20. A Ramble through the Archives Looking at Harpers and Pipers

by Keith Sanger

Synopsis

Music is about sound, but before the invention of recording devices there is no way of accurately hearing the sounds of the past. The early history of music in Scotland is therefore more about the musicians and the instruments than about the sounds. But even at that, so little is really known that a great deal is made of popular images such as a kilted player of the ‘Highland Bagpipe’. This talk will attempt to show how small corrections and additions to that knowledge can be found among the wider archival sources.

Image caption: A nuanced carving of a harp, St Comgan’s Chapel, Glendale, Skye

About the speaker

Keith Sanger is a retired clinical perfusionist from Edinburgh, and has been studying the historical background of the harps and bagpipes of Scotland and Ireland for close to fifty years.

How to participate

This talk will begin at 7.30 pm (GMT) and last up to one hour, followed by questions. As the audience for each talk will be limited to 100, please register in plenty of time by e-mailing us (click either on the ‘Register for Events’ button above, or click here click here ). You will then be sent a code to allow you to join the talk.

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