Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
THE SCOTTISH LUTE MANUSCRIPTS
Discuss the surviving sources of music for the lute family. How does the existing
evidence have potential relevance in the traditional music scenes of today? What
problems do these sources present?
The lute is very rarely thought of as one of Scotland’s national and most culturally
defining instruments. However, it is in the Scottish lute manuscripts of the
seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries that we find some of the ‘earliest written
examples of Scottish instrumental music that have come down to us’ – a corpus of
books that collectively contain over four hundred tunes, and provide us with an
invaluable insight into a period of history when the ‘development of selfconsciousness about what Scottish music is’ was at its strongest1. It is evident that
the lute was an important instrument at some stage in Scotland’s musical past2, but
when exactly was this period in time? We know that lute players were ‘fully
established at the Royal Court’ by the end of the fifteenth century; in fact, ‘the lute
was central to court entertainment’ during the reigns of King James I to James VI
(1406 – 1603) (Spring 2001: 451 & Phillips 1995: 4). It cannot be determined exactly
when the lute first appeared in Scotland, but it has certainly been known since at
least the thirteenth century, when it is mentioned in a poem by Thomas of
Ercildoune3:
Harpe and fethill both they fande,
Getterne and als so the sawtrye;
Lutte, and rybyte, both gangande,
And all manner of mysntralse.
(Phillips 1995: 6; see also Taylor & Phillips 2007: liner notes)
There is insufficient surviving evidence to form any firm conclusions about the lute in
Scotland prior to James I; however there are ‘plentiful literary references to lute
playing in Scotland in the late fifteenth and throughout the sixteenth centuries, but no
1
(Phillips 1995: 4; Taylor & Phillips 2007: liner notes and Purser 2007b: programme 23)
In his book Musical Memoirs of Scotland, Sir John Graham Dalyell gives the description ‘an
instrument formerly in highest repute, and the most extensively cultivated by the most civilised of the
European nations, was the lute’ (Dalyell 1849: 221).
3 Thomas of Ercildoune (1219 – 1299) is believed to be the first poet of the ‘Inglis’ language in
Scotland who we are able to identify from surviving sources (Lyle 2007: 7).
2
1
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
Scottish lute sources survive from this period’ (Phillips 1995: 4 & Spring 2001: 454).
In addition to literary evidence from this earlier period, there is also iconographic
evidence, such as the stone carvings of lute players in Roslyn Chapel:
Stone engraving depicting lutar in Lady Chapel, Roslyn Chapel.
www.rmguitar.info/lutemedieval (Mackillop 2002a)
Apart from the few pieces in English lute manuscripts from this time, such as ‘Hunt’s
Up’, which show some indication4 of a Scottish origin, no written music survives from
the ‘Golden Age’ of Scottish lute music – that of the two hundred years prior to 1603.
The year 1603, of course, marked significant change in Scotland with the Union of
the Crowns resulting in the court moving to London, and the royal patronage which
had kept ‘hardly less than four lutars at the court at any one time’ was now lost
(Phillips 1995: 4). The surviving Scottish manuscripts all date from post-1603, and
span a hundred year period, before another change impacted Scotland – The Treaty
of Union in 1707. These years, 1603 to 1706, were an interesting time for Scotland –
some argue that Scottish music ‘suffered greatly in comparison with the relatively
The Scottish versions of ‘Hunt’s Up’ retain the ‘lively driving rhythms’ as the English settings, but are
also ‘characterised by a double-tonic on C and B flat’ – a feature found in much of the surviving
Scottish lute music, such as those examples in the Balcarres MS (Spring 2001: 454).
4
2
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
flourishing courtly musical activity that preceded it (Spring 2001: 456). However, Rob
Mackillop takes the opposite opinion of the ‘period when we fell back on our own
resources’ (Purser 2007b: programme 23). Following the Royal Union, there was
certainly increased intermingling of the different cultures in Scotland, mainly due to
the ‘new air of tolerance between the Lowlanders and Gaels’, and as such, this newfound interaction is captured within the lute manuscripts of the seventeenth century,
a time when the lute lost its aristocratic status but became the instrument on which
many people began to rediscover and revert back to the native idiom for musical
inspiration (Phillips 1995: 4 & Mackillop 2007: 96). It is for this reason that a study, or
discovery, of the wealth of material to be found in the lute manuscripts of the
seventeenth- and early eighteenth-centuries is vital for anyone interested in Scottish
traditional music.
