Historic Scotland
Stirling Castle
PRESS RELEASE
Event on 11th September
RENAISSANCE CONCERT IN THE GREAT HALL
STIRLING CASTLE CELEBRATION OF A GREAT SCOTTISH COMPOSER
Stirling Castle is delighted to announce a special evening of choral music by one of Scotland’s great 16th century composers.
Music for King James V will take place in the magnificent surroundings of the Great Hall and is a celebration of the work of Robert Carver.
The entertainment is courtesy of the Musick Fyne choir, which has 30 years of experience of performing Carver’s work, and is directed by D James Ross, author of Robert Carver and the Art of Musick.
Taking place on 11th September, it is also a chance to commemorate William Wallace’s great victory of the English in the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge, which took place beneath the castle ramparts.
Nick Finnigan, Historic Scotland events and filming manager, said: “The Renaissance Great Hall is the perfect setting for a performance of works by Carver and the atmosphere should be very special.
“This is a rare opportunity to enjoy some of Scotland’s musical heritage in the castle that Carver may well have known very well.”
Not much is known about Carver, but he entered holy orders at about 19 and became a canon of the Augustinian abbey at Scone, near Perth.
In the choirbook he is also named as Robert Arnot, which has led scholars to link him with a canon of that name at Stirling’s Chapel Royal.
Though Carver and Wallace did not live at the same time, their eras are linked by the publication in 1527 Hector Boece’s famous history, Historia Scotorum Gentis, which was dedicated to James V and which spoke at length about the wars.
Indeed the concert has been organised to mark the recent online publication of a new translation of Boece’s work at www.philological.bham.ac.uk/boece/.
● Music for King James V is at 7.30pm, Saturday, 11th September 2010. Tickets are £10 with a special offer to Friends of Historic Scotland of £5. For more information or to book tickets in advance please call or email the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum on 01786 471917 or email museum@smithartgallery.demon.co.uk. Tickets are also available from the castle shop.
For further information:
Matthew Shelley 0131 668 8734
● For all the latest on the palace project, and everything else that happening at Stirling Castle, visit our website at www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk/ and sign up for our free e-newsletter.
