Indigenous Languages Concert Series: Wales & Scotland

In the UN Decade of Indigenous Languages, this concert series from the Welsh and Scottish Governments in Berlin brings the indigenous languages and cultures of Wales and Scotland to Germany through their rich oral traditions and songs by leading folk musicians from these nations. Through music and storytelling, we will explore the depth and resilience of the indigenous languages of Wales and Scotland as living and breathing languages that continue to thrive in our modern world.

Indigenous languages offer a unique way of naming, seeing and relating to the world which is often intricately tied to a particular region and land. The indigenous language of Wales is Welsh, or Cymraeg as it is known by its speakers. The indigenous languages of Scotland are Gaelic and Scots. All three languages are protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The rich oral traditions of Welsh, Gaelic and Scots are still very much alive in song, drama and storytelling, and the literature of the languages dates back hundreds of years.

15 September 2023

The remarkable rise of award-winning trio The Trials of Cato on the UK folk-scene has been the subject of massive critical attention. Dubbed “The Sex Pistols of folk,” (J Davis) they pay clear homage to the tradition whilst twisting old bones into something febrile and modern, with stomping tunes and captivating stories. Singing in both Welsh and English, The Trials’ second album, Gog Magog, released in winter of 2022, is awash with a spray of styles, ranging from neo-traditional interpretations of Welsh language poetry to current-day plague songs, as well as unexpected instrumental explorations of the outer edges of folktronica and trad-jazz.

21 September 2023 

Aberdeenshire folksinger, Iona Fyfe, has become one of Scotland’s finest singers, rooted deeply in the singing traditions of the North East of Scotland. In 2021 she became the first singer to win the coveted title of Musician of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. Iona is a fierce advocate for the official recognition of the Scots Language, leading a successful campaign to pressure Spotify into recognising Scots and add it to its list of languages. Honoured at the Scots Language Awards with the title of Speaker of the Year in 2021, Iona performs both folk and pop songs in the Scots language, remaining true to her rooting in tradition.

29 September 2023

Based in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland, the duo Brian Ó hEadhra & Fionnag NicChoinnich perform songs from the Gaelic, Scots and Irish traditions. They are also established songwriters whose work in English, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic has been highly acclaimed by audiences around the world.

Over the past 25 years, Brian & Fionnag have performed across the globe and recorded on many albums with acts such as Anam, Cruinn and Mackenzie, as well as performing on various projects including international films and game soundtracks. Both are educators and are highly sought after music, language and cultural tutors.

Fionnag NicChoinnich received the Gaelic Singer of the Year award at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Awards 2020 whilst Brian was nominated for the same award in 2019.