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Court music in Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Court music in Scotland is all music associated with the Royal Court of Scotland, between its origins in the tenth century, until its effective dissolution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the Union of Crowns 1603 and Acts of Union 1707.
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Sources for Ireland suggest that there would have been filidh in early Medieval Scotland, who acted as poets, musicians and historians, often attached to the court of a lord or king. At least from the accession of David I a less highly regarded order of bards took over their functions. They probably accompanied their poetry on the harp and harpists are recorded in the reign of Alexander III. James I may have introduced English and continental styles and musicians to the Scottish court. James III's founded a new large hexagonal Chapel Royal at Restalrig near Holyrood and lutenists began to appear in the royal household accounts from this point. James IV refounded the Chapel Royal within Stirling Castle and is said to be constantly accompanied by music.
Scotland followed the trend of Renaissance courts for instrumental accompaniment and playing. James V was a talented lute player and introduced French chansons and consorts of viols to his court. The outstanding Scottish composer of the first half of the sixteenth century was Robert Carver. The king's household contained two dozen musicians, including trumpeters, drummers and string players. The return of Mary, Queen of Scots from France in 1561 gave a new lease of life to the choir of the Chapel Royal. She brought French musical influences with her, employing lutenists and viol players in her household. James VI rebuilt the Chapel Royal at Stirling. He followed the tradition of employing lutenists for his private entertainment, as did other members of his family. When James VI went south to take the throne of England in 1603 as James I, he removed one of the major sources of patronage in Scotland. The Chapel Royal now began to fall into disrepair, and the court in Westminster would be the only major source of royal musical patronage. Holyrood Abbey was remodelled as a chapel for Charles I's royal visit in 1633, but musical worship in the palace came to an end after the chapel was sacked by a mob. Holyrood would be reclaimed by Charles II and became a centre of worship again during the future James VII's residency in the early 1680s, but was sacked by an anti-papist mob during the Glorious Revolution in 1688.