Written Oot the Reel: Where are the Women in 18th and 19th Century Scottish Traditional Music?

About this episode

This episode explores the contributions of women in 18th and 19th century Scottish traditional music.

On this week’s episode we try and answer the question - where are the women in the Golden Age of Scottish trad music? So let’s look at the lives of Euphemia Murray, Catherine White, Magdalene Stirling and Anna Gordon. Just some of the names that shaped 18th and 19th century Scottish Music. Sources - Female Composers in Scotland’s Golden Age - Aaron McGregor https://fillocksfiddlers.com/2025/10/22/female-composers-in-scotlands-golden-age/ A Collection of Entirely Original Strathspeys, Reels… By. Ladies Resident in the Remote Part of the Highlands https://imslp.org/wiki/A_Collection_of_Entirely_Original_Strathspey_Reels%2C_etc._(Various) Historical Music Scotland Archives: https://hms.scot/prints/source/143/ https://hms.scot/prints/source/145/ London Newspaper Article Found in: https://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/MISSKA_MISSRU.htm Miss Auchtertyre Score: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/collection.php?pageNum_index=55 The Ballad World of Anna Gordon Book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-ballad-world-of-anna-gordon-mrs-brown-of-falkland-9780198939092?cc=us&lang=en Magdalene Stirling Tunes: https://www.highlandmusictrust.org/the-magdelina-stirling-collection ✨New…

People in this episode

Host: Chords and Queens

Topics covered

• Scottish traditional music
• women in music
• 18th century music
• 19th century music
• female composers
• music history

Keywords

• Scottish music
• traditional music
• female composers
• Euphemia Murray
• Catherine White
• Magdalene Stirling
• Anna Gordon
• music history
• 18th century
• 19th century

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Female Composers in Scotland’s Golden Age, Historical Music Scotland Archives, London Newspaper

Books & works: A Collection of Entirely Original Strathspeys, Reels…, The Ballad World of Anna Gordon, Magdalene Stirling Tunes

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