It has been hailed as Scotland's greatest example of modernist architecture but for nearly four decades it has lain in ruin, quietly crumbling into the Argyll landscape.

On Thursday night, locals got a first look inside St Peter's Seminary, near Cardross, which has been brought back to life in a vivid display of light and sound as part of a multi-million-pound transformation project.

Described as a "brutalist masterpiece" the seminary, once a training centre for Catholic priests, has become the stage for Hinterland, a major music and light show.

Launched to mark the 2016 Festival of Architecture, the large scale public art event will take place over the next ten nights, marking 50 years since the building first opened in 1966.

Originally intended as a secluded college for trainee priests, St Peter’s closed after only 14 years when the Vatican decreed they should instead be trained within the communities they were intended to serve.

Designed by acclaimed Glasgow architect firm Gillespie, Kidd and Coia, the seminary was troubled from the start.

Difficult to live in, the rooms were cold, the roof often leaked and by 1980 the decision was made to abandon the building and deconsecrate the ground.

After a brief spell as a drug rehabilitation centre, the building was left to rot before Glasgow-based organisation NVA stepped up with a regeneration plan.

NVA proposed St Peter’s should become a heritage destination, a place of pilgrimage for architecture enthusiasts and artists alike.

The team have spent the last six months clearing asbestos out of the fragile building. Close to 80 vaults were expected to collapse over the winter but nearly £250,000 was raised to save them.

Taking inspiration from the building's monastic history, Hinterland features haunting choral music set to a shimmering light display, flickering candles and even a giant swinging pendulum, reminiscent of a Catholic thurible.

Guests are given special light-up walking sticks to guide them through the seminary's woodland trails to the building where the performance takes place.

Guides are then scattered throughout the seminary to help the audience find their way through the dark.

The partially restored buildings are set to fully open in 2018 with a cafe and public hub, a 600-capacity events space, flexible indoor and outdoor teaching and performance spaces and a permanent exhibition.

Angus Farquhar, creative director of NVA, said: "The subtle composition of lighting, projection and choral music beautifully echoes the site history and will give audiences a strong impression of its creative potential. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how people respond to it over the next ten days."