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The Skye Boat Song
"The Skye Boat Song" is a late 19th-century Scottish song recalling the journey of Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") from Benbecula to the Isle of Skye as he evaded capture by government troops after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet composed the lyrics to an air collected by Anne Campbell MacLeod in the 1870s, and the line "Over the Sea to Skye" is now a cornerstone of the tourism industry on the Isle of Skye. Alternative lyrics to the tune were written by Robert Louis Stevenson, probably in 1885. After hearing the Jacobite airs sung by a visitor, he judged the lyrics to be "unworthy", so made a new set of verses "more in harmony with the plaintive tune". It is often played as a slow lullaby or waltz, and entered into the modern folk canon in the twentieth century with versions by Paul Robeson, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Roger Whittaker, Tori Amos, and many others. Content The text of the song gives an a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Northern Africa, Western Asia, around the Persian Gulf and northern parts of South Asia. The term ''bagpipe'' is equally correct in the singular or the plural, though pipers usually refer to the bagpipes as "the pipes", "a set of pipes" or "a stand of pipes". Construction A set of bagpipes minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, a chanter, and usually at least one drone. Many bagpipes have more than one drone (and, sometimes, more than one chanter) in various combinations, held in place in stocks—sockets that fasten the various pipes to the bag. Air supply The most common method of supplying air to the bag is through blowing into a blowpipe or blowstick. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacobite Rising Of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fighting in mainland Europe, and proved to be the last in a series of revolts that began in 1689, with major outbreaks in 1708, 1715 and 1719. Charles launched the rebellion on 19 August 1745 at Glenfinnan in the Scottish Highlands, capturing Edinburgh and winning the Battle of Prestonpans in September. At a council in October, the Scots agreed to invade England after Charles assured them of substantial support from English Jacobites and a simultaneous French landing in Southern England. On that basis, the Jacobite army entered England in early November, reaching Derby on 4 December, where they decided to turn back. Similar discussions had taken pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gregson
Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. He was credited in 40 films between 1948 and 1971, and on television from 1960 until his death. He was often cast as a police inspector or as a navy or army officer, or in comedy roles in Ealing and other British films. Biography Early life and military service Born in Liverpool of Irish descent, Gregson grew up in the city's Wavertree area, where he was educated at Greenbank Road Primary School and later at St Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool. He left school at 16, working first for a telephone company, then for Liverpool Corporation, as the city council was then known, before the Second World War. During this time, he became interested in amateur dramatics, joining first the local Catholic church theatre group at St Anthony's in Mossley Hil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the '' Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Gregory Peck in several adventure movies, notably '' The Guns of Navarone''. Born in south-east London, he exaggerated his Scottish roots but was prominent in Scottish public life, helping to launch Scottish Television (STV) and serving as Rector of the University of Edinburgh. Biography The son of Aberdeen-born mining engineer James Norval Justice and Edith (née Burgess), James Robertson Justice was born James Norval Harald Justice in Lee, a suburb of Lewisham in South East London, in 1907. Educated at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, Justice studied science at University College London, but left after a year and became a geology student at the University of Bonn, where he again left after just a year. He spoke many languages (possibly up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Mills
Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portrayed guileless, wounded war heroes. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' Ryan's Daughter''. For his work in film Mills was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1976. In 2002, he received a BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and was named a Disney Legend by The Walt Disney Company. Early life John Mills was born on 22 February 1908 in North Elmham, Norfolk, the son of Edith Mills (née Baker), a theatre box office manager, and Lewis Mills, a mathematics teacher. Mills was born at Watts Naval School, where his father was a master. He spent his early years in the village of Belton where his father was the headmaster of the village school. He first felt the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metre (music)
