J. Murdoch Henderson Collection

J. Murdoch Henderson Collection

Music forms the core of this Collection. Originally bequeathed to the National Library of Scotland in 1975/6, duplicates of items already in stock came to the University of Aberdeen and helped create this Collection. Composers represented range from Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) to Joshua Campbell (fl. 1762). Famous Scottish composers feature strongly, as with Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831), son of Niel Gow (1727-1807), Robert Mackintosh (1745-1807), and J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927). J. M. Henderson was an authority on Scottish fiddle music and wrote Flowers of Scottish Melody: A First Companion to the Scottish Violinist and Pianist (Glasgow: Bayley & Ferguson, 1935).

Keywords: Music; Scottish balladry and song.

Strengths: Music from the Highlands, mainly for the fiddle and some for the bagpipe are well represented in the Collection. Famous Scottish composers for the fiddle form a core of the musical volumes. Scots song, particularly those from the Jacobite era, feature strongly in the vocal arrangement of the Collection.

Languages:English, Scots, Gaelic

Identifier: Hend inst; Hend voc (instrumental and vocal)

Physical characteristics: 120 items

Accumulation date range: 1908-1960

Contents date range: 1780-1935

Accrual Status: Closed

Custodial history/provenance: J. Murdoch Henderson bequeathed his library of musical books to the National Library of Scotland in 1975/6. Duplicates of items already in stock were later transferred to the University of Library to form the Collection.

Access Control: Closed access - please request. Non-borrowable.