Ballads.
Subject
Subject Source: Local sources
Scope Note: Songs with rhyming verse and a narrative; also, slow, romantic songs (AAT). For all ballads of the kind collected by Child. Include Jacobite ballads, which will also be indexed under 'Jacobites'. The individual ballads of a group which is indexed as a group should either be mentioned individually in the catalogue description or be listed in the volumes (NLS).
Found in 126 Collections and/or Records:
Airs of songs and ballads collected, chiefly in Buchan, with a few from Angus and elsewhere, by George Riddell, Rosehearty (died 1942).
Series
Identifier: MSS.3041-3043
Scope and Contents
Accounts of George Riddel's life will be found in MS.3042, inside the front cover.
Dates:
Late 19th century-early 20th century.
'Ancient folk-melodies, collected and recorded by George Riddell', being a note by Riddell on the character of folk-music, the survival of old airs, and the prospect of a national school of music., ?1st quarter of 20th century.
File
Identifier: MS.3041
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
Accounts of George Riddel's life will be found in MS.3042, inside the front cover.
Dates:
?1st quarter of 20th century.
Anonymous manuscripts and proofs of works offered to William Blackwood and Sons, publishers, for publication., 1842-1885, undated.
File
Identifier: MS.4891
Scope and Contents
The contents are as follows.(i) Manuscript of an apparently unpublished article describing Queen Victoria's visit to Edinburgh in 1842. (Folio 1.)(ii) Manuscript of an apparently unpublished article, 'The finances', concerning Peel's introduction of income tax in 1842, written by George Croly. (Folio 3.)(iii) Manuscript of an apparently unpublished article reviewing the portion of the final volume of Sir Archibald Alison's ‘History of Europe during the...
Dates:
1842-1885, undated.
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
/
Blackwood Papers: part of the literary archives of the firm of William Blackwood and Sons, publishers.
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Manuscripts and proofs of works offered for publication to William Blackwood and Sons, publishers.
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Anonymous manuscripts and proofs of works offered to William Blackwood and Sons, publishers, for publication.
Apparently unpublished manuscript of `Gleanings of Antiquity in Forfarshire’ by James Thomson of Dundee.
Item
Identifier: Adv.MS.35.6.17
Scope and Contents
The manuscript contains:(i) a general topographical description of the area (folio 4);(ii) descriptions of ancient monuments and fortifications found there, including a concise account of the Druids (folio 15);(iii) accounts of excursions made in Perthshire in 1822 (folio 59);(iv) copies of ballads relating to Forfarshire, a translation of a Charter of King John of England to the clergy and people of Arbroath, 1206, and a copy of a reversion of...
Dates:
1825.
Arrangements of "A Scottish Cantata or Choral-Ballad ‘Lochinvar’" by G W Crawford, being settings of the poem by Sir Walter Scott., [?1892-?1941.]
Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS.21920-21921
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
Most of the compositions of G W Crawford are written on a large scale and the collection consists chiefly of full scores, piano reductions and orchestral parts. There are very few drafts or sketches: almost all the compositions are in their final form, and many are in the hands of copyists. Most of the works are undated. Those dates that appear (usually on the last page or leaf) range from 1892 to 1941, but it is rarely clear whether these are of composition, revision or performance. Almost...
Dates:
[?1892-?1941.]
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
/
Surviving musical archive, chiefly undated, of Gerald W Crawford (1868-1942), a consulting engineer and an Edinburgh city councillor and Justice of the Peace, who was well known in his day for his musical activities, especially as composer and conductor of several orchestras including, latterly, one of his own.
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Music for voices by G W Crawford.
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Choral music of G W Crawford.
Autograph scores of musical compositions by David Stephen, Director of Music to the Carnegie Trust, Dunfermline.
Series
Identifier: MSS.22153-22162
Scope and Contents
Most of the compositions appear to be unpublished.
Dates:
1899-1943, undated.
Autograph vocal scores of works by Hamish MacCunn.
