From the Library: Music for a Burns Supper

Today, January 25th, we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, with a programme of traditional and modern music from Scotland (with plenty of bagpipes of course), and then, at 11am and 7pm Pacific Time (19:00 and 03:00 GMT) we present a complete Burns Supper, courtesy of the Scots Independent Newspaper.

Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best-known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a 'light' Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these pieces, his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt.

He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and after his death became an important source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. A cultural icon in Scotland and among Scots who have relocated to other parts of the world (the Scottish Diaspora), celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature.

Burns Night, effectively a second national day, is celebrated on 25 January with Burns Suppers around the world, and the format has not changed since Robert's death in 1796. The basic Supper starts with a general welcome and announcements followed by the Selkirk Grace. Immediately after this comes the piping-in of the Haggis, after which Burns's famous address To A Haggis is read, and the haggis is cut open. The event usually allows for people to start eating just after the haggis is presented. This is when the reading called The Immortal Memory, an overview of Robert's life and work, is given; the event usually concludes with the singing of Auld Lang Syne. The progress of the Supper is generally accompanied by poetry readings and music on the pipes and other instruments, especially including renderings of works by The Bard of Ayrshire.

The content of our own Burns Supper here on gullar sahir will be as follows:

Just for Seumas  - by Gordon Duncan

An Introduction - by Peter Wright, Chairman of the Scots Independent Newspaper

Piping in the Haggis - by Gordon Duncan - Duchess of Edinburgh/Lonach Gathering

To a Haggis - by Peter Wright

Selkirk Grace - by Peter Wright

Parcel of Rogues in a Nation - by Rod Paterson

The Immortal Memory - by James Halliday

Banks and Braes of Bonnie Doon - by Gill Bowman

Tam o Shanter - by Marilyn Wright

Ae Fond Kiss - by Gill Bowman

Toast to Scotland - by Peter Wright

Jim Tweedie's Sea Legs - by Gordon Duncan

Auld Lang Syne - a song by Rod Paterson

Vote of Thanks - by Alastair McIntyre

Music courtesy of Greentrax

Today's programme is presented by Elrik Merlin and produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with our friends at the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme in-world now at http://main.radioriel.org, or simply click here to start your player, if your browser is configured to do so. Listeners in the United States are encouraged to tune in using this link: http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel/tune_in

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.

Parts of the above were based on the Wikipedia entry on Robbie Burns. Visit the page for more information.