Talking about Scottish Music, or Composer in Scotland? This is for You!

The Musica Scotica conference is in sunny Stirling this year – the 23^rd and 24^th April.  Our call for papers has been out for some weeks, but just in case you missed it/weren’t aware of it/ hadn’t thought about going, we thought we’d share the CFP again today.  The deadline for abstracts (papers or briefer poster session) is strictly speaking this Sunday.  A couple of extra days won’t make much difference, but don’t leave it too long!

Here are all the details you need before you write/submit that abstract!  http://www.musicascotica.org.uk/conferences.shtml

Read about Harry Lauder and Scottish Popular Culture

We're always interested in the great Scottish performers of earlier generations, so when we found David Goldie's article, we thought we'd share it.  It might interest people here at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Here's David Goldie's article, published at the University of Stirling in 2005:-

Hugh MacDiarmid, Harry Lauder and Scottish Popular Culture

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.

.

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.

Special Collections at Stirling University include film materials

Whittaker's nocturnal reading unearthed useful information about the Special Collections at Stirling University:-

Film and Media Studies has long been one of the strengths of the University of Stirling, so it is not surprising that the Library’s collections reflect this. We are fortunate to hold the papers of three filmmakers: Lindsay Anderson, one of the most important film directors of the 20th century; John Grierson, who founded the Documentary Film Movement; and the animator and experimental filmmaker, Norman McLaren.


The Lindsay Anderson collection includes material relating to all of Anderson’s films, including If.... , This Sporting Life , O Lucky Man! and Britannia Hospital, as well as 40 theatre productions directed by Anderson. A large amount of personal material collected and kept by Anderson is also in the collection.


The John Grierson Archive provides a comprehensive account of the career of one of the key figures in the history of documentary filmmaking. The archive contains a wealth of material, including papers relating to the various organisations for which Grierson worked ‐ the Empire Marketing Board, the GPO Film Unit, the Imperial Relations Trust, the National Film Board of Canada, Group 3 Film Company, UNESCO,the Association Internationale des Documentaristes; Films of Scotland Committee and Scottish Television.


Norman McLaren was born in Stirling in April 1914. It was while a student at Glasgow School of Art that he started making short experimental films. His work came to the attention of John Grierson, who offered him a job with the GPO Film Unit. When Grierson moved to Canada in 1939 to set up their National Film Board, he invited McLaren to join him. In Canada Grierson gave McLaren the freedom to experiment.


McLaren's genius was recognised worldwide with a string of awards for his work,including an Oscar in 1953 for his short film Neighbours. Our collection includes material relating to McLaren’s films, as well as his correspondence, press cuttings and photographs.

• University of Stirling Special Collections website
• University of Stirling Archives blog - eg 'Portraits of the artist: Lindsay Anderson' (black and white photos of the film director)
• Whittaker's source was the Library and Information History Group Newsletter, Winter 2011 pp. 14-16