Music in Scottish Castles and Country Houses

There is a small but significant collection of musical instruments at properties in the Grampian region of the National Trust for Scotland. Some of these are recent gifts or bequests, others were built for and played by members of resident families. They are reminders of the rich musical life of many of these houses. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, musical accomplishment was common to young ladies as an invaluable social grace, and to young gentlemen as a part of their general education, particularly for those who travelled abroad. Music also played an important role in relatively isolated country communities.

A square piano by William Rolfe of London, dated between 1806 and 1814 (the six turned legs suggest the earliest date 1806 and the nameplate the latest date of 1814 – information from Alastair Lawrence in June 2017), is housed in the Library at Castle Fraser. This instrument was a bequest by Miss Margaret Watson March 1978 (label on right hand side of central drawer under the keyboard) and came to the castle in 1984.

The following description has been given by Alastair Lawrence:
‘The instrument is a high quality piece of furniture, probably Rolfe’s ‘top of the range’, given the complex inlay banding on the external casework, the three underlying drawers and the two internal music rests. This unusual feature is found on a number of Rolfe squares, and is seen on many pictures of music-making in the classical period. The piano retains its original highly attractive decorated ‘shield’ [dust cover] lying above the stringing and attached to the music rests. The instrument has English double action.’

Not many pianos from this little-known builder now exist and the lithe tone and responsive action show how well suited this instrument was for the keyboard parts of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Restored before it came to the Castle, after more recent cleaning it is working well and is in excellent playing order but should be played only by those who are experienced with playing pianos of this type. Repertoire ought to be limited to works of the Classical and early Romantic periods.

In the Hall a concert grand piano by the French builder Erard with the number 4829, was made in London, and is dated 1857. According to Lawrence:
‘The piano is finished in veneered rosewood [or could it be walnut?], with a bird’s-eye maple veneer around the internal rim. The instrument has Erard’s unique patent repetition ‘roller notch’ mechanism, with under-dampers and forked shanks. This was the best grand piano available at that time and was often the first choice of performing artists of the day. The instrument was designed to be pitched at A=444 (or the even higher ‘concert pitch’ of A=450).’

The sound of this piano is different from its modern counterparts and the ‘feel’ of the instrument to the player is lighter than pianos today. As with other contemporary pianos, the sound of the light, treble register contrasts markedly with the deep resonance of the bass strings. The overall sound is more transparent than modern pianos – a bit more harp-like. The piano has undergone recent light restoration at the hands of Alastair Lawrence and John Raymond (2015/16, and further work in 2019), and is in excellent playing order.

The piano has been used for concerts recently but the use of this restored and historic instrument should be carefully rationed, especially regarding suitable repertoire. The recommendation would be to restrict its use to experienced players of historic instruments, with repertoire being drawn from eighteenth and lighter nineteenth century piece. On no account should the more technically demanding and ‘heavy’ touch repertoire be played. There is also a need for the piano to be kept well away from any open fire – i.e. the instrument is to be kept at the other end of the hall from the fireplace whenever a fire is lit.

There is a pair of dark wooden castanets (possibly of ebony), perhaps of 19th.century, in a display case in the Library. In the case there are also two old bows: one for cello from the 19th.century, which needs to be re-haired (did this belong to Charles Mackenzie Fraser?); the other for violin, of which the shank is broken and also needs to be re-haired. This looks like an 18th.century bow (perhaps belonged to Miss Elyza Fraser?).

The organ at St Anne’s church in the nearby village of Kemnay, built by Thomas Elliot, was commissioned for and housed in Castle Fraser from 1815 until 1938. This instrument of twelve stops has an upper manual from tenor C, a lower manual of G compass, and twelve pull-down pedals (low G up to A flat). The specification is:

The instrument has undergone some changes and its original doors are now elsewhere in the church; possibly there might have been glass fronts behind the central door. Originally the keyboards would have fitted inside the case but these have been blocked off. What was almost certainly a trumpet/bassoon stop, split at middle C, enabling bass and treble registers to be drawn separately, has been removed and replaced by a Clarabella with pipes that have been dated from the 1930s. This most probably happened when the organ was moved to the Church in 1938. This stop has been disconnected as it was out of focus with the rest of the instrument, but the pipes are stored at the back of the organ case.

