Life and Works [Poetical Works

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Life and Works [Poetical Works SONGS: EKOM JOHNSON'S SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM [ORIGINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY AUTHOE.] III. " Were Fortune foe, Tune. Loch Eroch Sido.' lovely Peggy's Such sweetness would relent her; As blooming Spring unbends the brow Of surly, savage Winter. I. Detraction's eye no aim can gain, YOUNG blooms our boniest Peggy lass, Her winning pow'rs to lessen; Her blush is like the morning, And fretful envy grins in vain The the rosy dawn, springing grass, The poison'd tooth to fasten. With early gems adorning. IV. Her eyes outshine the radiant beams That gild the passing shower, Ye Pow'rs of Honor, Love, and Truth, And o'er the streams, ill glitter chrystal From ev'ry defend her ; each flower. And chear fresh'niug Inspire the highly-favour'd youth The destinies intend her : II. Still fan the sweet connubial flame Her more than the cherries in each bosom lips, bright, Responsive ; richer has them A dye graced ; And bless the dear parental name They charm th' admiring gazer's sight, With many a filial blossom. And sweetly tempt to taste them : Her smile is as the evening mild, When feather' d pairs are courting, And little lambkins wanton wild, In playful bands disporting. 2 B [POETICAL WORKS. III. , an' I'll tome to The braes ascend like lofty wa's, The foamy stream deep-roaring fa's, [FIRST SET: SECOND SET IN THOMSON'S COLLECTION.] O'erhung wi' fragrant spreading shaws, The birks of Aberfeldy. I. IV. I'll WHISTLE, an' come to lad ; you, my The hoary cliffs are crown'd wi' flowers, whistle, an' I'll come to you, lad : my White o'er the linns the burnie poui;s, father and mither should baith gae mad, Though And rising, weets wi' misty showers whistle, an' I'll come to lad. you, my The birks of Aberfeldy. II. V. Come down the back stairs when come to ye Let Fortune's gifts at random flee, court me; They ne'er shall draw a wish frae me, Come down the back stairs when come to ye Supremely blest wi' love and thee, court me; In the birks of Aberfeldy. see Come down the back stairs, and let iiaebody ; come as were na to And ye coming me, Bonny lassie, will ye go, Will will And come as ye were na coming to me. ye go, ye go ; Bonny lassie, will ye go To the birks of Aberfeldy ? H, to ill ge go? Tune." The Birks of Aborfeldy." CHOEUS. Tune.-" The Northern Lass." Bonny lassie, will ye go, will Will ye go, ye go ; Bonny lassie, will ye go THOUGH cruel fate should bid us part, To the birks of Aberfeldy ? Far as the pole and line, Her dear idea round my heart, I. Should tenderly entwine. Now Simmer blinks on braes, flowery Though mountains rise, and deserts howl, And o'er the streamlets ; chrystal plays And oceans roar between ; Come let us the spend lightsome days Yet, dearer than my deathless soul, In birks of the Aberfeldy. I still would love my Jean. II. The little birdies blythely sing, While o'er their heads the hazels hing, Or lightly flit on wanton wing In the birks of Aberfeldy. JOHNSON'S MUSEUM.] OF ROBERT BURNS. SET Stag, tmj Charmer. [SECOND BEGINS THUS:] Tune. "An Gille dubh ciar dhubh." L* THICKEST night, o'erhang my dwelling ! Howling tempests, o'er me rave ! I. Turbid torrents, wintry swelling, can leave me ? STAY, my charmer, you Still surround my lonely cave ! Cruel, cruel, to deceive me ! Chrystal streamlets, &c. Well you know how much you grieve me Cruel charmer, can you go ? Cruel charmer, can you go ! II. love so ill By my requited ; the faith Tune. " By you fondly plighted ; Morag." the of lovers By pangs slighted ; Do not, do not leave me so! Do not, do not leave me so ! I. LOUD blaw the frosty breezes, The snaws the mountains cover ; Like winter on me thickest flight, Summnb mg Btodlhtg! seizes, " Since rover Tune. Strathallan's Lament." my young Highland Far wanders nations over. Where'er he go, where'er he stray, [ORIGINAL SET.] May Heaven be his warden : Return him safe to fair Strathspey, I. And bonie Castle-Gordon ! THICKEST night, surround my dwelling ! II. Howling tempests, o'er me rave ! Turtid torrents, wintry swelling, The trees now naked groaning, Roaring by my lonely