This essay will focus on arguably the five most important manuscripts of
direct relevance to Scottish lute music. They are, in chronological order of
composition – the Rowallan Manuscript, the Straloch Manuscript, the Skene
Mandore Manuscript, the Lady Margaret Wemyss Manuscipt and the Balcarres
Manuscript.
The earliest surviving Scottish lute manuscript – The Rowallan MS, is
believed to have originated around the years 1612 to 1628 (Spring 2001: 458). The
contents of this document have a significant continental influence5, but we also
observe that it ‘provides evidence of the change from the court-influenced practice of
the previous decade to the recording of the native song tradition’ (Phillips 1995: 21 &
Mackillop 2007: 78). Many of the arrangements in Rowallan are very plaintive and
the characteristic double-tonic effect is found in pieces such as ‘Corn Yairds’ (Phillips
1995: 21). Perhaps the most interesting and astounding find in this document
though, is a piece entitled ‘The Gypsie’s Lilt.’ The tune is noted for its repetition of
one very unusual ‘haunting’ chord6 throughout – B flatMaj7sus4, which John Purser
describes as being ‘like nothing else – nothing else at all’ (Mackillop 2007: 79 & 81;
Purser 2007a: 142 and Purser 2007b: programme 16):
The unnamed pieces and those with titles such as ‘Gabot’ (possibly ‘Gavotte’) and ‘Current’ are
evidence of this continental influence.
6
See chord in bars 5 and 7 of following notation as an example.
5
3
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
Robert Phillips’ transcription of ‘The Gypsie’s Lilt’ (Phillips 1995: 27).
There is some dispute over whether this is in fact the chord the scribe intended, and
whether this is what would actually have been played. Those sceptical of its verity
argue that this chord can be obtained by the common scribal mistake of placing a
note on an adjacent string in the notation, and the fact that the Rowallan MS ‘shows
evidence of different workings of some of the airs, as if the scribe were dissatisfied
with the final result’ further enhances the possibility of this being true (Mackillop
2007: 77, 78 & 81). On the other hand, the chord appears in both versions of ‘The
4
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
Gypsie’s Lilt’7 given in the Rowallan MS, and some say that it may have been an
attempt to convey a ‘dissonant bagpipe effect’ the lute-players heard being played by
the Gypsy musicians (Mackillop 2007: 81). In either case, it is a very unique and
most interesting piece to find in a Scottish manuscript of the early seventeenthcentury.
The Straloch Manuscript was compiled between 1627 and 1629, and
therefore is almost a contemporary of the Rowallan MS. The original document,
which contained seventy-nine pieces, was lost in the nineteenth-century; but copies
were made, the most complete remaining one being by George Farquhar Graham in
18398 (Mackillop 2007: 81; Phillips 1995: 37 and Spring 2001: 461). That being said,
only twenty-nine tunes were actually copied from the original by Graham into his
book, but these salvages give yet further crucial insights into the position of lute
playing and repertoire at the time. It is in this source that we find the earliest written
version to be found of the popular tune ‘Grein Greus ye Rashes’ [Green Grows the
Rashes], even although the tune is almost unrecognisable to the modern day
equivalent (Phillips 1995: 37). As this manuscript was compiled during the period
when we were ‘left to our own resources’, many ‘Scots nobles and gentry were sent
to France as a necessary ingredient for acquiring a liberal education’ and as a result,
the musical style and preferences of these individuals is highly likely to have been
influenced by these foreign connections. In fact, Robert Gordon of Straloch did
receive education in both Aberdeen and France, where it is thought ‘he may have
collected pieces for his lute manuscript’ (Spring 2001: 456). This may account for the
inclusion of continental pieces such as ‘Canaries’, which was a popular dance in
Scotland at the time, as well as other French, Italian and English pieces found in the
MS (Mackillop 2007: 86 & Phillips 1995: 37).
