Binnorrie (double CD)

In 2002 the Elphinstone Institute began a project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to record and celebrate, the oral and cultural traditions of the Travelling People of North East Scotland. The invaluable contribution made by Travellers - stewarding, over centuries. Scottish traditional balladry and music - was only revealed some fifty years ago, largely as a result of the seminal fieldwork of Hamish Henderson. This revelation, however, is in danger of being overlooked and forgotten.

Our project aims to show that at the start of the twenty-first century, the culture of Scotland's oldest minority people is as vital and dynamic as ever. It is therefore a great pleasure to begin our series our series of CD recordings, The Traveller Traditions of North-East Scotland with a double volume of the songs, ballads and tunes of one of the country's finest exponents, Elizabeth Stewart. The great significance of her family's tradition (she is one of the Stewarts of Fetterangus) has been recognised by several folk-song scholars since Henderson, including Peter Kennedy, Alan Lomax and most notably Kenneth S. Goldstein, Professor of Folklore at the University of Philadelphia, who recorded the family extensively, especially Elizabeth's aunt Lucy Stewart.

The album has been expertly produced by by Alison McMorland, also a fine singer, who has sensitively guided the recordings at every step. Alison, who teaches at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, has partnered Elizabeth in the writing of a book about Elizabeth's life and family traditions - soon to be completed. It will provide a superb complement to these recordings that demonstrate so emphatically the richness and quality of Scotland's Traveller traditions................Ian Russell, Director The Elphinstone Institute.