An award-winning Highland fiddler and composer has created a new book of tunes inspired by a mountain rescue team.
Adam Sutherland interviewed past and present members of Braemar Mountain Rescue Team for the book, which is filled with original music scores, stories and images.
Some of the works from What a Story A Pair of Boots Could Tell will be debuted at a special concert at St Margaret’s Church in Braemar next weekend.
The event on October 12 forms part of the Braemar Mountain Festival and will feature performances from Mr Sutherland and long-time collaborator Hamish Napier – who have earned themselves the nickname Nae Plans for famously arriving on stage without knowing what they will play.
Mr Sutherland interviewed the mountain rescue team and held performance workshops with local musicians to interpret their stories.
Six of those musicians will also take part in the concert.
Mr Sutherland said the project started after he was invited to play at St Margaret’s in Braemar as part of the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention last year.
He said: “I’m not actually from the area, so I had to go in with an empty cup and find out the stories of the mountain rescue team from scratch – but thankfully, that wasn’t very difficult to do as there’s so many amazing stories to tell.
“I learned all about how it started off and the troubles they had to face, such as lack of infrastructure, radio masts and so on as well as the incredible community efforts involved in getting the team established.
“I’ve named some of the pieces after the people and some of the events associated with the area and we also got the community involved in performing it as well.
“It’s really exciting to play these songs for the first time with Hamish for our book launch.”
The project was funded by Aberdeenshire Council and St Margaret’s Trust, which is working to transform the 19th century church into a high-quality performance and arts venue.
The finished book was created thanks to sponsorship from Isabel David and Miles Newman, of Aboyne.
Ms Davies said:“It is a real pleasure to be involved in this unique project.
“We were delighted to sponsor the Tunes Book so that these original compositions can be enjoyed by a wider audience.”
Tickets for the concert are available here.
The book will be available to buy afterwards.
