A fascinating project called 365: Stories and Music sees Aidan O’Rourke perform with pianist and harmonium player Kit Downes this Friday 11th October at the Gable End Theatre,  Hoy, and the touring installation will come to Orkney Library from 15th November.

Photo credit: William Moss

Bold, tender, full of old truths and distilled modern wit, 365: Stories and Music is
an epic built on the beauty of the miniature.

It’s a collaboration between artists steeped in tradition but constantly breaking new ground.

In 2013, James Robertson – one of Scotland’s leading authors – set himself the challenge of writing a short story every day for a year. Each story was to be 365 words, no more, no less. It became an enchanting, roaming collection of fairytales and memories and provocations published in 2014 by Penguin as 365:Stories. That was only the beginning.

In 2016 Scottish fiddler and composer Aidan O’Rourke (of Lau) wrote a tune every day in response. The result is a major new body of 365 tunes – a significant addition to the Scottish traditional music canon.

Robertson’s stories and O’Rourke’s music now form a touring installation designed by inventor Yann Seznec in collaboration with design team Old School Fabrications. The installation is a piece of art in itself, beautifully crafted from  wood and brass with no digital screens in sight encasing the spoken-word recordings of all 365 stories.

From January 2020, readers can also receive a daily story and tune to be delivered to their email inbox. With no need to buy a CD or book, the 365 Stories and Music will arrive every day free of charge – a daily miniature piece of public art.

365: Music + Stories created in partnership with Edinburgh International Book Festival, with support from Creative Scotland, PRS for Music Foundation’s The Open Fund, the University of Glasgow’s Scottish Literature department, BBC Scotland, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Scottish Poetry Library, An Tobar, Reveal Records and Penguin Books.