In music, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter (American spelling) refers to regularly recurring patterns and accents such as bars and beats. Unlike rhythm, metric onsets are not necessarily sounded, but are nevertheless implied by the performer (or performers) and expected by the listener. A variety of systems exist throughout the world for organising and playing metrical music, such as the Indian system of '' tala'' and similar systems in Arabic and African music. Western music inherited the concept of metre from poetry, where it denotes: the number of lines in a verse; the number of syllables in each line; and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented. The first coherent system of rhythmic notation in modern Western music was based on rhythmic modes derived from the basic types of metrical unit in the quantitative metre of classical ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Later music for dances such as the pavane and galliard consisted o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lullaby
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledge or tradition. In addition, lullabies are often used for the developing of communication skills, indication of emotional intent, maintenance of infants' undivided attention, modulation of infants' arousal, and regulation of behavior. Perhaps one of the most important uses of lullabies is as a sleep aid for infants. As a result, the music is often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in many countries, and have existed since ancient times. Etymology The term 'lullaby' derives from the Middle English ''lullen'' ("to lull") and ''by'' 'e''(in the sense of "near"); it was first recorded circa 1560. A folk etymology derives ''lullaby'' from "Lilith-Abi" (Hebrew for "Lilith, begone"). In the Jewish tradition, Lilith was a demon who w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loch Coruisk
Loch Coruisk (in Scottish Gaelic, ''Coire Uisg'', the "Cauldron of Waters") is an inland fresh-water loch, lying at the foot of the Black Cuillin in the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish Highlands. Loch Coruisk is reputed to be the home of a kelpie or water horse, a shape-shifting creature that can assume human form. Geography The loch is accessible by boat from Elgol, or on foot from Sligachan (approximately distance). It is also possible to walk from Elgol, but one section of the path ("the Bad Step") presents some potential difficulties for the nervous or inexperienced. The northern end of the loch is ringed by the Black Cuillin, often wreathed in cloud. From the southern end the Scavaig River, only a few hundred yards long, discharges into a sea loch, Loch Scavaig. The loch is nearly long, but only about wide. Literature Sir Walter Scott visited the loch in 1814 and described it vividly: :“Rarely human eye has known :A scene so stern as that dread lake, :With its dark l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Gordon Lawson
Cecil Gordon Lawson (3 December 1849 – 10 June 1882 London) was a British landscapist and illustrator. Life The youngest son of William Lawson of Edinburgh, a well-regarded portrait painter, and of a mother also known for her flower pieces, he was born in Fountain Place in Wellington, Shropshire. Two of his brothers (one of them, Malcolm, a clever musician and songwriter) were trained as artists, and Cecil was from childhood devoted to art with the intensity of a serious nature. Soon after his birth, the Lawsons moved to London. In 1871, Lawson was living with his parents at 15 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, along with his two older brothers Francis Wilfrid Lawson (1842–1935), a "historical painter and designer" and Malcolm Leonard Lawson (1847–1918), a "professor of music." Lawson's first works were studies of fruit, flowers, etc., in the manner of William Henry Hunt; followed by riverside Chelsea subjects. His first exhibit at the Royal Academy (1870) was ''Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laura Alexandrine Smith
Laura Alexandrine Smith (1861–1902) was an English musician, ethnomusicologist and one of the earliest collectors of sea shanties. Smith’s ''The Music of the Waters'', published in 1888, was possibly the first collection of sea shanties to include music as well as words. Life Laura Alexandrine Smith was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1861. Her father was the Russian vice-consul. In 1888, Smith published The Music of the Waters: ''a Collection of the Sailors' Chanties, or Working Songs of the Sea, of All Maritime Nations; Boatmen's, Fishermen's, and Rowing Songs, and Water Legends.'' She had been commissioned by the editor of ''The Shipping World'', and was described as: 'A thorough musician, a pleasing writer, and full of enthusiasm', and thus, 'specially fitted for the work'. The collection was of 'chanties', or working songs, rather than songs sung of the sea by those living and working on the land. These latter, Smith dismissed as tales of 'impossible ships in impractic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skye
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Slesser (1981) p. 19. Although has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins. The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period, and over its history has been occupied at various times by Celtic tribes including the Picts and the Gaels, Scandinavian Vikings, and most notably the powerful integrated Norse-Gaels clans of MacLeod and MacDonald. The island was considered to be under Norwegian suzerainty until the 1266 Treaty of Perth, which transferred control over to Scotland. The 18th-century Jacobite risings led to the breaking-up of the clan system and later cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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