Dr Karen McAulay explores the history of Scottish music collecting, publishing and national identity from the 18th to 20th centuries. Research Fellow at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, author of two Routledge monographs.
Back in 2013, I authored a blogpost for the Journal of Victorian Culture Online. Today, the Journal has been having a “Throwback Monday” of some kind, as they’ve found it in the archive and shared the link again. I had almost forgotten I’d written it, so it was nice to see it still considered of value.
Here it is again, first published 29 August 2013. ‘Teaching Cultural History Through National Song‘ by me, Karen McAulay (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland).
You’ll remember that last year, I gave some talks about Scottish song-collector Alexander Campbell and his tour round the Hebrides in 1815.
James D Hobson has just posted a great blogpost, A Guide to the Georgian Coaching Inn. Read about the kind of experience Alexander Campbell may have had, on the occasions he travelled by coach or stayed at an inn! (I’ve added this link to my own earlier blogpost so readers will have another chance of finding it, too.) Congrats, James – it’s a wonderful read.
It was a lovely sunny afternoon, and we felt like going out.
Let me show you the Glasgow & West of Scotland Conservatoire of Music (1889-1892). Musician Julius Seligmann had been running a girls’ school in the premises for some years. Aged 72, he reinvented it as the Glasgow & West of Sotland Conservatoire of Music! It only survived three years – it has absolutely no connection with today’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
After that he went on teaching not only from his home (not far away) but he and his son also taught in the new Athenaeum School of Music. That institution did survive, eventually becoming the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where I work today.
And does Mr Seligmann have anything to do with Glasgow music publishers? Not a lot, to be honest. But he did write a review for James S. Kerr’s Pianoforte Tutor.
Mind you, the Society had a very traditional programme of dances, didn’t it? Mozart Allan would’ve known at least half the dances listed!
(Featured top image: No spitting on the carpet, please, gents – it’s a sure sign of low breeding!)
I’ve been looking at some of the dance music published by James Kerr and Mozart Allan, to see how much instruction they gave either to the musician, or to the dancers.
Having diligently tabulated my findings onto a spreadsheet – after all, that’s just what I do! – it dawned on me that I’ve been at it again – ignoring the tunes, I’ve homed in on the paratext. In a sense, they were still obsessing about ‘getting it right’ and authenticity, just the same as the song and tune collectors a century earlier.
Just think how much fun I’ll have when I get Mozart Allan’s actual published dancing manual. It’s on its way from the USA at the moment.
We’ve found a leaflet with three dances composed by Dr A. K. Tulloch for the Students’ Celebrations of Glasgow University Fifth Centenary back in 1951. Yes, I know – dated 9th January 1951, the Commemoration Ball is nine days beyond my research cut-off date of 1950! Still, it was held at the City Chambers, and A. K. Tulloch wrote a jig, strathspey and reel for the occasion.
Who was A. K. Tulloch? Sandy (Alexander) Tulloch (1918-2006) was an eye consultant in Dundee. An accordion player, he was a good friend of Jimmy Shand’s. He even named the commemoration reel after him. You can read all about Sandy in the Box and Fiddle Archive, which has a page based on an interview with him in 1988, and an obituary from 2006. (I was all set to share one of the tunes, but it’s still in copyright, so I’ll respect that!)
But although it makes sense that the jig would be called (or dedicated to) Glasgow’s patron Saint, St Mungo – and I’ve already mentioned the reel named for Jimmy Shand – I haven’t personally come across the name of Peter Dewar was, for whom the strathspey is named. He may have had a Glasgow significance, maybe even a University connection, or a person particularly important to the student body.
We’re notifiying the University Library of our find – so really, I could put it aside now – but I was curious, so I went on searching. There’s information about the quincentenary on Archives Hub, but no immediate reference to the ball in the City Chambers. This doesn’t mean to say the archival materials themselves don’t hold anything relevant, but Archives Hub only indexes what documents are there and maybe a rough idea of what they’re about.
There are also a few newspaper announcements in the British Newspaper Archive.
Looking up Dr Tulloch, however, is far more interesting. A couple of years later, In 1953, he wrote to the Dundee Courier in defence of accordions. Bravo, Sandy!
And a couple of weeks later, he wrote to the paper again – clearly the argument had continued to rage. But Sandy wasn’t going to let it drop! Indeed, we do still play accordions, but they’re perhaps not quite as fashionable as they were in their heyday.
