Combining Film, Theatre, Victorian Gothic at Glasgow's Tramway

Paul Bright's Confessions of a Justified Sinner Reconstructed by Untitled Projects 

Bright made an incomplete staging of Victorian poet and novelist James Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner - a weird, strangely compelling Gothic novel.

The Tramway offers a mixing-together of Bright's work filmed, and new film material.  Details here ...

Walter Scott - 241 years old today!

 Happy Birthday, Sir!

It's Walter Scott's birthday today - he was born 15 August 1771 in Edinburgh. 

Yes, this is a performing arts blog.  And Sir Walter Scott was a novelist, true.  But he was also a ballad-collector (and writer), and despite protesting that he wasn't musical, he had a keen interest in Scottish and Borders folk-music.

Why else should musicians care?  Well, here are a few reasons!

From Britainexpress.com - with thanks

• He effectively created the image of Scotland that has drawn tourists and visitors ever since. 
• His novels provided inspiration for any number of operatic and other pieces of classical music.
• He encouraged impoverished professional musicians like Alexander Campbell (of Albyn's Anthology fame) - and wealthy amateurs like the Maclean-Clephane sisters of Torloisk, on the Isle of Mull, not to mention his own daughter.
• He published the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, and one edition had some tunes at the back.
• He was friendly with James Hogg, another novelist, songwriter and ballad-collector.
• I searched our library catalogue.  The Whittaker Library has plenty concerning Sir Walter Scott and his contribution to our culture.  Check the catalogue here!

There - is that enough to encourage you to raise a glass to Sir Walter Scott today?!

On this day, 21 November 1835

_______________________________________

Borders Songwriter James Hogg,

'The Ettrick Shepherd',

died 21 November 1835.

______________________________________

• Primarily remembered today for his Jacobite song collection, the 2-volume Jacobite Relics,
• - and his novel, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
• Friendly with Sir Walter Scott

However, researchers into Scottish music and literature regard his contribution as significant, to say the least.

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Why not take a look at what we have in the Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland?  Here's a list from our catalogue.  (Tip: you can always save the results of a search by copying the hyperlink at the top of the results screen.)

• The University of Stirling is the UK centre for Hogg research - here's their James Hogg website.
• Dr Kirsteen McCue at the University of Glasgow's School of Critical Studies is working on an edition of Hogg's songs with Janette Currie from Stirling University.

'On this day...' : a series of Whittaker Live blogposts about Scottish musical history

NB Picture is from a website of high resolution antiquarian images - many thanks to Graven Image.