Beinn Dorain ( gd, Beinn Dobhrain, 'hill of the otter'), is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in the Breadalbane region of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

. It overlooks

Bridge of Orchy Bridge of Orchy ( gd, Drochaid Urchaidh) is a village in Glen Orchy in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is named after the crossing over the River Orchy, which was constructed by British Army during the pacification of the Highland Clans following ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. It is a

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...

with a height of . The mountain is the subject of

Duncan Ban MacIntyre Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir, anglicized as ''Duncan Ban MacIntyre'' (20 March 1724 – 14 May 1812), was one of the most renowned of Scottish Gaelic poets. He formed an integral part of one of the golden ages of Gaelic poetry in Scotland d ...

's best known Gaelic poem, ''Moladh Beinn Dòbhrainn'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "In Praise of Ben Doran"); MacIntyre had spent his youth and had worked as a gamekeeper in these parts. :''An t-urram thar gach beinn'' :''Aig Beinn Dòbhrain;'' :''De na chunnaic mi fon ghrèin,'' :S i bu bhòidhche leam…'' English translation: :''Honour beyond each ben'' :''for Ben Doran;'' :''Of all I have seen beneath the sun,'' :''she is the most glorious for me'' The mountain is easily accessible from the

Bridge of Orchy railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Bridge of Orchy railway station, Argyll and Bute, West Highland Line.jpg , borough = Bridge of Orchy, Argyll and Bute , country = Scotlan ...

, from where a path leads up to the

bealach A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migra ...

separating Beinn Dorain from Beinn an Dothaidh: the two hills are frequently climbed together from this point. The Scottish composer

Ronald Stevenson Ronald James Stevenson (6 March 1928 – 28 March 2015) was a Scottish composer, pianist, and writer about music. Biography The son of a Scottish father and Welsh mother, Stevenson was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 1928. He studied at the ...

composed a work for full chorus, chamber chorus, symphony orchestra and chamber orchestra based on MacIntyre's poem, entitled ''Moladh Beinn Dobhrain'' (''In praise of Ben Dorain'') in 2007. In this lyrical, tonal work, Stevenson used the original text and

Hugh Macdiarmid Christopher Murray Grieve (11 August 1892 – 9 September 1978), best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid (), was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish Rena ...

's English translation of the verse. It was premiered on 19 January 2008 in Glasgow with the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...

, Scottish Opera Chorus, Glasgow University Chapel Choir and The Edinburgh Singers.Gasser, M., "Ronald Stevenson, Composer-Pianist : An Exegetical Critique from a Pianistic Perspective" (Edith Cowan University Press, Western Australia, 2013)
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References

Munros Mountains and hills of the Southern Highlands Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of Argyll and Bute One-thousanders of Scotland {{Argyll-geo-stub