cave ! Shall soon wi' leaves be hinging, Chrystal streamlets gently flowing, The birdies dowie moaning, Busy haunts of base mankind, Shall a' be blythely singing, Western breezes softly blowing, And every flower be springing. Suit not my distracted mind. Sae I'll rejoice the lee-lang day, When by his mighty Warden II. My youth's return'd to fair Strathspey, In the cause of Right engaged, And bonie Castle-Gordon. Wrongs injurious to redress, Honor's war we strongly waged, But the heavens deny'd success. Ruin's wheel has driven o'er us, a that dare Not hope attend, * A strange confusion about these lines seems to exist in The wide world is all before us some highly respectable Editions, which will bo fully examined But a world without a friend. hereafter in Notes. 132 LIFE AND WORKS [POETICAL WORKS. ot the II. " O'er the past too fondly wandering, na chri." Tune." Bltanneracli dlion future On the hopeless pondering ; Chilly grief my life-blood freezes, Fell despair my fancy seizes. thou soul of I. Life, every blessing, Load to misery most distressing, How pleasant the banks of the clear winding Devon, Gladly how would I resign thee, With green spreading bushes and flow'rs bloom- And to dark Oblivion join thee!" ing fair! But the bonniest flow'r on the banks of the Devon Was once a sweet bud on the braes of the Ayr. Mild be the sun on this sweet blushing flower, In the as it bathes in the dew ; gay rosy morn, 0tt the ^taring (Skean. And gentle the fall of the soft vernal shower, Tune. " Druimion dubh." That steals on the evening each leaf to renew ! II. I. spare the dear blossom, ye orient breezes, MUSING on the With chill hoary wing as ye usher the dawn; roaring ocean, Which divides love and me And far be thou distant, thou reptile that seizest my ; ! heav'n in warm The verdure and pride of the garden or lawn Wearying devotion, For his weal where'er he be. Let Bourbon exult in his gay gilded Lilies, And England triumphant display her proud Rose : II. A fairer than either adorns the green vallies, Where Devon, sweet Devon, meandering flows. Hope and fear's alternate billow Yielding late to nature's law, Whisp'ring spirits round my pillow Talk of him that's far awa. III. armmb her $J0tomg. Ye whom sorrow never wounded, Ye who never shed a tear, Tune. "Macgregor of Rura's Lament." Care-untroubled, joy-surrounded, Gaudy day to you is dear. IV. I. Gentle do thou befriend me : RAVING winds around her blowing, night, sleep, the curtain draw; Yellow leaves the woodlands strowing, Downy Spirits kind, again attend me, By a river hoarsely roaring, Talk of him that's far awa ! Isabella stray'd deploring " Farewell, hours that late did measure Sunshine days of joy and pleasure; Hail, thou gloomy night of sorrow, Cheerless night that knows no morrow ! JOHNSON'S MUSEUM.] OF ROBERT BURNS. teas Sht. " Tune." The Eose-bud." Tune. Andro and his Cutty Gun." I. CHOKUS. A ROSE-BUD by my early walk, and was Elythe, blythe merry she, Adown a corn-inclosed bawk, Blythe was she but and ben : Sae gently bent its stalk, Blythe by the banks of Em, thorny And blythe in Glenturit glen. All on a dewy morning. Ere twice the shades o' dawn are fled, I. In a' its crimson glory spread, BY Oughtertyre grows the aik, And drooping rich the dewy head, It scents the On Yarrow banks the birkeii shaw ; early morning. But Phemie was a bonier lass II. Than braes o' Yarrow ever saw. Within the bush, her covert nest little linnet II. A fondly prest ; The dew sat on her Her looks were like a flow'r in May, chilly breast, Sae early in the morning. Her smile was like a simmer mom ; She soon shall see her tender brood, She tripped by the banks of Ern, The pride, the pleasure o' the wood, As light's a bird upon a thorn. Amang the fresh green leaves bedew' d, III. Awauk the early morning. Her bony face it was as meek III. As ony Iamb upon a lee; So thou, dear bird, young Jeany fair, The evening sun was ne'er sae sweet, On trembling string or vocal air, As was the blink o' Phemie's e'e. Shall sweetly pay the tender care That tents IV. thy early morning. So thou, sweet Rose-bud, young and gay, The Highland hills I've wander'd wide, Shalt beauteous blaze upon the day, And o'er the Lawlands I hae been ; And bless the parent's evening ray But Phemie was the blythest lass That watch'd thy early morning. That ever trode the dewy green. Blythe, blythe and merry was she, Blythe was she but and ben : the banks of Blythe by Ern, SStmter'* And blythe in Glenturit glen. " Tune. Neil Gow's Lamentation for Abercairny." I. WHERE, braving angry winter's storms, The lofty Ochels rise, Far in their shade my Peggy's charms First blest my wondering eyes ; 134 LIFE AND WORKS [POETICAL WORKS.