The mellow diapasons ensure a firm foundation for an impressive plenum in which the fiery Sesquialtera is particularly dominant. (It seems likely that the organ was ‘toned down’ on its move to the Church, but the Sesquialtera pipes, being coned-tuned were less susceptible to being made quieter. So this might well be the way they were when the organ was first built). Apart from the rank of Oboe pipes, which have suffered deterioration with the passage of time, all other pipes still speak well on this rare survival from a high point of British organ building. We are particularly fortunate in still having letters to the Laird, Charles Mackenzie Fraser, from his older sister concerning the commissioning of this organ.

The organ is in playing condition and reliable, with the exception of the Oboe stop. The mechanism for operating the shutters to the Swell division (an unusual arrangement, vertically operated) is very stiff and not working well. The electric blower, however, housed in a chamber underneath the floor just to the right of the player, while working well is very noisy. The organ, regularly tuned and maintained, is used at the regular Sunday Services and for occasional concerts.

Charles Mackenzie Fraser, who inherited the castle in 1815, was an enthusiastic cellist. He lost his leg in the battle of Burgos in the Spanish peninsular war. But despite having a wooden leg (an example of which is kept at the Castle) he managed to play the cello from his wheelchair (also exhibited).

Although there are no musical instruments currently in playing order at Crathes Castle, on Royal Deeside, there is much that would suggest that music has been richly important to the Castle.

There is a celebrated ceiling in the Muses Room with four panels on which are painted instruments – all of which date from the sixteenth century (the ceiling is dated 1599):

This is an extraordinary artefact as the representation of the instruments appears to be entirely accurate, from which one assumes that the bell-ended flute is genuine (there is no other known representation of such an instrument, which invites the question as to whether it might have been a Scottish instrument, even an invention?), and the manner of playing these instruments similarly genuinely authentic.

In the Muses Room there is a square piano by John Broadwood and Sons, with a serial number 20,108 suggesting that it was made sometime in 1815. From Broadwood’s archives we learn that the piano was first used as a hire instrument, including a spell for Lady Montague at Ditton Park (this house is mentioned in volumes of music at Brodie Castle) and which was subsequently sold for 25 guineas to Colonel Anderson of Inverness to where it was shipped in 1820. Though the instrument is not currently payable, three quarters of the original stringing remains, as does all the action and key work The pedal is missing but a replica could be made. This instrument would repay conservation, due to so much original material remaining.

There is also a highly decorated nineteenth-century Irish harp – the Banoic no. 62. It is made of ash and birch with Celtic designs of 30 strings and semitone adjusters, made at 22 York Place, Belfast by James McFall – a celebrated harp maker who completed around 300 highly regarded instruments. It probably dates from around 1900. Although the instrument seems in reasonable shape with most strings in place, it would need some professional assessment before being re-strung and available for playing. This instrument belongs to Malleny House, a garden property of the NTS.

There is a relatively recent gift of a nineteenth century Neapolitan mandolin, with the characteristic bent sound table canted in two places with a fretted hardwood fingerboard. It has 8 tuning pegs, suggesting four different pitches (2 for each). The instrument could well be made of rosewood with banded mahogany, and with mother-of-pearl decoration both on the fingerboard and surrounding the ‘rose’. Though there is no label visible inside the instrument, it is possible that it dates from the late 18th or early 19th.century. Its presence here reminds us of how popular such instruments used to be in domestic circles in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

In the Main Hall in a glass case above the fireplace, is the Horn of Leys. Although described as being of ivory, the markings are rather more suggestive of a boar’s tusk – a view further supported by the beautifully crafted mouthpiece in a carved hogshead. There are two jewels down the side, a pale one (opal?) and a red one (ruby?). There is a legend that if the instrument is blown, a member of the family will die.

Duncan Burnett, who compiled a Music Book of keyboard music around 1610, now included in the collection of 30 Panmure Music Books of sometime before 1675, is strongly connected to Crathes Castle, and may have commissioned the ceiling. Apart from him there is no extant record of any other musicians associated with more recent times.

