The Forbes Cantus - reprinted and now digitised

Cantus, songs and fancies, to three, four, or five parts, both apt for voices and viols With a brief introduction to musick. As is taught in the musick-school of Aberdeen

[A plaine and easie introduction to practicall musicke]

So important was the seventeenth century ''Forbes Cantus in Scottish musical history, that a Paisley publisher reprinted it in the late nineteenth century.   In 1879, when it was well out of copyright, Alexander Gardner produced this edition, 'reproduced  by photolithography for the new club series'.  Gardner reprinted a number of such sources. 

And it has now been digitised by the National Library of Scotland. 

View it here.
NLS catalogue record for printed volume here.
NLS Digitised Gallery, containing 200 digitised Scottish music books.

Bagpipes from hell - how did we miss this CD?!

Absolutely NOT the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.  'Bagpipes from Hell' is Vittorio Ghielmi and Luca Pianca playing 17th and 18th century music for viola da gamba, lyra-viol and liuto, ceterone.

And we have it in the Whittaker Library.  Form an orderly queue!

Seventeenth century dress patterns

Alan Jones, our Drama Librarian, has been shopping in London.

I'm so excited about this book, I almost want to rush home and get my scissors out!   A new book on Seventeenth century dress patterns - probably compulsory reading for our costume designers.

More about it on Amazon.