Recommended publications
  • A Daily Bulletin Listing Decisions of Superior Courts of Australia
    Friday 28 November 2008 Click here to visit our website Insurance A Daily Bulletin listing Decisions of Superior Courts of Australia Today’s Cases Litigation Funding – whether funding arrangement for plaintiffs in class action was illegal. See Brookfield Multiplex Limited v International Litigation Funding Partners PTE Personal Injury – claim for damages by plaintiff against Council for personal injury allegedly suffered when plaintiff fell over low unfenced retaining wall of drain – defence of intoxication – assessment of damages – verdict for defendant at first instance - plaintiff’s appeal allowed. See Jackson v Lithgow City Council Building Dispute (NSW) – proceedings before CTTT – tribunal determined separate question concerning validity of termination of contract – appeal to Supreme Court succeeded – further appeal to single justice of Court of Appeal – application by appellant to have respondent’s Notice of Contention struck out – application failed. See HIA Insurance Services v Kostas & Ors Limitation Period (NSW) – application for extension of time – excessive amount of materials tendered in support of application - duty of parties’ legal representatives to tender only relevant material – implications on costs orders. See SDW v Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints Defamation (NSW) – application by defendants to strike out imputations contained in Statement of Claim – application by plaintiff to amend – amendment granted and large amount of imputations struck out. See Burns v Harbour Radio & Anor Jurisdiction (NSW) – application by defendant for an order declining to exercise jurisdiction in relation to plaintiff’s claim for damages for personal injuries suffered by plaintiff whilst on holiday in Fiji. Application refused. See Mody v South Seas Cruises Limited & Anor Motor Accident (NSW) – sections 108 & 109: Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 – whether “full and satisfactory” explanation – leave to commence proceedings granted.
    [Show full text]
  • James Currie's Editing of the Correspondence of Robert Burns Robert D
    Studies in Scottish Literature Volume 35 | Issue 1 Article 30 2007 James Currie's Editing of the Correspondence of Robert Burns Robert D. Thornton State University of New York, New Paltz Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Thornton, Robert D. (2007) "James Currie's Editing of the Correspondence of Robert Burns," Studies in Scottish Literature: Vol. 35: Iss. 1, 403–418. Available at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl/vol35/iss1/30 This Article is brought to you by the Scottish Literature Collections at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studies in Scottish Literature by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Robert D. Thornton J ames Currie's Editing of the Correspondence of Robert Bums The best known letter of Burns edited by James Currie in Volume One is the autobiography addressed to Dr. John Moore.! Unlike almost every other person suggested for the task of editing, Currie could have had the posted letter itself. Apparently he never accepted Moore's offer of it. Not interested in collating and without the time and the space even if he were, Currie had in Liverpool what he needed to go on confidently. "There are" he tells his read­ ers: Various copies of this letter, in the author's- hand-writing; and one of these, evi­ dently corrected, is in the book in which he copied several of his letters. This has been used for the present, with some omissions, and one slight alterations suggested by Gilbert Burns.2 lThe Letters of Robert Burns, 2nd edn., ed.
