Brianna Robertson-Kirkland

Email: 
B.RKirkland@rcs.ac.uk
About the speaker: 
I am a music historian who specialises in eighteenth- and nineteenth-music history in Edinburgh. I have focused mostly on the work of Allan Ramsay, Robert Burns and, more recently, Domenico Corri and his family, who emigrated from Rome to Edinburgh. Domenico served as Charles Edward Stuarts Maestro di Capella before he came to Edinburgh in 1771 with his wife, Francesca and brother, John. I also consider women's contribution to musical history and have examined female singers who came to perform in Scotland. I am happy to speak on Scottish music, performers, musical life in Scotland, and have done cross over work into other areas of performing such as theatrical works. I have published extensively: my monograph 'Venanzio Rauzzini and the Birth of a New Style of English Singing: Scandalous Lessons' was published by Routledge in 2022; and my most recent edited collection, 'Women and Transnational Cultural Exchange' was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2026. I am currently work on my second monograph on the Corri Family for Boydell and Brewer.
Base location: 
Glasgow, Edinburgh & St Andrews
Speaking locations: 
within 20 miles of base locations
Dates available : 
Thursdays and evenings
Talks: 
Title of talk: 
Musical Life in Eighteenth-Century Edinburgh
Description of talk: 

Throughout the 18th century, Edinburgh’s city centre was a hubbub of sights, sounds, and smells. Imagine taking a stroll down the Royal Mile, through the Land Market toward the Lucken booths, passing by the Flesh market, Green market, various churches, theatres, music venues, and stores. Both outside and in, the city was awash with sound. Ballad hawkers enticed punters to purchase song sheets by singing new lyrics to familiar tune such as ‘The Yellow Hair’d Laddie’ or ‘Blythsome Bridal’. The same tunes were also transformed into luxurious art songs fit for the concert room, where Italian songsters regularly performed before the elite members of Edinburgh society. This talk will provide an overview of the songs and tunes one would typically hear strolling through Edinburgh’s old town during the 18th century, while providing insight into the various characters responsible for arranging, composing, and performing such music.