Love & Loss: Remembering Martyn in Scotland's Music

Love & Loss: Remembering Martyn in Scotland's Music

In late 2007, Margaret Bennett appeared in the 'Love & Loss' section of Phil Cunningham's acclaimed television series 'Scotland's Music'. In the course of the programme she spoke of her late son Martyn, the talented musician and composer who died of cancer in 2005, aged 33, and sang Padraig Mor MacCrimmon's 'Cumha na Cloinne' (Lament for the Children (1650).

Margaret's version “Fhir an Fhuilt Dhuinn” (Brown-haired Boy), was composed by Martyn's grandmother Peigi Stiubhairt, after she watched the programme. She's 88 and has, in many ways, been quite silent over her loss, but her song, composed to the piobearachd she has known for over seventy years is her expression: 'This is just how I feel,' she said, in every sense resonating with Phil's discussion on the Gaelic lament.

This CD was made in response to the messages Margaret received following the broadcast of the programme.

In track 1, Cameron Drummond plays Highland bagpipes belonging to Martyn’s grandfather George Bennett, who has gifted them to the Piping Centre and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Martyn’s memory. Special thanks to Bob Whitney, studio sound engineer at the RSAMD. Tracks 2 & 3 were recorded and produced by Martyn Bennett.

"Martyn Bennett was one of the most talented and respected musicians Scotland has ever produced."


Phil Cunningham, Scotland's Music, BBC Scotland 2007.

Track List

  1. Fhir an fhuilt dhuinn: (Lament for the Children) - Traditional melody from Padruig Mòr MacCrimmon's 'Cumha na Cloinne'.
    Verses by Peigi Stuibhart, Margaret's mother.
  2. Laddie Lie Near Me: (Robert Burns) - Violin, Martyn Bennett (Arr. M.Bennett, 2000).
  3. Cumha Mhic Criomain: (MacCrimmon's Lament) - Violin and all sound effects, Martyn Bennett (Arr. M.Bennett, 1999).

Proceeds of this CD will endow the Martyn Bennett Memorial Scholarship at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow.

Margaret Bennett

Margaret Bennett comes from a long line of traditional Gaelic singers, pipers and storytellers from the Isle of Skye in Scotland. She has sung at festivals and concerts internationally and, as one of the world's foremost authorities on Scottish Folklore, she features in several films, TV documentaries and is regularly on BBC radio. She is also a prize-winning author.
The great Scottish poet and folklorist Hamish Henderson writes:

"There can be few on either side of the Atlantic who succeed in combining such a wide range of skills as Margaret Bennett. A folksinger of great sensitivity and versatility, she is undoubtedly one of the major figures of the modern Scottish Revival... Margaret embodies all that is best of the spirit of Scotland."