    [Show full text]
  • A Bibliography of Robert Burns for the 21St Century: 1786-1802
    A Bibliography of Robert Burns for the 21st Century: 1786-1802 Craig Lamont 2018 Introduction THIS WORK will provide the beginnings of an overdue renewal into the bibliographical study of the main editions of Robert Burns. The aim is to provide comprehensive details, especially concerning the contents of the editions, which have been generally overlooked by previous bibliographers. It is hoped that this new methodology will benefit future researchers and readers of Robert Burns. The work is linked with the AHRC- funded project, ‘Editing Robert Burns for the 21st Century’ at the University of Glasgow, currently producing the multi-volume Oxford Edition of the Works of Robert Burns. Following the first phase of the work, further research was kindly funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh through a Small Research Grant: ‘The Early Editions of Robert Burns, 1786-1802: towards a new descriptive bibliography’ (PI: Lamont), opening up the possibility for consultations in other collections. The principal reference in constructing this bibliography is J. W. Egerer’s A Bibliography of Robert Burns (1964). Other bibliographies, catalogues, books, and articles relative to this area will also be consulted, and any insights gained from these will be noted throughout. While Egerer’s chief aim in his bibliography ‘is to emphasize the first appearances in print of Burns’s writings,’ this work seeks to provide comprehensive details about each main edition, as well as renewing or correcting previous or outdated assumptions about first appearances and authorship of certain poems and songs. The method for doing this was refined over time, but the end result is hopefully easy to follow, especially with the focus on the contents, ie.
    [Show full text]
  • Fifteen Songs of Robert Burns
    FIFTEEN SOMGS OF ROBERT BURNS LOIS G. WILLIAMS B. A., University of California, 1963 A MASTER'S REPORT suijmltted in partial fulfillioent of the requirements for the degree V MASTER OF ARTS Department of English KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 1966 Approved by: .tl^±Scmierv^^ Major Professor The great fascination vlth £olk song ^ilch began In the eighteenth century and grew to gigantic proportions in the twentieth con8taxU;ly seeks new avenues of interest. Ei^teenth-century collectors and editors amassed large collections of songs. Although the collector was concerned with the antiquity of a song, he was inclined to edit elements of "barbarista." Collectors of the twentieth century, on the other hand, have been concerned with tracing the genealogies of songs, with establishing the ''authenticity" of words or tune. As everyone knows, a folk song must be very old, must betray no polished literary skill, and must certainly be anonymous. Contenqiorary collectors would probably disregard the songs o£ Robert Bums, since, after all, they are not really old, are not works of an unskilled literary hand, and are not even sanctified by anonymity. A song has two equally important elemeots: words and noisic. Until recently, song collectors have been primarily Interested in words because of the difficulties in tracing old tunes which are caused by notational problems and absence of historical records. In the divorce of these two elements, as Gavin Greig points out, both have suffered: Taken apart from the music the words have come to be judged mainly by literary standards. But 'good is good for what it suits'; and the words of a song being intended for singing cannot fairly be judged apart from the music.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Burns
    Classic Poetry Series Robert Burns - poems - Publication Date: 2004 Publisher: PoemHunter.Com - The World's Poetry Archive Robert Burns (1759-1796) Burns, sometimes known as the 'ploughman poet', was the eldest son of a poverty-stricken farmer. Though his father had moved to Ayrshire, where Burns was born, in order to attempt to improve his fortunes, he eventually died as a bankrupt - after taking on first one farm and then, unsuccessful, moving to another - in 1784. Robert, who had been to school since the age of six, and was also educated at home by a teacher, had, by the age of fifteen, already become the farm's chief labourer. He had also acquired a reading knowledge of French and Latin and had read Shakespeare, Dryden, Milton