Our Ancient National Airs: Scottish Song Collecting from the Enlightenment to the Romantic Era

Karen McAulay traces the complex history of Scottish song collecting, and the publication of major Highland and Lowland collections. Looking at sources, authenticity, collecting methodology and format, McAulay places these collections in their cultural context. Attention is given to some of the performance issues raised, either in correspondence or in the paratexts of published collections; and the narrative is interlaced with references to contemporary literary, social and even political history as it affected the collectors themselves. Most significantly, this study demonstrates a resurgence of cultural nationalism in the late nineteenth century.

Author: Karen McAulay
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 02/28/2013
Pages: 294
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9781409450191

About the Author
Karen McAulay is Music and Academic Services Librarian at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Her research explores the interface between antiquarian fact-finding and artistic creativity; the parallels between literary and musical fakery in the early Romantic era; and the use of metaphor in the paratexts of song collections in the early nineteenth century.