In this Seminar Fred Freeman will argue for a change of emphasis from Burns the national  ‘poet’ to Burns the folk musician, early ethno-musicologist and prolific song-writer. 

In so doing, the lecture features numerous musical illustrations from the only ever recorded COMPLETE SONGS OF ROBERT BURNS  (12 vols, Linn Records) which Freeman released in 2003 to international acclaim.* 

Moreover, the talk considers Burns’s background as a fiddler; his expansive use of Scottish instrumental forms (strathspeys, reels, jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes); his curious method of composition – from the tune to the words; his seminal theories of ‘ballad simplicity’, language and rhythm which saw him in direct conflict with the ‘classical’ composers of the day.

*‘a remarkable and monumental achievement, comparable – in traditional music terms – to the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling’

Alan Taylor ‘The Sunday Herald’