and the Bible. After his father's death, he and his brother continued farming together, working now at Mossigiel. The poverty of Burns' early life, though far from being overcome, had produced in him a supporter of the French Revolution and a rebel against both Calvinism and the social order of his time. His rebellious nature soon became evident in his acts. Burns' first illegitimate child was borne to him by Elizabeth Paton in 1785. Two sets of twins later followed, and various amorous intrigues, from Jean Amour, whom he afterward married. It was also during this period that Burns' first achieved literary success. Though he had thought of emigration to Jamaica as a possible way to avoid his mounting problems, he published his Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect on July 31 1786 at Kilmarnock.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Burns: Containing His Poems, Songs, and Correspondence., by Robert Burns and Allan Cunningham
    1 A free download from manybooks.net The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence., by Robert Burns and Allan Cunningham This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham Author: Robert Burns and Allan Cunningham Release Date: June 4, 2006 [EBook #18500] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 • START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS *** Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was made using scans of public domain works from the University of Michigan Digital Libraries.) Transcriber's Note. 2 1. The hyphenation and accent of words is not uniform throughout the book. No change has been made in this. 2. The relative indentations of Poems, Epitaphs, and Songs are as printed in the original book. THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS: CONTAINING HIS POEMS, SONGS, AND CORRESPONDENCE. WITH A NEW LIFE OF THE POET, AND NOTICES, CRITICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, BY ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. ELEGANTLY ILLUSTRATED. BOSTON: PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, AND COMPANY. NEW YORK: J.C. DERBY. 1855 TO ARCHIBALD HASTIE, ESQ., 3 MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR PAISLEY THIS EDITION OF THE WORKS AND MEMOIRS OF A GREAT POET, IN WHOSE SENTIMENTS OF FREEDOM HE SHARES, AND WHOSE PICTURES OF SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE HE LOVES, IS RESPECTFULLY AND GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED BY ALLAN CUNNINGHAM.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Wrote the Scots Musical Museum? Challenging Editorial Practice in the Presence of Authorial Absence Murray Pittock University of Glasgow
    Studies in Scottish Literature Volume 42 | Issue 1 Article 2 5-31-2016 The .W Ormiston Roy Memorial Lecture: Who Wrote the Scots Musical Museum? Challenging Editorial Practice in the Presence of Authorial Absence Murray Pittock University of Glasgow Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl Part of the Ethnomusicology Commons, and the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Recommended Citation Pittock, Murray (2016) "The .W Ormiston Roy Memorial Lecture: Who Wrote the Scots Musical Museum? Challenging Editorial Practice in the Presence of Authorial Absence," Studies in Scottish Literature: Vol. 42: Iss. 1, 3–27. Available at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl/vol42/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you by the Scottish Literature Collections at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studies in Scottish Literature by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHO WROTE THE SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM? CHALLENGING EDITORIAL PRACTICE IN THE PRESENCE OF AUTHORIAL ABSENCE Murray Pittock The Scots Musical Museum is arguably the underpinning canonical text of Scottish song, the place where the country’s leading poet meets its great musical tradition in a “mouseion,” a temple of the Muses, which is also a Museum, a collection of antiquarian fragments. This six volume collection of the songs of Scotland was produced by James Johnson and Robert Burns, with the help of Stephen Clarke and many others, in the years 1787-1803. Although it was apparently a collection which was to serve as a “museum” for Scottish song, it was in fact in many respects less Scottish and less antiquarian than it appeared.