Another important manuscript from around the same period as the
Rowallan and Straloch manuscripts is the Skene Mandore9 Manuscript. The most
likely date of its composition is circa. 1630, although some cite it being possibly as
Recordings of ‘The Gypsie’s Lilt’ include those on The Scottish Lute by Ronn MacFarlane (track 13)
and Notes of Noy, Notes of Joy by The Rowallan Consort (track 22). [see bibliography for references]
8
Graham also copied excerpts into two other books, dated 1845 and 1847, with the latter being more
detailed. See (Spring 2001: 462-4) for further information.
9A ‘small, treble lute, somewhat akin to, though predating the mandolin, but with only five courses.’
Various spellings exist including mandour and mandur but not mandora, which is a ‘much larger
instrument known to J.S. Bach’ (Mackillop 2004: 56).
7
5
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
early as 1615 (Brown 2006: 19; Mackillop 2007: 87 & Spring 2001: 464). The
compiler is a John Skene of Halyards, and the content reflects strongly what Skene’s
own personal musical tastes probably were, in that there is a large number of
‘fashionable songs of English composers like John Dowland’ included.10 However,
there are a significant number of Scottish airs and melodies in the manuscript as
well, and the names and titles given to these ‘establishes proof of their antiquity’
(Davie 1980: 9). To a modern audience, the most relevant, or interesting, of these is
the oldest version of ‘The Flowers of the Forest’ known; although, it is very much a
solo lute arrangement and does not coincide with the verses written by Jean Elliot of
Minto (1727 – 1805) (Mackillop 2007: 88). There is also one tune of the port type –
‘Port Ballangowne’, and this manuscript is possibly ‘the earliest source for harp
music in the port genre11’ (Brown 2006: 19). This topic is discussed in more detail
below.
A young Lady Margaret Wemyss started compiling her manuscript in 1643
at age 12. Unfortunately she only lived to age 18, after succumbing to a serious
illness, but left behind this manuscript of various Scottish and French lute solo
pieces, mainly in the older tuning12, but two ‘newer’ tunings are included as well
(Mackillop 2007: 89; Morton 2002: 4 & Phillips 1995: 53). There is a very strong
French influence in this particular source and the solo pieces are ‘equally divided
between Scottish melodies and French music’ (Spring 2001: 461). Robert Phillips
comments that Lady Margaret acknowledges the material in her book was learnt out
of her sister’s, and given the nature and origin of the pieces in question; it is very
likely that their teacher was French themselves (Phillips 1995: 53). The manuscript
also includes English tunes, some ports and, interestingly, an arrangement of ‘The
Day Dawes’ – a tune found in modern-day Shetland (Morton 2002: 4). The wellknown tune ‘Give me your hand’ (‘Tabhair dom do Lámh’) is also found in this
manuscript, and is very similar to a version collected by Edward Bunting in the late
eighteenth-century. Perhaps this is indicative of how competent some of the
10
(Brown 2006: 19; Davie 1980: 9; Mackillop 2007: 87; Morton 2002: 4 and Spring 2001: 464).
If we factor in the uncertainty surrounding the date of composition for the Skene MS (1815 – 1830),
some may then argue that the Straloch MS actually contains the earliest evidence of a port.
12 This is referred to as ‘gautirs’ or ‘sharp’ tuning and was found in many French lute sources of that
time. It is now seen as one of the ‘transitional’ tunings observed in lute playing before the more
standardised tuning of the Baroque lute took effect in the eighteenth century (Phillips 1995: 53; Spring
2001: 461 & 470).
11
6
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
notation/interpretation skills of the compilers of these lute manuscripts may have
been, or as John Purser says, ‘just how conservative oral tradition can be’ (Purser
2007a: 151 and Purser 2007b: programme 16).
