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The Sound of Scotland's Traditions

The Sound of Scotland's Traditions

Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches is Scotland’s online resource dedicated to the presentation and promotion of audio recordings of Scotland’s cultural heritage. Its principal content is songs, music, history, poetry, traditions and stories, recorded from the 1930s onwards. The website contains material from three archives: The School of Scottish Studies, The Canna Collection and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and there are recordings in Gaelic, Scots and English. Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches’ principal aim is to ensure that Scotland’s rich oral heritage is safeguarded and made widely available for present and future generations.

The People Behind the Collections

The recordings on this website would not exist without the willingness of thousands of individuals to extol their local knowledge and share their oral traditions. They would also not be available without those pioneers who travelled the length and breadth of Scotland, and beyond, to record them. Many of the earlier recordings were made in people’s homes, with fieldworkers often carrying heavy recording equipment to reach them. We have selected some of the most noteworthy people associated with the collections so you can learn a bit more about their lives as well as listening to their recordings. We will be adding more profiles each month so please remember to re-visit these pages.

Featured Fieldworkers
Major Contributors
Newly added contributors

Projects & other Information

Alongside our work developing the website, we often work in collaboration with other organisations and individuals to develop projects, events, and courses for the benefit of the wider user community. Some examples of these projects are given below.

Gaelic Song Index
Interactive Map
Opening the Well

Gaelic Resources for Schools

Gaelic Resources for Schools

Tobar an Dualchais has created a range of Gaelic-medium resources for educators at pre-school, primary and secondary levels. These resources will assist in making the wonderful range of material on the website more easily accessible to teachers and students. We recognise the importance of young Gaelic speakers being able to connect with the rich cultural heritage associated with the language and the website is an excellent resource to enable this. Other resources will be added to the Schools section as they are developed.

Aiseag - Foghlam Cultarail
Dualchas sa Choimhearsnachd
SING WITH US

Latest Blog Posts

Isabelle Law Selected as New Tobar an Dualchais & ATLAS Arts Artist in Residence

ATLAS Arts and Tobar an Dualchais are delighted to announce that Isabelle Law has been selected as the Tobar an Dualchais & ATLAS Arts Artist in Residence for 2026/27. Now in its seventh year, the residency supports artists to spend time with the rich collections of Tobar an Dualchais, exploring Scotland’s oral history, songs, stories, traditions and voices. The residency offers an opportunity for an artist to connect with this archive and develop new work in response to the recordings and the histories they hold.
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Sgrìobh/Scrieve Nurtures the Next Generation of Scots & Gaelic Songwriters

For the third year running, the Sgrìobh/Scrieve project will give two young emerging artists the opportunity to create their own songs in Scots and Gaelic. The artists will then perform their new work at Eden Court’s summer music festival, Under Canvas, in August.
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Sgrìobh | Scrieve 2026 Commission

Tobar an Dualchais/Kist of Riches an Eden Court are fair trickit tae offer an opportuinity tae twa muisickers, the ane wirkin in the Gaelic an the ither in Scots. The pair wull hae the dint o treaning and resairch in the speicial Kist o Riches archive, wi a routh o recordins fae the School o Scottish Studies. With advice and direction fae sangster an’ screiver Ainsley Hamill, an syne wull scrieve a new sang tae be performit at the Under Canvas festival 2026 as pairt o a set with the other artists. An aa, there may be ither performance opportunities at ither festivals.
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