From Caledonia to the capital: Scottish musicians, music-making and culture in eighteenth-century London, 1741-1815

Abstract

During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the city of London was a magnet for many musical Scots, who were attracted by the combination of artistic and commercial opportunities unique to the metropolitan hub of Great Britain. However, while Scotland’s musicians and music have received significant academic attention over the past few decades, the artistic lives of Scottish musicians outside Scotland, if addressed at all, often remain one-dimensional. Similarly, while scholarship has acknowledged the popularity of Scottish music in London during the period 1741-1815, there has been little sustained analysis of the complex network of actors which shaped Scottish musical culture across the capital during this period.

This thesis addresses these lacunae through a new focus on the lives of Scottish musicians and consumers of Scottish music, whose interactions and relationships shaped the performance, publication, and appreciation of Scottish music in London's creative space. Particular attention will be given to three musical Scots who made London their home during the period 1741-1815: James Oswald (1710-1769), Robert Bremner (c. 1713-1789) and John Gow (1764-1826). The role of music in Scottish diaspora space will also be addressed through case studies of two of London’s many Scottish associations, which explore the musical entertainments of the Highland Society of London, and the rather more ordinary musical experience of London’s Scottish Presbyterian congregations. Bringing together the consumers and musicians in elite space, this thesis also examines the origins of London’s craze for Scottish dance music at the turn of the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on the role of gender in the expression of Scottishness at London’s fashionable entertainments. The evaluation of this rich body of evidence is situated within the framework of migration theory, supporting the analysis of the complex relationship between music and national identity in diaspora space.

This study contributes to a growing body of research exploring Scottish music, its history and impact throughout the world. Above all, it argues that Scottish music as perceived by Londoners during the period 1741-1815 was subject to significant adaptation and interacted variously with stereotypes of Scottish culture already circulating in the capital. Crucially, it advances the thesis that the development of Scottish musical culture in London was shaped by commercial trends unique to the urban creative context of the city, which in turn influenced the musical life of Scotland well into the nineteenth century and beyond.

More information

Identifiers

Catalogue record

Export record