Published! Brio is out

Last week, I received my hard copy of Brio, the Journal of the United Kingdom and Ireland Branch of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres. This special issue focusses on the Claimed from Stationer’s Hall project and was edited by Karen McAulay and Martin Holmes. There is also a piece by yours truly in the issue!

Some of the articles appearing in the issue

There are some really fantastic articles in the issue, drawing attention to the vast potential for for research based on the music registered at Stationer’s Hall.

My article considers why the music registered at Stationer’s Hall is rarely performed but also highlights the importance of performance as a research and public engagement tool. Much of the music is of its time -the popular hits relevant in the moment, though many have aged badly. Even so, we cannot deny its cultural importance and through performance we can revitalise this music, allowing musicians and researchers to dig even deeper into Britain’s musical history.

I was delighted to be part of the project and the impressive issue certainly brings Dr McAulay’s AHRC-funded network to a satisfying close. However, I am sure she has plenty of plans for future projects and many of the articles offer plenty of avenues for research.

BSECS 2020: the short and long game

This is the third year in a row I have attended the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies annual conference at St Hughes College, Oxford and in past years I have left feeling newly inspired, newly invigorated and ready to relook at research, which had too long languished in a digital draw. This year was a little different.

Don’t get me wrong, I felt really inspired by the conference – the amount of quality research from diverse scholars at a variety of levels is truly amazing – but I didn’t feel that need to deep dive into forgotten research when I got back. In actual fact, for the first time, I felt solid in my research trajectory. I shared my ideas for current projects and a future project and I received some really positive feedback. Also, for the first time, I didn’t feel like I was on the lookout for a new project. In past years, my ears have always keenly pricked to hear of large-scale projects, or potential collaborations – heck I have even devised a project within 5 minutes of hearing a new funding opportunity. Not this year though.

Of course, I still get excited by new opportunities and I am still keen for collaboration, but I am trying to move from a “short game” where I work on lots of short-term projects, to a “long game” where I work consistently on one or two large projects for more than a year. This gear change is definitely a sign of me becoming more comfortable with my current employment status, but I think I also recognise the importance of working on larger, more prestigious long-term projects. Not that short-term projects aren’t prestigious, but they are unlikely to result in a monograph or to take that top spot on a CV.

With that being said, potential collaborations still came my way. I met so many wonderful scholars and we shared details. Even though I don’t have a project immediately in mind, staying in touch with scholars who are interested in my work and I am interested in theirs is really important, particularly for the long game.

I remember attending my first BSECS and it wasn’t the most enjoyable experience. I was precariously employed, I didn’t know anyone and I really regretted buying a ticket to the conference dinner. I may be extroverted but I really don’t like going to an event where I know no one. Well, I attended the dinner and met a wonderful post-grad called Jack Orchard. He was on the BSECS committee and after a lengthy dinner conversation, he suggested I nominate myself for the committee. Four months later I was invited to the board and I attended my first meeting. Two years on, I have made so many friends and it is a joy to catch up with regular BSECS attendees. I can say with utmost honesty, I get so much more out of this conference partly because I know a few people and I don’t feel awkward attending the receptions, the dinners and the pub where our conversations can really blossom.

If any readers have never attended a conference or who have only gone to a conference for a day, can I encourage you to find at least one regular conference to attend in its entirety. Make a few acquaintances and catch up as much as you can. You may see both professional and personal payoff as a result.

Final episode of Pop Enlightenments Season 2: featuring Brianna Robertson-Kirkland

On Monday this week, the final episode of Pop Enlightenments Season 2 was released and it was another opportunity for me to talk about the use of music in 18th-century film and television dramas with Dr Emrys Jones from King’s College London. In this episode, we focussed on a topic very close to my research interests: the castrato.

