Stories of British Songs from 1750-1850

A research network based at the University of Glasgow has created a beautiful website detailing the stories behind a wide range of songs from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales during the Georgian and early Victorian eras.

Do take a look at the Romantic National Song Network: Exploring the Songs of Britain 1750-1850 - you might find a few surprises about those well-loved national songs!

Have you had your Full English? (Digital Archive, English Traditional Music)

The English Folk Dance and Song Society recently launched a brand new digital archive of English traditional music.

Since national songs don't live in watertight compartments (and we could argue all day about what exactly you consider to be a national song, anyway!), you'll also find some Scottish and other traditional music in the archive too.

Take a look - it's a big and significant initiative!

• Click here for the EFDSS Full English
• Click here for the EFDSS homepage

Teaching Cultural History Through National Song

Music and Academic Services Librarian Karen McAulay has posted on a scholarly blog about Victorian history, the Journal of Victorian Culture Online.  Read her article here:-

'Teaching Cultural History Through National Song'

(29 August 2013)

Scottish Cultural History as illustrated by Musical Song Collections

'Whittaker' (aka Music and Academic Services Librarian Karen McAulay) gave an illustrated talk to visiting librarians from the Library and Information History Group, a couple of weeks ago.  There was no PowerPoint, but the talk is available via Karen's Academia.edu pages. Click here.

Scottish Saxophones and Spanish Cellos: Arranging National Tunes for Small Ensembles

Sax Ecosse at Buchanan Bus Station

A veritable blogfest about song-arranging can be found here on the True Imaginary Friends blog.  Take a handful of old national songbooks, and pick an ensemble to write for.  Are you ready?  

Here are some of the results!

Letitia Hill loved her Selection of Irish Melodies ...

... but Letitia didn't have the complete set.  Nonetheless, she had them bound, sometime prior to 1830.  There are three parts of the Selection of Irish Melodies, a few single songs composed by Stevenson to texts by Moore, Walter Scott and T. Lyster; and a couple of songs by John Clarke.  All but one of the items was published in both Dublin and London, which suggests Letitia's book has an Irish connection.

Her volume of songs has just been added to our Special Collections.  (Is there a special rare books term for a volume of separately published items, bound by the collector, or do we just call it a "collector's volume"? ) 

http://prism.talis.com/rcs/items?query=letitia+hill+stevenson

The non-Irish item at the end of the volume?  Dale's Collection of Reels and Dances, no.17 (pp.65-68), published by Joseph Dale in London, and sold at 19 Cornhill opposite the Royal Exchange, and other venues.

Contents are summarised in the catalogue link above; however,a full listing of contents can be supplied on request.