Undoubtedly the most important of the later lute sources13, and perhaps
the most significant of all, is the Balcarres manuscript. Despite this, of all the
surviving Scottish lute books, its history and origins of composition, or collation, are
probably the most ambiguous. A date for its compilation cannot be distinguished
precisely14, although it at least fifty years younger than the Wemyss MS and is
believed to have been created by someone in the Crawford-Lindsay family of
Balcarres, Fife (Mackillop 2007: 92; Morton 2002: 5 & Spring 2010: xv, xvii). So why
is this collection so important and significant? The end of the seventeenth-century is
‘at the very end of the lute’s development as an instrument of the late Renaissance
and Baroque periods’ and yet the contents of Balcarres ‘show that re-engaging with
Scotland’s native musical idioms didn’t leave us looking backwards, but led to
experiment and innovation’ (Mackillop 2007: 92 & Purser 2007b: programme 23).
This is seen most clearly in the development of bass lines, and the inclusion of some
of these in ‘second strains’ of several pieces in Balcarres. Most of the older lute
books had just one strain, but the addition of bass lines in Balcarres is evidence of
the influence of Baroque musical fashion (Mackillop 2007: 93 & 94 & Spring 2001:
489). However, more remarkable is the nature of these bass lines – they are
‘experimental’ (Purser 2007b: programme 23). Taking ‘I love my love in secret, mr
lesslie’s way’ (number 216) as an example, its bass line begins on the fifth of the
scale, then rises up to the flattened seventh before returning to the root – movement
that is ‘unheard of’ in music of the time. Rob Mackillop comments, ‘Now you’ll never
find a more Scottish bass line than that. It’s just incredible – I’ve never seen a bass
line like that in any pieces from that period’ (Mackillop 2007: 94 & Purser 2007b:
programme 23). Another distinguishing feature of the Balcarres MS is that almost
every piece has been credited to one, or usually two people. A ‘Mr Beck’ is the most
frequent name associated with the arrangements15, although his provenance is
13
Those post-1640
Most sources agree that its copying took place in the last few years of the seventeenth-century and
an estimate time-scale for its compilation is probably from 1700 to 1702. See (Spring 2001: 475 and
Spring 2010: xvii).
15 His name is associated with 185 of the 252 pieces in the book (Spring 2010: xxi).
14
7
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
unclear – some believe ‘Beck’ is an Anglicisation of Beag, and that he is of Highland
origin, but others claim he was ‘a German music tutor employed at Balcarres 16
(Mackillop 2007: 93; Morton 2002: 5; Spring 2001: 478 and Spring 2010: xxi). The
scribe(s) is/are not known either; however, he/she notated the majority of the MS
very accurately and may represent the work of a professional, even though other
parts of it are ‘clearly amateur’ (Mackillop 2007: 93 and Spring 2010: vxii). This is in
contrast with most of the other lute MSS which are not as clear or as accurate, and
thus often contain scribal errors.
In addition to providing us with an invaluable repository of music and
many insights into the culture of the period, we are also presented with some
problems when dealing with these particular sources. With the possible exception of
Balcarres17, we must remember that these MSS were compiled by amateur
musicians for their own personal reference. As a result, the notation is usually vague
and seemingly incomplete – supplying us with only the basic structure of the
melodies and no embellishments or variations, and often there are mistakes in the
tablature itself (Morton 2002 ch 2:1 and Spring 2010: xvii). In particular, the Wemyss
MS is difficult to interpret as ‘the music is confusingly written out, with inconsistent
rhythm and bar-lines, possibly because these were Margaret’s first attempts at
setting music down’ (Mackillop 2007: 90). It is apparent that there is also the
influence of continental or other playing traditions of more recent (at the time) cultural
import in the content of MSS. It is probable that ‘much European, and especially
French lute music’ was played in the Scottish court18 during the sixteenth century,
because ‘the cultural connection with France was particularly strong at this time’
(Spring 2001: 454). This influence is identified with the large proportion of French
(and other European) melodies in all the lute MSS, though to a lesser extent in
Balcarres, which provides evidence that many of the popular French pieces of the
sixteenth-century were ‘coming to the end of their currency’ (Spring 2001: 456 & 461
and Spring 2010: xxiv). It is also in Balcarres we see the influence of Western music
There is also a reference to a musician named ‘Beck’ in records of the Edinburgh music and dance
scene of that time. See (Spring 2010: xi).