I have always be fascinated by the castrato, but that probably isn’t unusual. These exotic, singing sirens were once stars of the operatic stage. Their popularity and celebrity changed the world of opera completely, and though they have now disappeared, their presence is still very much felt. Many films and television shows including Casanova (2005), Farinelli (1993) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) have featured (or in the latter case, referenced) the castrato. They have even appeared in popular novels such as Anne Rice’s Cry to Heaven, and while many of these story lines highlight the barbarity of the operation, the castrato clearly continues to be alluring.

Though I spend most of time looking into the lives of “real” castrati, I was so grateful to have the opportunity to look at the many castrated characters appearing in a variety of 21st-century entertainments.

If you want to check out the episode, please listen here: https://soundcloud.com/user-845521566/pop-enlightenments-season-2-episode

The Professor Is In, but is the Professor out of touch?

Recently, a colleague recommended I read The Professor Is In by Karen Kelsky. This book aims to provide solid advice for scoring a permanent, full-time academic job! ‘Great!’ I thought. ‘A book designed to help up and coming academics’. What more could we need especially when the marketis oversaturated? **DISCLAIMER** I realise I am writing this blog from a UK perspective, and this book is aimed at a USA market, however, many of the issues I will highlight overlap.Since its publication in 2015 it has inspired a lot of support services for PGRs and ECRs. ASECS hosts a Doctor Is In service at their annual conference – a place where academics can obtain advice from (more often than not) senior colleagues. There is a Professor Is In Facebook page providing advice for the academic and post-academic career. It also carries the a tag-line warning – ‘no b.s.’ though it doesn’t explicitly say what b.s. the page avoids. While this is all wonderful and recognises there is a significant problem facing almost all academics, why do so many PGRs and ECRs struggle both in terms of finding employment and mental health? This is a question I should probably ask the major institutions, but I know it is already on their radar.So, why am I blogging?Well, as I read through The Professor Is In, which is extremely well-written and definitely does not b.s. some of the advice feels harsh, self-affirming and out-of-touch with wider academic philosophies currently being promoted. The book explicitly states this in chapter 16, ‘Publish this, Not that’, noting it’s advice is in opposition to the ‘scholarly idea of sharing and collaboration’. I am all for frank words and I understand we are in a dog-eat, dog-world when it comes to the job market, but how can this book – which is designed as a tool to help turn a PhD into a job – and wider academic thinking be in direct opposition? While I admire the book getting straight to it and saying without regret that ECRs should get to work on the solo-authored book not an edited collection, write articles for top journals in the field, not conference proceedings and apply for grants, rather than working on research without it, it promotes a work-style that is being called out in the current climate.As a PhD student, I wanted to write that book straight after the viva. I wanted to score a fellowship before I graduated and I wanted to see my articles in the best journals right away, but the reality is this is very, very hard. On top of this, most ECRs are doing this type of work with no job security or are trying to balance it alongside a heavy teaching load. All of this writing may be rewarded with a long-term payoff in the end but until that point, it is free work and some of us can’t afford it!More than that, the book (and perhaps more broadly, certain areas of academia) fail to see the other benefits of collaboration including collaborative writing and producing edited collections. In the UK, a full-time PhD student is expected to complete within 3 years (though many institutions allow a 4th, writing up year). This is just about enough time to write a decent enough PhD which gets through an exam, gain some teaching experience and perhaps some research administration experience as well. It is not enough time to learn the nuances of writing a book/ an article/ a large grant proposal, nor to build those broader networks necessary for a more senior academic career. I only started to deeply understand these nuances after graduating and it was through working with other colleagues on collaborative articles, edited collections and grant applications. I gained so much more from working with others and I am convinced this has helped me build enough knowledg and confidence to go on and produce solo-authored work.I am still learning and while my attention has shifted from all those items Kelsky dismisses as distracting, I still seek out collaborative opportunities. Surely, we can learn more working together than apart?

Curious Caledonians out now!

