Fame! Flora Woodman and Robert Wilson under the Spotlight

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

I’m giving a paper at a forthcoming conference at the University of Surrey: Actors, Singers and Celebrity Cultures across the Centuries.

It takes place from tomorrow, Thursday 12 to Saturday 14 June 2025, and is organised under the aegis of the University’s Theatrical Voice Research Centre.

My talk’s entitled, ‘Comparing the Career Trajectories of Two Scottish Singers: Flora Woodman and Robert Wilson‘. 

The Gowns! The Kilts!

I could write plenty about their concert attire alone (think lace, diamonds and fluted frocks, or smart kilts and jackets) – but obviously, I can only just brush past that particular clothes rail, considering the more significant observations that I’m also making.

Boosey’s Ballads

Today, I’d like to share some audio that won’t be making it into my talk. Let’s call it ‘extra content’.  I’ve recorded some of the Boosey-published ballads that Flora performed at their Royal Albert Hall concerts.  Since I’m not a trained singer, I’ve done my best to convey an impression solely on the piano.  (I’m not going to start singing here!)  I also highlight some of the themes in these songs – captured hearts, broken hearts, the joys of spring and of youth.  It’s surprising what you find, if you really look.

Here goes:-

Reassessing an Impression

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

You’ll remember that I’m currently writing an article about some Scottish women whom I encountered during the research for my forthcoming book.  (Actually, I have quite a bit more detail, to the extent that it would be a shame not to share it.)

So of course, I can’t share it here, yet. However, I can reveal that one lady in particular worked as an entertainer, in a trio taking Scotland to emigrants in the diaspora.  (I had only traced her on one tour – I didn’t find evidence of her subsequent life – until today. But we’ll come to that in a minute!)

I did NOT expect to find her, as an even younger adult, performing what was then comparatively recent chamber music back home in Scotland.

So I looked for YouTube recordings, just to hear what exactly she had performed.  This was more highbrow, and more ambitious than I had given her credit for!

Anton Rubinstein – Piano Trio no.2, op.15, in G minor (1851)

Henryk Wieniawski – Legende, violin and piano (1860)

Henryk Wieniawski – Scherzo-Tarantelle, op.16, violin and piano (1885)

Today, I also found confirmation that this lady emigrated to Vancouver, got married (over there?) – and was a theatre musician for some years.  Given Vancouver’s penchant for vaudeville, that may have been her work, but this is pure conjecture.

I’m so pleased with these quick glimpses of another side of someone who I had previously imagined just as a purveyor of sentimental Scottish songs.  It doesn’t pay to pigeonhole people!

Diversity in the Concert Programme

Posted on by Dr Karen E McAulay

Below, you’ll find a blog post that I have just written for the Whittaker Library blog. In my library career, I haven’t changed the world, but I have bought and catalogued quite a lot of music.  (Why be modest? Mountains of it!) In the past five years, I’ve focused particularly on equality and diversity – I put a huge amount of effort into it, and I hope it has made a difference to our users.  Perhaps one day, there will be an event to raise awareness of all this music.  I tried, but I have done all I can.  I wish it had been more, and I wish it could have ended more triumphantly.

In an era that’s all about impact and engagement, it can be an up-hill struggle for a librarian to make a significant difference, and even harder to blow one’s own trumpet metaphorically when surrounded by genuine stars in the making, deservedly blowing their own actual trumpets!

Whilst repertoire lists might not seem the most exciting topic in the world, if they’re important to recitalists and other people planning concert programmes, then they’re important to us. We would like to remind everyone that the Whittaker Library does have a lot of music by women and/or BIPOC composers. We’ve committed a fair chunk […]

Diversity in the Concert Programme