🎵 LIVE SESSION Les waulking songs ou òran-luaidh sont des chants de travail traditionnels écossais qui accompagnaient le foulage de la laine. Les Écossaises frappaient la laine autour d’une table dans un rythme plus ou moins soutenu, tout en entonnant ces refrains. La chanson s’enchaîne ici avec la gigue traditionnelle irlandaise « Magic Potion Jig » inspirée de la tradition du lilting qui consiste à reproduire à la voix une mélodie destinée à des instruments pour accompagner la danse. ~ ~ ~ ~

Scotswomen singing and waulking the cloth in 1941. The women of the Outer Hebrides, for centuries kept alive a tradition of working their woollen cloth accompanied by song. The tradition was still alive about 50 years ago and has never died out completely. | Vintage Everyday

Waulking the cloth, waulking the song. Modern carding and spinning techniques allow for much lighter, finer yarns, which makes for a soft and wearable fabric. The finishing processes have also been refined over the years, meaning the "handle" of Harris Tweed® today is almost unrecognisable from what it was a century ago.100 years ago the raw, unfinished, fabric was stiff, loose, and rough. Through a rhythmic, communal process called walking, women would soften and shrink it by hand.They sang pow