British Newspaper Archive. Same newspaper, Saturday 10th October 1953
I must share the excitement – I’ve been elected a member of the Royal Historical Society! It’s an honour, and I’m proud to be a musicologist considered worthy for election. So much is happening these days with regard to how history is viewed by various sectors of society – I feel it is important to be part of the informed conversation.
Remember, my project into Stationers’ Hall copyright music included the erstwhile library of Sion College?
Anything surviving in that library went to Lambeth Palace, which now has a splendid new library building. Well, I have just seen this advert for a cataloguer posted. Knowing how little music is there, it’s a job for a rare books cataloguer really, but I can’t NOT share details, since I feel a tenuous connection with the library through our research project! AND if you scroll down, there’s another digital job, too …
Here goes – and good luck! :-
Project Cataloguer (Sion College Library) Lambeth Palace Library
Fixed term (two years) £26,954 p.a. rising to £28,983 p.a. after probation
Lambeth Palace Library, founded in 1610, is the historic library and record office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Following the merger with the Church of England Record Centre in 2020 it is now the principal repository for the archives not only of the Archbishop of Canterbury but also of the National Church Institutions in London.
We are looking for a new team member to support the vision and mission of the Library by describing, developing, interpreting and promoting the Library’s collections for the benefit of readers, particularly the pre-1850 printed collections of Sion College Library (founded 1629).
Using your previous experience of cataloguing printed material and your understanding of cataloguing standards, you will create high-quality catalogue records for early printed books and other printed material, to agreed targets and standards.
Engaging with our readers and researchers, you will promote the use of the collections, answering enquiries and participating in outreach and engagement activities to support the Library’s vision to be accessible to all.
This post is offered on a fixed term contract expected to last for two years. Interviews are expected to be held on Tuesday 31st August 2021.For further details and to apply, please visit: https://pathways.churchofengland.org/…/project…. Informal enquiries may be made to archives@churchofengland.org.
Digital Officer, Lambeth Palace Library. Secondment/fixed-term contract until August 2022
Salary: £26,954 rising to £28,983 per year after probation (pro rata)
This is an excellent opportunity to join Lambeth Palace Library, the National Library and Archive of the Church of England. The post is offered on a secondment/fixed-term contract expected to last until the beginning of August 2022.
You will provide copies of manuscript, archive and printed materials in digital formats for users of the Library and for outreach and preservation purposes and administer the service on a day-to-day basis, keeping accurate records of orders and payments. You will also maintain the digital image bank, storing new images with standard metadata according to agreed procedures.
To be successful, you will need ability and experience in digital photography as well as strong customer service and IT skills. We’re also looking for someone who is able to prioritise, and work accurately and methodically, handling material with due care for preservation and security.
This is a part-time role, working 21 hours per week.
To arrange an informal discussion about the role, please contact krzysztof.adamiec@churchofengland.org
Interviews will be held the week commencing 6th September 2021. For further details and to apply, please visit: https://pathways.churchofengland.org/job/pathways/2579/digital-officer
My lovely new book sits on the piano looking, frankly, grand. Diagonal tartan paper on top of cloth-bound covers, the red cloth spine and corners peeping out tantalisingly, and a gold-embossed title. It does indeed look like the advertisement’s promise of being a great gift for a music-loving friend.
I have my own set of questions that I always ask when I open a new book of Scottish songs, and I’ll apply the same tests to “Morven” as I would any other book. But first, I played a couple of tunes from “Morven” this evening. My heart sank. Then Himself called through to me, “What on earth’s THAT you’re playing?” And with reason! The arrangements aren’t bad, technically, but they’re unbelievably prosaic. To be fair, they aren’t too demanding, so they’re accessible at least.
Listen to the introduction of Oh for the bloom of my own native heather, and you’ll see what I mean:- https://soundcloud.com/karen…/oh-for-the-bloom-of-my-own
My next step is to see how long Mozart Allan went on advertising it! It was first published in the 1890s, and my advertising leaflet with ‘An ideal gift for your musical friend’ is from the mid 1920s – but it would appear my copy of the vocal score was owned by someone in 1951. It’s in good condition, so perhaps it WAS still being sold then. (The address could place it anywhere between the late 1920s and the mid 1960s.)
I’m just a little bit sorry for all those countless musical friends who, nearly a century ago, eagerly opened their new book of Scottish songs, and found a batch of well-known songs in plain, unimaginative settings! You know that feeling?
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 