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.
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS, Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, RSAMD)
The 10 June 1902 was a significant day in the life of the Glasgow Athenaeum School of Music. The next day (11 June), The Scotsman reported:-
Glasgow Athenaeum School of Music
Dr Edward E. Harper, the new principal of Glasgow Athenaeum School of Music, was introduced yesterday in the hall of the Athenaeum to a large gathering of students and others interested in music. Councillor Ure Primrose, who presided, said that Dr Harper’s appointment was undoubtedly an epoch in the history of the Athenaeum, and especially of its School of Music. They had a Royal Academy of Music in London, the only one in the kingdom [this was actually incorrect – it wasn’t the only such institution], and he saw no reason why they should not have a similar institution in Scotland. Dr. Harper spoke briefly, and remarked that it would be his earnest endeavour to realise the aim of the directors to make the school a thoroughly effective one.
Harper was our second ever Principal, succeeding Allan Macbeth. He was only to be in post for a couple of years, and there’s no record of why he left. Indeed, we’ve come on a lot since then, and increased hugely in standing. He’d be astonished if he came back today and discovered jazz, traditional music, drama and production arts, film, television and ballet!
I recorded a podcast about Edward Emanuel Harper a few weeks ago – you can hear it here.
I started my Leng Medal Memories interviews this week. What a pleasurable experience this is turning out to be! Two of my interviewees still have their silver medals, fifty-odd years later. I subsequently asked the Facebook group, Dundee Pals, and found that lots more people there still have their medals, too. It just goes to show how significant winning the medals actually was to the school pupils who took part.
Anyway, I thought I’d re-share the link to my questionnaire about Dundee Leng Medal memories, in case anyone finds this post and would like to participate in my research project:- https://tinyurl.com/LengMemories
Tradition in Motion
The stage is set: Stevenson Hall for Co-founder Dr Jo Miller’s keynote; doctoral students Connor Civatte and Neil Wood; and Dr Jo Miller in conversation with Head of Dept Prof Josh Dickson,
On a different note, yesterday (Tuesday) saw me as a delegate attending the first day of an Royal Conservatoire of Scotland conference, which was celebrating thirty years of traditional music at RCS. The keynote speaker was Dr Jo Miller, one of the co-founders of the Scottish Music degree. As she spoke, her slides showing the chronology of those early years, I realised that when I arrived at what was then RSAMD in 1988, this was just as trad music teaching was getting off the ground.
In 1988, I had no idea that I’d end up recommencing my doctoral studies fifteen years later – little did I know! – forsaking mediaeval polyphony to focus on Scottish songs. My choice of subject was very much influenced by the thought that I’d at least be studying something that might be useful and relevant to students on that course. It took me a little bit longer before I realised that what I was researching counted as ancient history – certainly relevant background, but a very different kind of Scottish song to what today’s contemporary musicians really want to focus on! The songs – their tunes and authors – are still important. But the harpsichord, and subsequently the piano arrangements that I was looking at, represented the soundscape of another world entirely. By contrast, yesterday I heard a paper about sounding Scottish in modern harp-playing; another about the use of traditional Scottish music in videogames; and a third talking about Robert Burns and Hamish Henderson. So many different aspects of Scottish traditional music!
No more interviews or meetings for me this week, but next week I’ll resume my researches. Meanwhile, I need to create another ‘Microsoft Forms’ online form. To think that when I was first a doctoral researcher, I took typing lessons so that I wouldn’t be dependent on paying a typist – as I had done for my Masters dissertation.
By the time I finished my second attempt at a PhD, we had email and PCs. Social media and all the extra Microsoft offerings were still in the future.
And now – I couldn’t even do this present research without Teams, Bookings and Forms. Times change!
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 