If this book could speak, it would just say something mysterious and enigmatic. It wouldn’t give everything away all at once.
So … as you know, I’ve been ploughing through archival records. On Friday afternoon, I’d just got to an interesting volume. But before I’d examined all the pertinent pages, I left (because the reading room was closing) – just wishing it was Tuesday morning!
I’d unearthed a change of personnel at the publisher’s. Over the weekend, I’ve learnt all sorts of interesting facts, most of which – truth to tell – have nothing related to Nelson’s Scots Song Books. (They can’t have – they’re subsequent to these books’ publication.) On the other hand, it significantly adds to the human interest, and gives a kind of forward-looking context. And I truly believe that the more context you can give, the more relatable the ultimate story is.
I look forward to Monday, because it’s a Glasgow-based research morning. But Tuesday? I want to get back to that volume in Edinburgh, and there are other sources I am keen to access. Roll on Tuesday.
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 