Songs of the Hebrides and the Critics

Marjory Kennedy-Fraser has been a figure of controversy for a long time. Indeed, no aspect of her life and work – her expeditions to the Gàidhealtachd for the purpose of collecting Gaelic songs; her transformation of these into artsongs with English texts and piano accompaniments; her subsequent publication of Songs of the Hebrides and related works; her lecture-recitals of Gaelic and other ‘Celtic’ music in the halls and drawing-rooms of Edinburgh; her collaboration with the Rev. Kenneth MacLeod and her friendship with prominent figures in the Celtic Revival; even her physical appearance and character – has escaped the notice of her critics, including some who became heavyweight champions of the art and culture of Gaelic Scotland. For the past seventy years and more, the noise and smoke generated by these big guns has made any objective reassessment of Mrs Kennedy-Fraser difficult and unlikely. Even today one continues to hear her name disparaged by people who, however little they actually know about her, nonetheless take refuge in the common consensus that her work was of no value – indeed, that it did actual harm to the Gaelic tradition – and that she herself was little better than an air-headed, money-grubbing opportunist. In this paper, I would like to examine Mrs Kennedy-Fraser’s life and work in light of the criticisms levelled at her. Enough time has now elapsed that the battle over her reputation has a certain historical interest; and while some snipers may yet be lurking in the hedgerows, it should now be possible to determine why and how the battle was joined in the first place. The details of Marjory Kennedy-Fraser’s background and upbringing have been the subject of frequent summary; those of the Rev. Kenneth MacLeod are perhaps less well-known, the most illuminating picture of his life being that published by the Rev. Thomas Murchison in his introduction to MacLeod’s Gaelic prose writings, Sgriobhaidhean Choinnich MhicLeòid. While we shall have more to say regarding their collaboration in due course, a brief review of their lives may be helpful at the outset.