At nearby Drum Castle there are three pianos. The Collard & Collard cottage grand (shorter than a Boudoir) in the Drawing Room has a maker's number of 13056. There is evidence of a piano elsewhere with a number 13373 made in the year 1889, suggesting that the Drum piano dates from 1888/9. Inside the piano, when the keyboard is removed, there is a hand-written inscription in pencil : 'Fred Rigby tuner, 1894-96-96. Marr Wood & Co.' Marr Wood was a music shop in Aberdeen and 1894 might well have been the piano's first tuning after purchase. Although needing some light restoration the instrument has been described by Alastair Lawrence as having 'a surprisingly good, fresh, clear and sustained tone, with a powerful bass register for a grand piano of this length.' Like the pianos at Castle Fraser, the sound is different from that of a modern piano, and to the player the touch is also different, shallower and more responsive.

A square piano by John Broadwood, no. 31,895 completed at Broadwood’s Horseferry Road workshops, Westminster, on 5th November 1825. Five days later it was loaded onto a sailing boat (Pilot) to Edinburgh. The purchaser was Mr. Pole who had a shop in Princes Street. John Frederick Pole (1781-c.1856) was a composer and music dealer is reputed to have taught the daughters of Sir Walter Scott to play the Irish harp. The instrument cost £26.5s. The instrument is not in playing condition and shows signs of having been worked on, and although most of the internal cloths have been replaced, and the wooden upper surfaces of the keys have been sandpapered, much of the stringing is original. It presently stands on four (instead of six) legs, and the sustaining pedal is missing.

In the Nursery there is a pianette – a smaller version of an upright – by John Broadwood no. 40,337. This was made in London and completed on 29th. March 1873. It was sold to a Major Houchen of Beckenham, Kent, who had been promoted to the Bengal Staff Corps. In 1852 he married at Drumoak, Miss Jane Christina Irvine of Drum Castle. In the Scottish Census Return of 1871, Mrs Jane Houchen was staying with her sister Beatrice Irvine in Edinburgh. These pianos, were built so that the instrument could be fitted into a small space, and even into a room with a low or sloping ceiling. This instrument, though not playable, is something of a curiosity. It is tuned around a minor third below concert pitch – possibly this was the original tuning as there is a limit to the tension that a wooden frame will bear. It has an individual, rather clanging sound to its tone, almost like striking very resonant china plates.

The instruments at Fyvie Castle comprise an Organ, a Square and a Grand Piano.

The organ, with a label – Builders Norman & Beard – was built by Norman brothers of Norwich in 1905, one of the leading organ builders of the day. It has a detached console with the pipes in a balcony just above the player’s head. The fact that it still has its original electric action (by direct current) makes it unique in Britain. The Organ has two manuals and a pedals division with 14 speaking stops, mostly at 8’ pitch.

There is also a device for automatic playing from rolls – a ‘symphony organ’ – supplied by Herbert Marshall, Regent Street, London. Many of the 59 rolls, housed in a nearby cabinet, have been specially annotated for use on this organ. Though mechanical organs are not unknown, this is a rarity, and the presence of these rolls with their marks, makes this a very special part of the collection of musical instruments in this part of the world.

The organ has recently (2023) been restored by the Durham organ builders Harrison & Harrison and is playing well. The retention of the original unique electric action has been preserved. The nearby presence of 59 annotated rolls for the player mechanism further strengthens the case for a full restoration on historical grounds.

A 5-octave square piano by Adam Beyer, only a handful of whose instruments are still extant, dates from 1782. it has often been stated that Beyer was one of a group of German piano makers known as ‘The Twelve Apostles’ who were former pupils of the celebrated German organ builder, Gottfried Silbermann. They came to London around 1760 and were responsible for founding the so-called London Piano School and for establishing the piano construction industry in England. This was of great importance for the development of the piano as an instrument and for the vitality of much of London’s musical scene in the late eighteenth century. However, recent research by Michael Cole has cast considerable doubt on this story as Beyer was resident in Pond Street as early as the 1750s. Searches in archives of every German city that has been linked with his birth have proved negative as have English Church records. It appears that he must have been a British citizen as he left his property to four daughters – and it was not possible to own freehold at that time unless you were a British citizen.