Series
Identifier: MSS.21979-21980
Dates:
[Before 1890, before 1891.]
Ballads and songs, ancient and modern., [1787]-1831, undated.
File
Identifier: MS.893
Scope and Contents
This material does not appear to have been used by F J Child. Besides British ballads, it includes a note on Spanish ballads by George Tickner of Boston (folio 7), a letter of William Laidlaw (folio 15), a letter of Robert Jamieson, with translations of Danish ballads (folio 23), historical ballads and songs (folios 50-82), two versions of ‘Galatian’, and correspondence of Sir John Sinclair regarding the Gaelic song ‘Malli bheag Og’, 1819-1820 (folio 93).
Dates:
[1787]-1831, undated.
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
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Correspondence and documents of Sir Walter Scott and of John Gibson Lockhart, formerly in the possession of Major-General Sir Walter Maxwell Scott, Baronet of Abbotsford, Companion of the Order of the Bath, Distinguished Service Order.
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Miscellaneous material, literary, antiquarian, topical, etc., chiefly collected by Sir Walter Scott.
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Material concerning literary matters, chiefly collected by Sir Walter Scott.
'Ballads, etc., from the collection of the late Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe . . . arranged for . . . Lady John Scott'., 2nd half of 19th century
File
Identifier: MS.843
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
The collection consists of manuscript music composed or collected by Lady John Scott (Alicia Anne Spottiswoode of Spottiswoode, died 1900, wife of Lord John Douglas Scott), much of it being in her autograph.
Dates:
2nd half of 19th century
Ballads of Sir Alexander Gray., 1955-[circa 1960], undated.
Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS.26009-26013
Scope and Contents
Sir Alexander Gray translated a number of Danish and German ballads into Scots verse.
Dates:
1955-[circa 1960], undated.
Booklet containing Gaelic songs, about half of them Ossianic., 1769
Item
Identifier: Acc.2152/11
Scope and Contents
Small unbound octavo booklet, 18 leaves. In the hand of Rev. Donald MacNcol. Signed on the front page, 'Donald McNicol'. Dated 1769 on folio 2 recto. The first page gives a contents list of titles.
Contains 13 Gaelic songs, 7 of which are Ossianic. Among the non-Ossianic songs is 'Cha b' e tùchan a' chnatain' by Robert Campbell, Forsair Choire an t-Sìth.
The contents are listed in Mackechnie, 'Catalogue of Gaelic manuscripts', vol. 1, page 330.
Dates:
1769
Choral music of David Stephen., [?1899], 1920.
Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS.22153-22154
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
Most of the compositions appear to be unpublished.
Dates:
[?1899], 1920.
Choral music of G W Crawford., [?1892-?1941.]
Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS.21920-21923
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
Most of the compositions of G W Crawford are written on a large scale and the collection consists chiefly of full scores, piano reductions and orchestral parts. There are very few drafts or sketches: almost all the compositions are in their final form, and many are in the hands of copyists. Most of the works are undated. Those dates that appear (usually on the last page or leaf) range from 1892 to 1941, but it is rarely clear whether these are of composition, revision or performance. Almost...
Dates:
[?1892-?1941.]
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
/
Surviving musical archive, chiefly undated, of Gerald W Crawford (1868-1942), a consulting engineer and an Edinburgh city councillor and Justice of the Peace, who was well known in his day for his musical activities, especially as composer and conductor of several orchestras including, latterly, one of his own.
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Music for voices by G W Crawford.
‘Collection of Ballads, collected chiefly from tradition, by R. Pitcairn . . . Commenced Edinr., 1817', and containing later dates down to 1823.
Series
Identifier: MSS.2913-2915
Scope and Contents
The verse is accompanied by notes by Robert Pitcairn.
Dates:
1817-1823.
'Collection of Ballads, collected chiefly from tradition, by R. Pitcairn . . . Commenced Edinr., 1817', volume I: 'Romantic Ballads', translations from Scandinavian and other languages, all published, chiefly by Robert Jamieson., 1817-1823.
