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School of Literatures, Languages & CulturesCeltic & Scottish Studies The School of Scottish
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Material has been collected for the School of Scottish Studies Archives since 1951. The Archives contain over 9000 recordings of songs, music, tales, verse, customs, beliefs and oral history. This is a resource of national and international significance and is at the heart of teaching and research at Celtic and Scottish Studies.Visit the online version of The Carrying Stream Exhibition The Archives of The School of Scottish Studies and the library are housed in 27 - 29 George Square. |
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For information about the summer opening hours of the Scottish Studies Library please go the the link below.
To arrange a visit it is important to make an appointment with the appropriate member of staff directly:
The School of Scottish Studies Archives is always pleased to consider donations of sound and photographic materials. In the first instance, please contact Cathlin Macaulay or Ian MacKenzie to discuss the relevant procedures
The Sound Archive is the main product of over 50 years of fieldwork by staff, and more recently also by students, of the School of Scottish Studies, and forms the basis for most of their further research, publication, and teaching. A full chronological listing of accessions is available on database and a large proportion of the collection has been fully indexed on card and slip indexes and computer database.
Apart from the School's own fieldwork collections, a number of supplementary collections are held in the archives. These include: tapes from the Place-names Survey, Gaelic and Scots Linguistic Surveys, recordings from oral history groups throughout Scotland. In addition, the archive has a collection of commercial discs donated to the School; including the John Levy collection of ethnic music mostly Asian, Will Forret collection of popular and folk club music and the Edgar Ashton collection of folk music from the British Isles and beyond and his own recordings made at the University of Edinburgh's Folk Club in the 1960's . There is a small collection of edited videotapes, manuscripts, microfilms and photocopies of unpublished material collected since the 18th century. Student projects and dissertations are also available to be viewed and offer a wide variety of subjects.
Access to the archives is available by appointment. Please contact Dr Cathlin Macaulay for an appointment or further information about the archives. Any of the recordings can be listened to on the premises and requests can be made for material to be copied. Please note that copying is subject to a charge and copyright restrictions.
The School of Scottish Studies Accession Database will soon be available on-line. To listen to examples from the archives already on-line, access the website http://www.pearl.arts.ed.ac.uk
More information on the Sound Archive
More information about Gaelic Resources
The Photographic Archive, housed in the basement of
No 27 George Square, contains around 10,000 images - mainly black and white
prints along with a substantial collection of colour slides. The archive is
particularly rich in rurally based material, and the majority of the images
date from the 1930's to the present day. Staff, students, visiting academics,
freelance researchers and media companies, as well as members of the public can
consult and use material from the archive by arrangement. Charges are made for
certain services (such as scans, prints ) and some images are subject to
copyright restrictions . To view the collection, make an appointment with Ian
MacKenzie, the department's photographer, by telephoning 0131 650 4168, or by
emailing: i.mack@ed.ac.uk
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Subject areas covered in the collection include; Informants,
Domestic Buildings, Household Economy, Agriculture, Fishing, Transport &
Communications, Crafts, Travellers, Seasonal Customs, Music & Dance.
Pictures come from a variety of sources; staff and student fieldwork, donations
and individual collections such as The Robert Atkinson Collection, Werner
Kissling's Photographs, The John Levy Archive and the Marinell Ash slide
collection.
Read Ian MacKenzie's paper on ethnological photography published by the Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture and presented at a one-day conference entitled 'Dialect and Folk Life Studies in Britain: The Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture in its Context.'
The Scottish Place-Name Survey
Detail from the Blaeu Atlas
The Scottish Place-Name Survey has several collections of place-names culled from oral and manuscript sources by interested and well-informed members of the public. These collections, covering various parts of Scotland, were submitted to the Archives of the School of Scottish Studies during the latter years of the twentieth century. The place-name tapes relating to the collections are housed in the Sound Archives while the maps and paper records can be consulted in the Survey itself in 27 George Square. Work is currently being undertaken on the unique field-name survey which is an important part of this collection. A pilot study of entry of field-name data into the Scottish Place-Name Database is under way in cooperation with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. A member of staff in the Place-Name Survey is also actively liaising with the Shetland Place-Name Project where the database has been in use for some time.
Place-name information has also been excerpted from various published records, such as the Register of the Privy Seal and Edinburgh Burgh Records, and is available for consultation on a paper archive held in the Survey. There is also an extensive collection of books on place-name topics in the Survey and in the main School of Scottish Studies library. Plans for adding to this collection include work in progress on a dictionary of Caithness place-names.
