09 April 2007
‘Ane end of ane old song’: An evening of music and song from the Union of 1707 and its aftermath
Photo opportunity: Sponsorship presentation from Bell Lawrie
Tuesday April 10th, 10.30 am
Dundee Contemporary Arts
The Treaty of Union, inaugurated on 1 May 1707, remains one of the most controversial episodes in Scotland’s history, a fact reflected in the many contrasting poems and songs originating in this period.
Now the Student History Society at the University of Dundee is reviving many of these songs for a special concert to mark the 300th anniversary of the Union.
The concert, ‘Ane end of ane old song’, draws on these assorted works and divergent views to highlight the more colourful aspects of eighteenth-century Scots political life.
The concert will be staged in the University’s Chaplaincy Centre on Saturday May 5th, with performers including Sheena Wellington, Scotland’s leading traditional singer. The event is being sponsored by local company Bell Lawrie, and on Tuesday April 10th, Ian MacDonald from the firm will present a cheque for £300 to concert organisers Dr Derek Patrick and Nicola Cowmeadow, President of the Student History Society, at Dundee Contemporary Arts.
"We are extremely thankful to Bell Lawrie for their support for this event," said Derek. "The Union was a major event in Scotland’s history and at the time it was marked in song, poem and prose by both supporters and opponents, resulting in a rich body of work that captures much of the spirit of the country at that time."
"This concert will evoke that spirit at a time when the Union is again the subject of much debate."
Tickets for the concert cost £5 and are available from d.j.patrick@dundee.ac.uk or call 07732 752 609 for information and bookings.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Bell Lawrie provides complete investment for private investors, charities and pension funds. They also offer a comprehensive range of Financial Planning advice on Protection, Pension Planning and Inheritance Tax solutions. www.bell-lawrie.co.uk
The Performers
Sheena Wellington
Scotland's leading traditional singer, Sheena Wellington was born in Dundee into a family of singers and factory weavers. A passionate advocate of traditional music, she has played a leading role in the fight for recognition, status and improved funding for Scotland's traditional arts. Among the honours bestowed on her for her work are Honorary degrees from the Universities of Dundee (2006) and St. Andrews (2000), Sheena was made an Honorary President of Greenock Burns Club (The Mother Club) in January 2006, when she became the first woman in the Club’s 204 year history to be invited to give The Immortal Memory. Sheena is well-known for performing ‘A Man's A Man For ‘a That’ at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. For further information see www.sheena-wellington.co.uk
Mark Ashmore
Mark Ashmore, Bass, studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. From 2001-03 he was on contract with Opera North, where he took leading roles in Tosca, La Traviata, and Manon. This year Mark is touring the UK, performing the role of Basilio in Barber of Seville with Swansea City Opera and last summer completed a third season with Garsington Opera. Earlier this year Mark performed Mozart’s Requiem with Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Canada. Mark, now resident in Halifax, has lived and worked in Perth and regularly returns to sing with various groups and choral societies. Mark met Graeme Stevenson while studying at Aberdeen University and is delighted to be meeting old friends as well as performing at the University of Dundee.
Graeme Stevenson
Graeme Stevenson is Director of Music at the University of Dundee. He is based in the Chaplaincy where University musicians perform a programme of concerts throughout the year. He has formed a small ensemble including Jennifer Watson, Soprano, to play the cantata Leo Scotiae by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, written in response to the ill-fated Darien venture, an enterprise that had important implications for the Union.
Nicola Cowmeadow
Nicola Cowmeadow is a 3rd year history undergraduate and President of the Student History Society. She has spent the semester studying the Union and ‘Ane end of ane old song’ enables her to combine her enthusiasm for history with her love of singing. Researching the songs and music of this period has led Nicola to consider how song served as a vehicle for public opinion and was a means of expressing both pro and anti union sentiment, Hanoverian and Jacobite beliefs. While the music remains unique to the period it retains a lasting impact which has influenced generations of song writers and musicians.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate
Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
| 