17 This seems to have had a more professional influence in its compilation.
18 Or court circles
16
8
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
making an impact as ‘continental harmonic ideas filtered into native pieces’19
(Mackillop 2007: 95).
The lute MSS are an important source of early music otherwise
unrecorded for instruments such as the clarsach, and particularly for evidence of the
port tune type. However, problems arise as we are unable to distinguish how these
tunes were altered by the instruments who adopted them, and ‘principal amongst
these is the lute’ (Morton 2002: ch. 3, pg. 7). Taking ‘Port Ballangowne’ in the Skene
MS as an example, Kinnaird and Sanger believe that the given variation is the
lutenist’s attempt to recreate the variation(s) made by the harper, particularly the
‘semi-quaver clusters’ which could be ‘an attempt to write out the ornamentation of
the wire harp’ (Kinnaird & Sanger 1992: 182 and Morton 2002: ch 3: 7):
An excerpt from Rosie Morton’s descriptive transcription of ‘Port Ballangowne’ showing the
semiquaver ‘clusters’ Kinnaird and Sanger refer to (Morton 2002: Appendix 3A).
From the ports found in the Balcarres we are able to see a difference in their
characteristic features from those examples in the earlier lute MSS. Whether all of
these pieces were originally harp/clarsach pieces is also another question, given that
some settings fit the lute very well, and some are impossible to play on a diatonic
instrument such as the clarsach.20 Whether these are genuinely remnants of the
ancient clarsach tradition or not, they are nonetheless precious sources of music that
See Rob Mackillop’s analysis of the evidence of melodic conformity to Western conventions in
‘Aboyne’s Air’ (Mackillop 2007: 95).
20 Some settings include accidentals that would not have been possible on the wire-strung clarsach
(particularly some examples in the Straloch MS).
19
9
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
otherwise may have been lost forever, and ‘the degree to which they were altered by
the lute is mostly conjecture now’21 (Morton 2002: ch 1:1; ch 3: 9).
So, why might these manuscripts be of relevance to traditional musicians
in the modern-day? Firstly, as part of the recent revival of the ancient clarsach
tradition, they may hold the earliest examples of the repertoire of this particular
instrument, and are yet more important because there is no evidence Scottish
harpers ever wrote their music down; however these lutenists may have heard such
music in person. We can hardly get closer to this lost tradition than through these
lute MSS. The lute may not be a prominent instrument in the Scottish tradition
anymore, but a variety of fretted instruments do hold such a place nowadays, and
perhaps guitarists, mandolin/bouzouki players etc. could find inspiration in some of
the material in these sources, or in the playing style/technique/tuning of the lute
itself. These sources are also of relevance to us today because they were compiled
during a time when there was less division between ‘folk’ and ‘art’ music. These
‘boundaries’ became gradually more polarised in the eighteenth-, nineteenth- and
twentieth-centuries, but we are slowly seeing a reversal in this trend. It would be
worthwhile for anyone interested in ‘crossing the genre divide’, so to say, to study the
content of these books. Finally, as these manuscripts provide us with the earliest
known examples of many popular tunes and songs, Matthew Spring believes that
they ‘form part of the bedrock of Scottish national music’ (Spring 2001: 494). This is
most certainly true, and as such, it is perhaps the obligation of anyone studying, or
interested, in Scottish music in its historical context to take note of, and discover for
themselves, these invaluable sources.
21
We can track the development of the ports to some extent. Refer to those examples in Daniel
Dow’s Ancient Music of Scotland and observe that some of the variations ‘fill in’ the gapped scales
with quaver runs (Morton 2002: ch 3: 1).
