Beinn Dorain Explained

Beinn Dorain
Elevation M:1,076
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence M:332
Parent Peak:Beinn a' Chreachain
Listing:Munro, Marilyn
Language:Scottish Gaelic
Pronunciation:in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic peɲ ˈt̪ɔːɾɛɲ/
Location:Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Range:Bridge of Orchy Hills, Grampian Mountains
Grid Ref Uk:NN325378

Beinn Dorain (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: '''Beinn Dobhrain''',[2] 'hill of the otter'),[3] is a mountain in the Breadalbane region of the Scottish Highlands. It overlooks Bridge of Orchy in Argyll. It is a Munro with a height of . The mountain is the subject of Duncan Ban MacIntyre's best known Gaelic poem, Moladh Beinn Dòbhrainn (English: "In Praise of Ben Doran"); MacIntyre had spent his youth and had worked as a gamekeeper in these parts.

An t-urram thar gach beinn

Aig Beinn Dòbhrain;

De na chunnaic mi fon ghrèin,

S i bu bhòidhche leam…

English translation:

Honour beyond each ben

for Ben Doran;

Of all I have seen beneath the sun,

she is the most glorious for me[4]

The mountain is easily accessible from the Bridge of Orchy railway station, from where a path leads up to the bealach separating Beinn Dorain from Beinn an Dothaidh: the two hills are frequently climbed together from this point.

The Scottish composer Ronald Stevenson composed a work for full chorus, chamber chorus, symphony orchestra and chamber orchestra based on MacIntyre's poem, entitled Moladh Beinn Dobhrain (In praise of Ben Dorain) in 2007. In this lyrical, tonal work, Stevenson used the original text and Hugh Macdiarmid's English translation of the verse. It was premiered on 19 January 2008 in Glasgow with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera Chorus, Glasgow University Chapel Choir and The Edinburgh Singers.[5]

References

56.5024°N -4.723°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: walkhighlands Beinn Dorain . . 2013 . walkhighlands.co.uk . 20 October 2013.
  2. Web site: Beinn Dorain . Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba

    Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland

    .
  3. Am Faclair Beag - http://www.faclair.com/: "dobhran" or "dòbhran" = "otter," with "dobhrain" or "dòbhrainn" being the genitive form; see also, "dòbhran", Mark, Colin, The Gaelic English Dictionary, p. 237
  4. Web site: Ban MacIntyre. Duncan. Ben Dorain (English translation). Selections from the Gaelic bards: Metrically translated with biographical prefaces and explanatory notes, also original poems. Archibald Sinclair. 23 March 2014. Glasgow. 53–57. 1866.
  5. http://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/694 Gasser, M., "Ronald Stevenson, Composer-Pianist : An Exegetical Critique from a Pianistic Perspective" (Edith Cowan University Press, Western Australia, 2013)