    [Show full text]
  • Selected Pages from Robert Burns
    Edinburgh Research Explorer Robert Burns, Selected Poems and Songs Citation for published version: Burns, R & Irvine, R (ed.) 2013, Robert Burns, Selected Poems and Songs. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publisher Rights Statement: © Irvine, R. (Ed.), & Burns, R. (2013). Selected Poems and Songs. Oxford:OUP. General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 06. Oct. 2021 Songs from The Scots Musical Museum GREEN GROWS THE RASHES 99780199603923_01-Burns-Poems.indd780199603923_01-Burns-Poems.indd 114242 77/24/2013/24/2013 77:12:58:12:58 PPMM songs from THE SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM 143 There’s nought but care on ev’ry han’, In ev’ry hour that passes, O: What signifi es the life o’ man, An’ twere not for the lasses, O? chorus : Green grow the rashes, O; Green grow the rashes, O; The sweetest hours that e’er I spend, Are spent amang the lasses, O.
    [Show full text]
  • Discography Section 2: a (PDF)
    1 ABERDEEN FISHER GIRLS’ CHOIR Conducted by Baillie Dan Allenby Recorded The Ballroom of the Music Hall, Union Street, Aberdeen, Tuesday, 29th. November 1932 M-14536- Caller herrin’ (Lady Caroline Nairne; Niel Gow, arr. J.Bell) Bel 1943 M-14537-1 Danny Boy (Frederick W. Weatherly; anon) Bel 1942 M-14538- Flora MacDonald’s lament (James Hogg, Niel Gow) Bel 1943 M-14539- Caillie Ou (Dr. John Gray; trad) Bel 1934 M-14540-1 I’ve got a robe (trad. arr. H. E. Pether) Bel 1917 M-14541-1 Steal away (trad. arr. E. Newman) Bel 1917 M-14542- Three fishers went a-sailing (John P. Hullan; Charles Kingsley) Bel 1934 NOTE: Some pressings and re-pressings are credited to the Aberdeen Fisher Lassies Choir. ABERDEEN STRATHSPEY AND REEL SOCIETY ORCHESTRA (formed 1928). Alec Sim, conductor, fiddles, piano (probably Annie Shand), double basses. Recorded The Ballroom of the Music Hall, Union Street, Aberdeen, Tuesday, 29th. November 1932 M-14556- Wind on the heath (trad. arr. A. Sim) Bel 1914 M-14557-2 Marquess of Huntly (William Marshall); Marchioness of Huntly (William Marshall); Speed the plough (trad), etc. Bel 1931 M-14558- The laverock’s nest (trad); The smith’s a gallant fireman (trad); The fairy reel (Nathaniel Gow) (all arr. A. Sim) Bel 1914 M-14559- Mrs. Ferguson of Raith; Miss Robertson of Crawhillock (all trad) Bel 1932 M-14560- March – Sir William Noble (trad); Forbes Morrison (J. Scott Skinner); Laird o’ Drumblair (J. Scott Skinner); Mrs. MacLeod (trad) (all arr. A. Sim) Bel 1931 M-14561- Lassie, look before you leap (trad); Duncan Davidson (Nathaniel Gow), Glen Ogie (trad) Bel 1932 LADY ABERDEEN (Ishbel Maria Gordon, née Marjoribanks) (1857 – Aberdeen, 1939).