File
Identifier: MS.2913
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
The verse is accompanied by notes by Robert Pitcairn.
Dates:
1817-1823.
‘Collection of Ballads, collected chiefly from tradition, by R. Pitcairn . . . Commenced Edinr., 1817', volume III: 'Romantic Ballads', British, chiefly taken from recitation., 1817-1823.
File
Identifier: MS.2915
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
The verse is accompanied by notes by Robert Pitcairn.
Dates:
1817-1823.
Collection of songs and ballads, chiefly Scottish, in the handwriting of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe., 1824.
File
Identifier: MS.210
Scope and Contents
The songs and ballads are chiefly from manuscripts of Sir Walter Scott, Mrs Laing, Peter Buchan, and others unnamed.
Dates:
1824.
Contemporary copies of twenty-five letters to Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, from Pope, Swift, Arbuthnott, Gay, and the Duchess of Queensberry, with copies of Swift's 'Characters' of the Countess and of Sir Robert Walpole., 1719-1731.
File
Identifier: MS.5754
Scope and Contents
Two leaves are missing between folios 15 and 16; folio 16 contains stanzas 17-24 of a political ballad, beginning 'Is Cartwright then to Ireland gone'.
Dates:
1719-1731.
Copies of French and English poems, anecdotes, etc., chiefly dated 1777-1787, some in the hand of Henrietta, Marchioness of Lothian., 1142, 1163, 1724-1787.
Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS.5757-5758
Scope and Contents
Included are occasional writings by the Marquise de Boufflers, Madame du Deffand and their circle, by C J Fox, Temple Luttrell and others, seven poems by Mrs Anne Hunter, political ballads, and anonymous verse.
Dates:
1142, 1163, 1724-1787.
Copy of "Ballads of the Bench and Bar", with manuscript annotations.
Item
Identifier: Acc.5780
Dates:
1882.
Copy of ‘Nimbus’ volume ii, number 3 (Autumn 1954), containing "The Ballad of Baldy Bane', with a letter of William Sydney Graham commenting on the poem., 1954.
File
Identifier: MS.26022
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
William Sydney Graham, who came from Greenock but spent much of his life in Cornwall, published several collections of poems between 1942 and 1977.
Dates:
1954.
Copy, written by a clerk, of the Reverend Dr Alexander Irvine’s collection of Ossianic ballads, including some parodies and late imitations.
File
Identifier: MS.14882
Scope and Contents
In a letter of the Reverend Dr Alexander Robertson Irvine of Blair Atholl (now folios i-ii), to his son, it is pointed out that Irvine got most of the poems from the recitation of John MacDonald of Dalchosnie (1721-1809) during 1800-1804, while he was missionary in Rannoch. Full information is given in the manuscript on the sources of many of the remaining poems, which were collected in various parts of Perthshire (and in Greenock, in the case of Captain Alexander Morrison),...
Dates:
1800-1808.
Donald Smith’s Irish miscellany.
Item
Identifier: Adv.MS.72.3.2
Scope and Contents
The manuscript, watermarked 1796, was compiled by and for Dr Donald Smith when in Ireland circa 1798. Scribes:
(a) anonymous, Roman hand;
(b) Toirdhealbhach Maguidhir (Terence McGuire), Gaelic hand;
(c) Dr Donald Smith, Roman hand. Terence Mcguire’s work at part II pages 17-90, written in 1798 (cf. pages 17, 45, 69) reproduces material written by him in 1788 at Royal Irish Academy 1185 (24 C 55), pages 159-175, and in 1789 at Royal Irish Academy 1074 (24 P 29),...
Dates:
[Circa 1798.]
Exercise-book of Willa Muir containing notes on ballads and ideas for chapters., 1960, undated.
Item
Identifier: MS.19675
Scope and Contents
From the Sub-Series:
Most of the notes are from printed sources and all the volumes contain miscellaneous jottings.
Dates:
1960, undated.