(Please note: A description of the three surviving pianos at Drum can be found here.)
The 48 bound volumes of the Music Collection at Drum Castle come from the time of the 18th and 19th Lairds. Most music is printed and comprises Italian songs and arias, piano sonatas, variations, operatic transcriptions and fantasias, and quadrilles and other dances fashionable at the turn of the nineteenth century.
The two oldest music volumes are by the Italian violinist and composer Franceso Geminiani – The Art of Playing on the Violin (1740) and Examples of the Elements of Playing in Good Taste (1739). Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762), born in Lucca, was one of Corelli's pupils, leader of the opera orchestra at Naples, before settling in London in 1714, where he acquired a reputation as a virtuoso violinist. Violin playing in London at this time was not very advanced, and Corelli's works were regarded as very difficult. As the eighteenth century progressed, Corelli's works became more popular as standard repertoire, as, for example, of the Aberdeen Musical Society (of which the Laird of Drum was Praeces). This Society specified that each of the three parts of an evening's concert should contain a work of Corelli. The Art of Playing on the Violin was a treatise with many insights into matters of style and taste of the Italian tradition, helping to broaden the appeal of Corelli. Why is this treatise at Drum? Did the Laird wish to play the violin, or was he already a violinist and wished to learn the latest techniques and styles of performance?
There is a significant body of music for strings from the baroque period, including scores of concerti grossi by Corelli and Handel. The new style of the classical symphony of mid eighteenth century is represented by Haydn, Stamitz, Jomelli, and lesser known composers Filtz, and Crispi. Sets of parts of Six Overtures Op.4, and Six Symphonies Op.7 by Abel, date from around 1764, and there is a full set of parts of Borghi's Six Concertos Op.2. Luigi Borghi was the second violinist in Cramer's Quartet at the Professional Concerts led by Wilhelm Cramer, the father of two musical sons: pianist Johann Baptist, and violinist Franz, who became Master of the King's Musick in 1834. The Cramer brothers were close friends of Charles Mackenzie Fraser of Castle Fraser, and it is intriguing to speculate on possible musical connections between the families Fraser and Irvine in neighbouring Castles Fraser and Drum.
Many vocal items of Handel are spread throughout the collection. The Beauties of Handel, a six-volume set of arias from the oratorios arranged by John Davy, was published around 1820, and is an early collection of the composer's main vocal arias.
The volumes labelled Mrs Forbes Irvine and Miss Hamilton contain dances, songs and pieces for solo piano and piano duet. Amongst these are waltzes by Mozart, Beethoven and J.B. Cramer, sonatas by Clementi, variations, incidental pieces and arrangements of orchestral symphonies. A Quick March composed for the Aberdeenshire Fencibles by Colonel Leith, printed on paper dated 1794, is probably an unicum. There are also arias from a wide range of repertoire by Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, and Hummel, and songs by Schubert. Italian operatic composers of the early nineteenth century are well represented by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi, and lesser known composers Gabussi, Blangini, Mercadante, Giuliani, Pacini, Costa, and Sola.
There are many songs by British composers of the nineteenth century, Henry Russell, John Stevenson, and Henry Bishop with 'National' (often Scottish) songs, wrapped round with introductions and accompaniments, much after Thomson's commissions at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Henry R. Bishop, one of the leading musical figures of his time, a composer and conductor at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, and subsequently Professor of Music at Edinburgh University, is well represented, with many songs and arrangements from operas, and some original compositions. There are a considerable number of airs and ballads from the early decades of the nineteenth century – English songs or ballads, Italian arias, independent pieces and extracts from longer works. Some are well known but others are rare and are of variable standard of musical accomplishment.
There is a deal of piano music including concertos, sonatas, virtuoso fantasies on operatic themes, and sets of variations. Quadrilles, Waltzes, Polkas, and the occasional Galop, give a delightful sense of variety and exploration to these volumes.
Scottish music includes The Scottish Minstrel, published around 1810, as well as settings of texts by Sir Walter Scott and poems by Burns. There are also pieces arranged in early editions by Scottish violinist, composer, collector and influential figure, Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831).
There is a small amount of what might be termed religious music, and it is interesting to find a copy of Handel's Messiah arranged by John Bishop, published around 1852. There is also a collection of Psalms from 1790 (vol. Dr 20).
Many title pages suggest that much of the music was acquired in London while other copies carry Edinburgh addresses. The breadth of repertoire excites curiosity, with music by many composers of the day, but also less expected works by Vivaldi and Purcell. There is a rare, short work by Daniel Purcell, Henry's younger brother, of which only one other copy is recorded as having survived.
The three volumes of The Specimens of Various Styles of music referred to in a Course of Lectures read at Oxford and London by William Crotch (c.1808) show the family's strong interest in and curiosity about music. These were the musical examples from a ground-breaking series of lectures on the history of music. Remarkably, these Specimens include native music from Britain, but also ancient music from Greece and from non-European cultures.
The mix of Concertos, Symphonies and vocal items is very much a reflection of concert life in London towards the end of the eighteenth century. Music at the Pleasure Gardens of Ranelagh, Marylebone and Vauxhall was drawn from this repertoire, with a wide variety of music of different genres and types. Complete works, together with songs from operas and oratorios were the staple fare of such establishments. What is striking about the Drum collection is its range and size. From the music that was collected over a period of three generations, and from their number of volumes and the range of their contents it is clear that the musical interests of the family were more serious than was strictly necessary for the acquisition of a mere social grace.