This particular piano has undergone excellent restoration and it works very well. One notable feature is that just inside the case, on the left-hand side, are three levers; two of which enable dampers to be lifted in the treble and bass registers independently, while the third presses a small wooden bar covered with leather against the strings, producing a thinner, almost pizzicato sound. These were the equivalent of the pedals on a modern piano, enabling dampers to be freed in the bass and treble registers independently. Operation of these while playing requires a virtuosic dexterity.

There is a foot pedal (not connected) which operates the ‘nag’s head swell’, raising part of the lid to increase the volume of sound. This is the sort of instrument with which the ‘English’ Bach (i.e. J. S. Bach’s youngest son) would have been entirely familiar and which Haydn would have encountered on his visits to London in the 1790s. The light, transparent sound suits the first movement of Beethoven’s ‘moonlight’ sonata particularly well and makes sense of the instruction to leave the strings vibrating for the whole of the piece. The instrument is in playing condition needing only a light tuning for it to sound satisfactory. The pitch is around A-415. The recommendation would be to allow limited playing opportunities with appropriate repertoire from the eighteenth century.

The model 6 Boudoir Blüthner grand piano with a full register up to top C, finished in Brazilian rosewood, is in the Hall, and dates from 1901 (information from Chris Chalmers of Blüthner 30.5.2017), is in fine playing condition after a partial restoration in the mid 1990s. This is a more modern sounding instrument and more recent repertoire from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries sound well on it. The instrument is in tune and good working order and is in regular use for weddings, receptions and the occasional recital.

At Haddo House, well known for its wonderfully varied musical life inspired by June Gordon, the Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, who with her husband David founded the Haddo House Choral Society (now HHCOS) there are several instruments.

The splendid ‘Father’ Willis organ in the Chapel was brought there in May 1881 by railway at a cost of £39.16s.11d. This is one of the few such instruments to have remained unaltered and to have retained its original voicing – i.e. the sounds produced today are as the builder originally intended. The instrument comprises three manuals and a full pedals division of 21 stops, and though it now has an electric blower, was originally blown by hydraulic mechanism.

The sound of this organ is a good example of Willis organs, with a fine principal chorus on the Great organ, as well suited to encourage a congregation as to present a major Toccata and Fugue by Bach. There is the anticipated gentle, but deliciously voiced, Claribel Flute, and the Trumpet stop is very useful for celebratory music. The swell division is highly flexible, ranging from the quiet flute (Lieblich) and strings (Salicional and Vox Angelica) to one small (Hautbois) and one large rank of reed pipes (Cornopean). The quieter stops on the Choir organ are reminders of a time when the organ was also used to imitate orchestra sounds, with such stops as Clarinet and Violoncello. The organ has been regularly maintained and tuned and is in fine working order. It is used on a regular basis for Services (summer period), weddings, and occasional concerts and recitals.

In the records of Henry Willis, now housed in Birmingham, there is reference in the 1890s to a two-manual chamber organ by Lewis being at Haddo, but any trail of this instrument once it had been stored by Lewis, has disappeared.

The smaller, single-manual pipe organ in the Hall was built more recently (c.1973) by the London builder Noel Mander.

In the Drawing Room is a 7-octave grand piano by John Broadwood & Sons., London, no. 21012, dating from 1870. Below the music desk is a label inscribed ‘The Rt.Hon./The Earl of Aberdeen’ – Broadwood’s usual practice of indicating a commissioned instrument. Though now an old instrument, its quality is still good. The instrument needs to be tuned, especially in the lowest register, and the dampers in the central registers need to be attended to. The instrument should be professionally examined as it is part of the Trust’s Broadwood holdings, and, because of its inscription, is of historic importance.

An upright cottage piano with a range of 7 octaves, by Chappell & Co., London, with what was presumably a piano-roll mechanism now removed, is distinctively finished in satinwood, decorated in an eighteenth-century French manner. It has two brass candle sconces. There are two pedals and a groove for a third (part of the player mechanism?). The instrument has survived intact and, though in need of a thorough clean, every note works with the exception of E Flat, nearly two octaves below middle C. The piano is not presently playable, needing to be examined before remedial tuning could take place. It is not presently on public view, and was originally in the Morning Room which was similarly decorated by the 7th Earl in refurbishments of the 1880s.