10
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BALTERSAN CASTLE (2011) ‘Traditional Music’
<http://www.baltersan.com/events_and_visitor_attractions/traditional_mu
sic> [accessed 14/04/2011]
BROWN, Barnaby (ed.) (2006) book and sleevenotes from Silva Caledonia: Scottish
Harp Music of the 17th Century Javier Sainz (Siubhal)
COLLINSON, Francis (1966) The Traditional and National Music of Scotland
(London: Routledge & Kegan Paul)
DALYELL, Sir. John Graham (1849) Musical Memoirs of Scotland (Edinburgh:
Thomas G. Stevenson)
DAVIE, Cedric Thorpe (1980) Scotland’s Music (Edinburgh: William Blackwood)
DOW, Daniel (1776) A Collection of Ancient Scots Music (Edinburgh)
ELLIOT, Kenneth and Frederik RIMMER (1973) A History of Scottish Music (London:
British Broadcasting Corporation)
FARMER, Henry George (1947) A History of Music in Scotland (London: Hinrichsen)
LYLE, Emily (2007) Fairies and Folk – Approaches to the Scottish Ballad Tradition
(Trier: Wisssenschaftlicher Verlag Trier)
MACKILLOP, Rob (2007) ‘For kissing for clapping for loving for proveing:
Performance Practice and Modern Interpretation of the Lute Repertoire’ in
Defining Strains (ed.) James Porter (Bern: Peter Lang AG)
(2004) ‘Towards a Revival of the Old Scottish Smallpipe with
Closed Fingering’ and ‘The Traditional Repertoire in Scottish Lute, Cittern
and Guittar Manuscripts’ in Out of the Flames (ed.) Roderick Cannon (The
Lowland and Border Pipers’ Society)
(2002a) ‘The Scottish Medieval Lute’
<http://www.rmguitar.info/lutemedieval.htm> [accessed 14/04/2011]
(2002b) The Healing (Greentrax) CDTRAX 227
11
Scottish Music in History 2, B. Brown
Essay
by Alistair Paterson
17/04/2011
(1998) Flowers of the Forest (Greentrax) CDTRAX 155
(n.d.) ‘Contemporary Scottish Lute Music’
<http://www.rmguitar.info/contemporary.htm> [accessed 14/04/2011]
MCFARLANE, Ronn (1990) The Scottish Lute (Dorian Recordings) DOR-90129
MORTON, Rosie (2002) ‘A Study of the ‘Port’ Tune Type, Focussing on the Scottish
Lute and Mandour Manuscripts of the 17th century’, RSAMD Dissertation
PHILLIPS, Robert (1995) Music for the Lute in Scotland (Midlothian: Kinmor Music)
PURSER, John (2007a) Scotland’s Music – A History of the Traditional and Classical
Music of Scotland from early times to the present day (Edinburgh:
Mainstream Publishing)
(2007b) Scotland’s Music (50 part radio series), produced by David
McGuinness, © BBC 2007; programmes - 7 (aired 18/02/07), 8 (25/02/07),
10 (11/03/07), 14 (15/04/07), 16 (29/04/07), 18 (13/05/07) & 23 (17/06/07)
RSAMD (2002) No. 1 Scottish Traditional Music from the RSAMD (Greentrax)
CDTRAX 310; track 13 – ‘Incholm/Salve Splendor’, performed by Rob
Mackillop
SANGER, Keith and Alison KINNAIRD (1992) Tree of Strings: Crann nan Teud
(Midlothain: Kinmor Music)
SPRING, Matthew (ed.) (2010) The Music of Scotland: The Balcarres Lute Book
(The Universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen)
(2001) ‘Scottish Lute Music’ in The Lute in Britian: A History
of the Instrument and its Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
STANDING STONES (n.d.) ‘Scottish Lute Manuscripts’
<http://www.standingstones.com/lutemss.html> [accessed 14/04/2011]
TAYLOR, William and Robert PHILLIPS (2007) Liner notes from Notes of Noy/Notes
of Joy – Early Scottish Music for the lute, clarsach and voice. The
Rowallan Consort (Temple) COMD205
12