C) Opening from William Thomson, 'Orpheus Caledonius: or, a collection of Scots Songs', London, 1733 - Literature, History and Music

Shown on this page is the song, 'The Highland Laddie'.'Orpheus Caledonius', originally published in 1725, was the first collection of Scottish songs to be printed with their melodies. This second edition, published in two volumes, expanded the collection from 50 to 100 songs and included new, improved harmonisations for the original 50 contained in the first edition. From the Middle Ages to the present day Scottish literature and music has been affected by outside influences and how those outsiders have received Scottish work. The most noticeable change is the move from Latin or French to works in broad Scots or English. The popularity of Allan Ramsay's 'Tea Table Miscellany' (1724) gave Thomson, a Scots singer and music teacher in London, the idea of publishing some of the poems with the tunes suggested by Ramsay (1685-1758). This edition was published for the author. After 'Orpheus Caledonius' the next major collection of Scots traditional songs to be published was Robert Burns and James Johnson's 'Scots Musical Museum' the first volume of which was issued in 1787.

Collection

Treasures: National Library of Scotland

Inventory Number

4502097

Title

C) Opening from William Thomson, 'Orpheus Caledonius: or, a collection of Scots Songs', London, 1733 - Literature, History and Music

Object Type

PhysicalObject

Measurements

- 255 x 215mm