In the Library is a 7-octave baby grand piano by C. Bechstein with a number 104957, giving it a date of around 1912. This instrument is in good, working order, and was the personal property of the former Marchioness, June – apparently a present for her 21st birthday from her parents and was then second-hand. The instrument is in regular use for weddings, receptions and the occasional concert.

Also at Haddo, but the property of Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society, are two instruments – a modern, single-manual harpsichord built by David Murray in 1978, and in the Hall a modern Steinway grand piano – a high quality instrument, housed in its own temperature and humidity controlled environment. Both of these instruments are used for concerts. There is also a grand piano by Steinway in the Peatyards, used for rehearsals of HHCOS.

At Leith Hall, though several display cases have been made from square pianos, there is only one playing instrument, not original to the house but a bequest from a lady living in Edinburgh. A big-toned German boudoir grand piano of seven and a quarter octaves, by Römhildt of Weimar, dates from the early 20th century. A piano by this maker, particularly a grand, is a rarity; the only other documented piano by Römhildt is an upright in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The maker's number is 8016 (or 02177 on the case) indicates a date of manufacture around 1915. (Possibly restrung in or around 1990 by Gordon Bell.) This makes it probably one of the last pianos by this maker to have come across the North Sea to Britain. The firm went out of business in 1925. The piano has a rosewood case and sits on ring-turned legs, part-painted to simulate calamander (a type of ebony). The piano has a very forthright tone and needs care by the performer not to make the listening experience somewhat overwhelming.

There are few musical instruments and no surviving music from this house. What has been described as a trumpet is in fact a cornet with three valves, made by John Pask, a woodwind and brass instrument maker at 443 West Strand, London. This address dates the instrument to around 1855-9. There is a number – 3783 (or perhaps 3183) – though this might be a reference to either the instrument or the model.

There is a table euphonon – a machine made to look like a small pipe organ with 7 gold-plated pipes on its front, but is in fact a pipe organ. By means of pins in a cylinder and a turning handle, various tunes are playable. There is a mechanism on the right-hand side for choosing which melodies to play. There is a reference to two cylinders, and though one is connected, the other may be below, accessed and changed perhaps by a sliding front panel? A label inside reads Keith, Prowse & Co. Music Sellers, manufacturers of the Royal Patent Grand Euphonon, and other Music Instruments to the Royal Family, 48 Cheapside, London. This was a company formed in 1830 by the joining together of William Keith and William Prowse. From this we guess that the date of the instrument is around 1830 or so.

A zither by Georg Tiefenbrunner of Munich, No. 4. This was gifted by Aberdeen Art Gallery and has been written up. Many strings are broken and several mother-of-pearl backings to the fingerboard between the frets are missing (some of which have been reserved in a small pannier, together with some spare strings).

In the House of Dun, near Brechin, a Broadwood grand piano in a rosewood case serial number 20,820 was thought to be part of the original furnishings, but more recent research has shown this to be untrue. The piano was completed on Feb.11th 1875 with a retail price of 175 guineas. It went to a Mrs McQueen of Dundas Castle, South Queensberry on November 16th, 1876. How it came to be in its present house is not known.

There is also a square piano by William Edwards of Bridge Road, Lambeth, London, finished in satinwood with painted decoration on tapering square supports. Though pianos were made by this builder between 1802 and 1850, it is surprising that only three known pianos by this maker have survived. This piano, which is a gift from a lady living in Italy, probably dates from late eighteenth century, but is not playable due to a massive bout of ‘restoration’ at some point. The reversal this work would be costly and not worthwhile. It is interesting that the original name-board features a bogus coat of arms.

The presence of these instruments, in addition to the extensive music collections at Castle Fraser, Drum Castle, Brodie Castle, the more modest one at Leith Hall, and what remains of the music formerly at Fyvie Castle, including the Gregory music collection, (in addition to the 59 annotated rolls for the player-organ), give clear evidence of the lively and informed musical tastes of the landed families in this part of Scotland in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This is of interest to the music lover, but is also of considerable value to the social historian, revealing something of the importance of music in the social and domestic calendar. Rare instruments and uniquely held pieces of music excite the curiosity of the musicologist for whom such survivals offer invaluable clues in the unending quest for authentic and historically accurate performance.