A rare Scottish Baroque music manuscript from the 1700s is the feature of an enchanting concert and presentation, hosted at two National Trust properties.
In Edinburgh, 1734, two women sit down to play tunes they have just copied into a new practice book…
In Goulburn, 1980, a curious musician spies this book atop an old piano…
In 2026, two women sit down to play suites of 300-year- old tunes from the Arthour-Wight manuscript on the fiddle and flute…
Hosted at Retford Park and Norman Lindsay Gallery, uncover the story of the Arthour-Wight Manuscript and experience its music as it would have been heard centuries ago.
Carefully compiled in the 1730s by two young women of Scottish high society, the Arthour-Wight Manuscript – etched with their own handwriting – was discovered more than 200 years later tucked safely inside a piano at Riversdale Homestead, Goulburn’s oldest settlement.
Discover the theories as to how the manuscript made its way to Australia and what the research reveals about the musical pursuits and personal lives of Margrat Arthour – born into an influential and controversial Scottish family in 1710 – and her friend, Helen Wight.
The presentation is followed by a 1-hour concert of music from the Arthour-Wight manuscript played on period instruments. The music has been arranged for baroque violin, viola d’amore, and baroque flute, along with recorded vignettes to weave the historical sound-world of 1730s Edinburgh into the program.
Performed by Evergreen Ensemble duo:
- Shane Lestideau – baroque violin, viola d’amore, research
- Meredith Beardmore – baroque flute, recorded samples