Ian Fraser with the Blaeu Atlas in a Scottish Ethnology 2 class
Onomastics courses are part of the Scottish Ethnology teaching programme. Students are given an introduction to Scottish topography and are encouraged to undertake case studies on place-names in their own home area or in parts of Scotland which are of interest to them. These projects are lodged in the Archives and form an important body of student research.
Scottish Ethnology Undergraduate Course Information
John Levy
The John Levy Archive is a primary
ethnomusicological resource of international importance, consisting of nearly
700 original field recordings of music from various parts of the world, several
thousand photographs, and about 20 cine films. There is also Levy's personal
collection of approximately 400 commercial LP discs (including some he produced
himself), books, papers and miscellaneous artefacts, plus some copies of other
fieldworkers' recordings. Levy's field recordings, which are generally of
excellent quality, were made on a Nagra-S tape recorder between 1958-1972 in
India (223 spools), Sri Lanka (55), Bhutan (48), Taiwan (101), China (81),
South Korea (34), Iceland (35) and the UK (107). The scope of the recordings is
wide, and features the religious musics of these Asian cultures (and related
communities in Britain, including Sufi and Sephardic), as well as court musical
traditions and indigenous folk musics.
These recordings are unique sound
documents, musically, culturally and historically. John Levy (1910-1976) was a
skilled, sensitive and pioneering recordist who was also well-advised by
leading scholars of his day. His recordings were mostly of complete
performances in natural situations. The musicians he recorded were among the
very best at the time, and for reasons of privileged access and/or historical
circumstance, several recordings are the sole extant documents of musical
genres or styles which have disappeared or been radically transformed. John
Levy's commitment to sharing his insights through LP publication and BBC
broadcasts in collaboration with experts, particularly in his later years, is
widely acknowledged. Many of his published recordings are now commercially
available on CD, issued by Lyrichord, Smithsonian Folkways, Topic Records, and
others (see overleaf).
Following John Levy's early, tragic death his
collection (and the copyright on all original materials) was bequeathed to the
School of Scottish Studies at a time when it was developing its
ethnomusicological work alongside the Faculty of Music. Being left by its
collector in a state of disarray, the School's priority has been to sort, house
and maintain the collection, including its accompanying documentation. With the
help of students and visiting scholars, most of the material has been tagged
and indexed. A chronological register of recordings, and a card index
(including copies of John Levy's field notes) have also been prepared. Proposed
future work includes the development of the resource, and further research and
publication programmes.
Bibliography and
Discography
John Levy, Immediate Knowledge and Happiness (London
1951)
John Levy, The Nature of Man According to the Vedanta (Routledge and
Kegan Paul, 1956 and 1970)
Classical Music of India. Recordings and notes
by John Levy.Nonesuch H 2014 [Warner]
Music from South India: Kerala.
Recordings and notes by John Levy. Additional notes by Peter Crossley-Holland.
Folkways FR 4365 [Folkways F 04365*]
Music from the Shrines of Ajmer and
Mundra. Recordings and notes by John Levy. Tangent TGM 105 [CD: Topic Records
TSCD911]
Review (1973) by Reis W. Flora, Ethnomusicology 17(3):558-60.
The Music of India, Vol 4: Karnatik Music. UNESCO Musical Anthology of the
Orient. Recordings and notes by John Levy. Bärenreiter BM 30L2021 [Rounder
Records]
Review (1970) by Walter Kaufmann, Ethnomusicology 14(1):184-88.
The Four Vedas. Recordings and notes by John Levy and J.F. Staal. Asch
Mankind AHM 4126 (2 LPs) [Smithsonian Folkways F 04126]*
Review (1972) by
Bonnie Wade, Ethnomusicology 16(1):157-58.
A Panorama of North Indian
Music: Hindustani Recordings and notes by John Levy. CBS / BBC Record
Enterprises 63519 [Sony]
A Panorama of South Indian Music: Karnatic
Recordings and notes by John Levy. CBS / BBC Record Enterprises 63257
[Sony]
Musique Bouddhique de Corée Recordings and notes by John
Levy. Vogue LVL 253. [Newly edited CD reissue by Prof. Byongwong Lee in
preparation]
Review (1972) by Barbara B. Smith, Ethnomusicology
16(3):560-63.
Korean Court Music Recordings and notes by John Levy.
Lyrichord LL 7206. [CD reissue Lyrichord 7206]
Korean Social and Folk Music
Recordings and notes by John Levy. Lyrichord LLST 7223 [Cassette reissue
Lyrichord 7223]
Review (1973) by Robert Garfias, Ethnomusicology
17(2):368-72.