In June this year, I had the wonderful opportunity to return to Australia and continue my research work on music Scottish emigrants who took their music collections with them to Australia. It was a crazy, invigorating, inspiring and exhausting trip! On my previous visit, I was mostly working alone and could only imagine the music in my mind (though I did record two if the songs as well) but this time a whole team of musicians were also part of the process! We now have a stunning album, which not only showcases some fantastic tunes, but also brings to life some really unusual music that hasn’t been performed in almost two hundred years. Here are some further details, taken from the Evergreen Ensemble Facebook page:

Evergreen Ensemble continues their fascinating journey into the sound world of colonial Australia with this enchanting album of instrumental and vocal music drawn from the music collections of Sydney Living Museums and the State Library of New South Wales. Bringing together Australia and Scotland’s finest Early Music talent and iconic folk artists, Evergreen Ensemble weaves stories back through time, rediscovering the sounds of folk melodies performed on period instruments.

For their new album Curious Caledonians, ensemble director and violinist Shane Lestideau has invited four renowned guest musicians to bring their specialised knowledge of eighteenth and nineteenth-century performance styles to the recording. With the help of Scottish researcher, Brianna Robertson-Kirkland, they have delved deep into the nation’s musical archives to discover treasures hidden in the personal music books and manuscripts lovingly bound together by their owners for safe-keeping. Much of this music bears the unmistakable flavour of Scotland: strathspeys and reels, haunting Gaelic airs and arrangements of favourite Scottish songs and tunes. It gives us the chance to ‘listen at the window’ of a Scottish-Australian house in the nineteenth century and consider what place these songs, piano duets and quadrilles may have had in their lives.

The album features the dulcet tones of mezzo-soprano Allegra Giagu and soprano Claire Patti, with Claire also appearing on Celtic harp. Australian violinists Shane Lestideau and Ben Dollman (Australian Brandenburg Orchestra) are joined by Aaron McGregor of the renowned Scottish Baroque ensemble Concerto Caledonia, with acclaimed Australian Baroque cellist Daniel Yeadon completing the string section. Performing on an authentic 19th-century Collard & Collard square piano are historical keyboard specialists Neal Peres Da Costa (University of Sydney) and David McGuinness (Concerto Caledonia).

Curious Caledonians offers a rare insight into domestic and public music-making in Australia since 1788, honouring the extraordinary contributions of Scottish culture to Australian society and exploring Scottish music’s unique ability to reinvent itself in new surroundings. Part classical, part folk, part Scottish, part Australian, this album captures the musical – and emotional – landscape of the early Australian settlement.

TRACKLISTING
1. Miss Susanna Baird’s Reel / Miss Johnston’s Reel
2. Black Mary
3. The Emigrant Highlander’s Wife *
4. The Blue Bell of Scotland
5. Morag
6. Laddie Oh Leave Me *
7. Hit Her on the Bum
8. The Favorite Scotch Rondo *
9. The Hen’s March / Sir George Murray’s Favorite / The Duke of Wellington
10. The Marquis of Huntly’s Welcome Home / [No] 6 Dance
11. Ye Banks and Braes *
12. Jenny Dang the Weaver
13. The Banks of Clyde *
14. Lord Moira’s Welcome / Miss Jeann Stewart of Bohally’s Reel
15. The Horse-man’s Port
16. Queen of France’s Lamentation *
17. Blackbird Waltz
18. La Fenella
19. Don Alphonso

Evergreen Ensemble
Shane Lestideau violin
Ben Dollman violin & viola
Allegra Giagu mezzo-soprano *
Claire Patti soprano & Celtic harp

Guest Artists
Aaron McGregor violin
Daniel Yeadon cello
Neal Peres Da Costa 19th-century square piano
David McGuinness 19th-century square piano & harpsichord

Research: Brianna Robertson-Kirkland

1CD + Digital album | Available 4 October 2019 | ABC 481 8774

Here is a link to the album playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mkVPeV0hxkV4Bh0EmZWQK5Rz7obURGogg