of emigration as the only escape from the dire poverty which Highlanders were experiencing at that time.