    [Show full text]
  • Translating Burns
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Enlighten WHO WROTE THE SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM? CHALLENGING EDITORIAL PRACTICE IN THE PRESENCE OF AUTHORIAL ABSENCE Murray Pittock The Scots Musical Museum is arguably the underpinning canonical text of Scottish song, the place where the country’s leading poet meets its great musical tradition in a “mouseion,” a temple of the Muses, which is also a Museum, a collection of antiquarian fragments. This six volume collection of the songs of Scotland was produced by James Johnson and Robert Burns, with the help of Stephen Clarke and many others, in the years 1787-1803. Although it was apparently a collection which was to serve as a “museum” for Scottish song, it was in fact in many respects less Scottish and less antiquarian than it appeared. The Museum took advantage both of the extensive market in song across the British Isles in the eighteenth century, and also of the new market in pianofortes which was being opened up in Edinburgh and elsewhere in the 1780s by John Broadwood (1732-1812) and others: pianos began to appear in Edinburgh music shops only three years before the first volume of the Museum appeared. Collections were ‘pianoized’. As David McGuinness points out, the bass line of Neil Gow’s “Lament for James Moray of Abercairney” had turned from a lamenting drone to a piano accompaniment between the 1784 and 1801 editions. Many of the traditions of Scottish song that the Museum seemed to be preserving were themselves novelties: what had been “new” reels in Neil Stewart’s 1761 Collection and its successor collections, were “old” less than a generation later.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies Gallic Connections
    Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies Volume 2: Issue 1 Gallic Connections: Irish & Scottish Encounters with France AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen JOURNAL OF IRISH AND SCOTTISH STUDIES Volume 2, Issue 1 September 2008 Gallic Connections: Irish and Scottish Encounters with France Published by the AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen in association with The universities of the The Irish-Scottish Academic Initiative and The Stout Research Centre Irish-Scottish Studies Programme Victoria University of Wellington ISSN 1753-2396 Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies General Editor: Cairns Craig Issue Editors: Michael Brown, Rosalyn Trigger Associate Editors: Stephen Dornan, Paul Shanks Editorial Advisory Board: Fran Brearton, Queen’s University, Belfast Eleanor Bell, University of Strathclyde Ewen Cameron, University of Edinburgh Sean Connolly, Queen’s University, Belfast Patrick Crotty, University of Aberdeen David Dickson, Trinity College, Dublin T. M. Devine, University of Edinburgh David Dumville, University of Aberdeen Aaron Kelly, University of Edinburgh Edna Longley, Queen’s University, Belfast Peter Mackay, Queen’s University, Belfast Shane Alcobia-Murphy, University of Aberdeen Ian Campbell Ross, Trinity College, Dublin Graham Walker, Queen’s University, Belfast International Advisory Board: Don Akenson, Queen’s University, Kingston Tom Brooking, University of Otago Keith Dixon, Université Lumière Lyon 2 Luke Gibbons, Notre Dame Marjorie Howes, Boston College H. Gustav Klaus, University of Rostock Peter Kuch, University of Otago Graeme Morton, University of Guelph Brad Patterson, Victoria University, Wellington Matthew Wickman, Brigham Young David Wilson, University of Toronto The Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies is a peer reviewed journal published twice yearly – in September and March – by the AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Burns - Poems
    Classic Poetry Series Robert Burns - poems - Publication Date: 2004 Publisher: Poemhunter.com - The World's Poetry Archive Robert Burns(1759-1796) Burns, sometimes known as the 'ploughman poet', was the eldest son of a poverty-stricken farmer. Though his father had moved to Ayrshire, where Burns was born, in order to attempt to improve his fortunes, he eventually died as a bankrupt - after taking on first one farm and then, unsuccessful, moving to another - in 1784. Robert, who had been to school since the age of six, and was also educated at home by a teacher, had, by the age of fifteen, already become the farm's chief labourer. He had also acquired a reading knowledge of French and Latin and had read Shakespeare, Dryden, Milton and the Bible. After his father's death, he and his brother continued farming together, working now at Mossigiel. The poverty of Burns' early life, though far from being overcome, had produced in him a supporter of the French Revolution and a rebel against both Calvinism and the social order of his time. His rebellious nature soon became evident in his acts. Burns' first illegitimate child was borne to him by Elizabeth Paton in 1785. Two sets of twins later followed, and various amorous intrigues, from Jean Amour, whom he afterward married. It was also during this period that Burns' first achieved literary success. Though he had thought of emigration to Jamaica as a possible way to avoid his mounting problems, he published his Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect on July 31 1786 at Kilmarnock.
    [Show full text]