Chinese Buddhist Music Recordings and notes by John Levy.
Lyrichord LLST 7222 [Cassette reissue Lyrichord 7222]
Review (1973) by Dale
A. Craig, Ethnomusicology 17(3):570-73.
Chinese Taoist Music Recordings and
notes by John Levy. Lyrichord LLST 7223 [Cassette reissue Lyrichord 7223]
Chinese Classical Music Recordings and notes by John Levy. BBC Record
Enterprises REGL 1.
Tibetan Buddhist Rites from the Monasteries of Bhutan 3
LPs. Recordings and notes by John Levy. Lyrichord LLST 7255-7 [CD reissue
Lyrichord 7255-7]
Review (1974) by Peter Crossley-Holland, Ethnomusicology
18(3):463-67.
Review (1975) by Mireille Helffer, Yearbook of the
International Folk Music Council 7:180-82.
Tibetan and Bhutanese
Instrumental and Folk Music Recordings and notes by John Levy. Lyrichord LLST
7258 [CD reissue Lyrichord 7258]
Review (1974) by Peter Crossley-Holland,
Ethnomusicology 18(3):463-67.
Review (1975) by Mireille Helffer, Yearbook
of the International Folk Music Council 7:180-82.
Islamic Liturgy: Song and
Dance at a Meeting of Dervishes. Recordings by John Levy. Notes by Martin
Lings. Folkways FR 8943 [Folkways F 08943*]
Music of the Spanish and
Portuguese Synagogue. Recordings and notes by John Levy. Folkways FR 8961
[Folkways F 08961*]
*available as custom-copy cassette or CD from
Smithsonian Folkways.
Scottish Studies Library - Summer 2009 will be
Unstaffed from 10th August to 11th September
Please contact Mrs McDonald by e-mail for any assistance at arnot.mcdonald@ed.ac.uk and she will get back to you the next time she is in the library.
Arnot McDonald, the Scottish Studies Librarian
The Site Library is staffed Monday to Friday, 9.00-1.00, 2.00-4.00, term time only. Outwith these hours it will be open, unstaffed, for consultation only. No borrowing will be allowed.
Classes of Books
(a) Reference
Books in the Outer Library, Tutorial room (sections A = Reference, B = Periodicals, and C = Society Publications and other Serials) and those in the Upper Library (Rare and Large books) may not be taken out of the building.
(b) Reserve
Reserve Books may be borrowed by those entitled for only 3 days, except during exam periods when they may be borrowed only overnight or over the weekend, and must be returned by noon the following day, or on Monday if borrowed on Friday.
(c) Unrestricted.
All other books may be borrowed by those entitled for a maximum of 4 weeks for undergraduates and 12 weeks for staff and postgraduates, subject to recall.
Supervision
All Library users must be registered with the Library. Visiting users have to apply to the Main Library service desk for the appropriate library card. All library users will be required to sign in . They may be asked to present bags, briefcases, files, etc., for inspection on leaving. All books taken out must be signed out in the presence of the Librarian, date-stamped and security-cleared.
Detail of the ceiling in the Celtic Library
Chan eil Leabharlann na Ceiltis air a h-ainmeachadh mar Leabharlann Ionaid. Is ann do dh'oileanaich a tha a' toirt a-mach ceum ann an Ceiltis (fo-cheumnaich is iar-cheumnaich) a tha i.
Ann an suidheachaidhean sònraichte faodar leabhraichean a thoirt a-mach airson ùine ghoirid le cead an Leabharlannaiche, Dr Wilson McLeod w.mcleod@ed.ac.uk.
Thoiribh an aire nach toirear cead leabhar a thoirt a-mach à Leabharlann na Ceiltis dìreach air sgàth 's gu bheil cuideigin eile a' cleachdadh an lethbhric/nan lethbhreacan a tha air a(n) g(h)lèidheadh anns a' Phrìomh Leabharlann. An àite sin bu chòir do dh'oileanaich siostam tillidh na Prìomh Leabharlainn a chur an sàs.
The Celtic Library is not designated as a Site Library. Access is restricted to Honours and postgraduate students in Celtic.
In exceptional circumstances, books may be borrowed on a short-term basis by contacting the Librarian, Dr Wilson McLeod w.mcleod@ed.ac.uk.
Please note that the fact that a book is temporarily unavailable in the Main Library because it has been borrowed by another user does not constitute an exceptional circumstance. Students should instead recall the book in question to the Main Library.
Detail of books in the Celtic Library