Five Centuries of Scottish music will be presented at a Cappuccino Concert in Dundee’s Maryatt Hall this Saturday, 28th March.

The first half of this unusual concert features historical harp specialist, Simon Chadwick, who will play ancient airs from the 16th and 17th century, on his stunning replica of the medieval Scottish “Queen Mary” clarsach with gold and silver wire strings. Simon is based in St Andrews and has been researching the old national music in Dundee’s Wighton Collection in the city library.

After some old traditional Dundee songs by local singer Barbara Dymock, the second half of the concert will bring us bang up to date with lively fiddle tunes from young fiddle star Sophie Sneddon. Sophie was born in Dundee and started playing violin at Dundee High School. She has played with Tayside Symphony Orchestra and Tayside Young Fiddlers, and is currently studying medicine at St Andrews University. She plays an antique German violin which previously belonged to her Great-Grandmother. She will be accompanied by Steven Armstrong on the piano.

This Cappuccino Concert is organised by the Friends of Wighton, a volunteer group which exists to promote and open up the Wighton Collection, an amazing treasure owned by the City of Dundee and housed in the Central Library. Consisting of over 700 books of Scottish music from the 17th, 18th and 19th century, it is one of the best collections of Scottish music books in the world. As well as concerts, the Friends organise weekly music classes in the Wighton Centre.

Simon will also be running a Scottish Harp “Come and Try” event later in the afternoon in Dundee Central Library, from 2-3.30pm, admission free – a chance to find out more about this rare and fascinating tradition, and to see some of the ancient Scottish music books from the Wighton Collection.

CAPPUCCINO CONCERT
Sat 28th March 2009, 10.30am for 11am start
admission £4.50 includes coffee & newspapers. Tickets from Caird Hall Box Office, City Square, Dundee.
Concert venue: Maryatt Hall, City Square, Dundee
Performers:
Simon Chadwick – ancient Scottish harp
Barbara Dymock – Scots song
Sophie Sneddon – fiddle, with Steven Armstrong – piano

SCOTTISH HARP “COME & TRY”
Sat 28th March 2009, 2.00 to 3.30pm
admission free, no need to book
venue: Wighton Centre, Dundee Central Library, Wellgate, Dundee
with Simon Chadwick. Replica ancient harps will be provided. No experience necessary. Come and have a wee go!

More info:
www.friendsofwighton.com
07792 336804

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.