This is a past event
Don't miss a unique opportunity to hear James Beattie's cello played at a concert in King's College Chapel on Saint Cecilia's Day, 22nd November.
University Collections are delighted to be collaborating with the early music ensemble Scots Baroque who will be presenting a programme of music based around the life of the poet, philosopher, amateur musician and professor at the university, James Beattie (1735-1803).
The concert will feature the first modern performance on Beattie's very own cello. Part of the University's Collections, and newly restored to playing condition, the instrument was made by Aberdeen luthier Robert Duncan in 1736, and is likely the oldest surviving British cello.
The concert brings together music that Beattie would have known and played in the 18th century, from Scots airs to Italian sonatas.
James Beattie (1735–1803) was born in Laurencekirk, the son of a shopkeeper. He won a bursary to Marischal College when he was 14. After graduating he became a schoolmaster, continuing to study and to publish poetry in his spare time. In about 1760 he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy at Marischal College, where he remained for the rest of his life. He is mostly remembered today as a minor philosopher and Romantic poet.
In 1770 he published An Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, which attacked the work of the most famous philosopher of the day, David Hume. Beattie particularly criticised Hume for his description of Africans as an inferior people who had been enslaved because they lacked civilisation and ingenuity. The Essay made Beattie a famous man, and prompted Sir Joshua Reynolds to paint a flattering portrait (also in the University's Collections) of him defeating the ‘enemies of Truth’.
For more about James Beattie’s role in the debate on the abolition of slavery, see ‘The debate on the abolition of slavery · 2023 Legacies of Slavery · University Collections’, part of University Collections’ online exhibition ‘Legacies of Slavery: Transatlantic Slavery and Aberdeen’.
- Hosted by
- University of Aberdeen
- Venue
- King's College Chapel
- Contact
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Admission: £10 or £3 for students - tickets can be purchased online (Music | University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk)) or at the door by cash or card.
General ticket £10 GENERAL ADMISSION - UOA CONCERT SERIES - SCOTS BAROQUE - JAMES BEATTIE'S CELLO | University of Aberdeen
Student ticket £3 STUDENT ADMISSION - UOA CONCERT SERIES - SCOTS BAROQUE - JAMES BEATTIE'S CELLO | University of Aberdeen
For more information please contact Lyndsey Scott, (Lead Administrator for Music, Film & Visual Culture, Ethnology and Folklore) at llmvc.enquiries@abdn.ac.uk.