Music In Art
Music is our oldest social activity. It crosses divides of age, race, gender, class, religion and is inherently social: A birthday isn’t properly marked without the communal singing of ‘Happy Birthday’ and music underscores our traditions and music identifies us culturally. Surviving historical manuscripts give us a really good overview of what music was played at any given period in history, but it is through works of art that we can see how music affected people’s lives – how they would have enjoyed it, who would have played it. Music in Art looks at how the depiction of musical instruments from the Middle Ages to the 18th century evolves, focusing on instruments that Sophie plays, so as well as looking at images by artists such as Bruegel, Bosch and Hogarth she gives musical demonstrations on replicas of the instruments depicted.
Not All Bagpipes Are Scottish!
How many times have you heard someone say ‘I don’t like THE bagpipes?’ But my question is WHICH bagpipes? Of course they usually mean the Scottish Great Highland bagpipes but, while the Highland pipes certainly dominate the bagpipe landscape, they are by no means the only one. In the British Isles alone historically we have about 10 different kinds of bagpipe and they are to be found all throughout Europe from the Middle Ages to the present day. Whether you’re playing the gaita, piva, musette, dudelsack, cornemuse, cabrette, sackpipa or any of a whole world of bagpipes, this varied instrument entertains both high and low society and today regional bagpipes are a key touchstone in folk traditions. So whether you’re a medieval Italian shepherd, an 18th century French aristocrat or the official piper to the Duke of Northumberland, you certainly know that not all bagpipes are Scottish!
The Art of Remembrance
November 1918 marked the end of an international conflict that saw the highest casualty rate amongst service personnel to that date. Every nation had to decide how to honour and remember its dead. This new lecture explores the powerful art and design behind the WW1 memorials that mark the landscapes of the Western Front. From the solemn minimalism of Edwin Lutyens’ Thiepval Memorial to the poignant symbolism of the Menin Gate and the artistry of battlefield cemeteries, we’ll examine how architecture, sculpture, and landscape design were used to express grief, sacrifice, and national identity in the aftermath of unprecedented loss. Through archival images, design sketches, and on-site photography, The Art of Remembrance reveals how these memorials shaped collective remembrance—and continue to speak to us over a century later.
