Alicia Ann Spottiswoode

Lady John Scott

Alicia Ann, Lady John Scott (née Spottiswoode; 24 June 1810 – 12 March 1900) was a Scottish songwriter and composer known chiefly for the tune, "Annie Laurie," to which the words of a 17th-century poet, William Douglas, were set.

Life

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She was the oldest daughter of John Spottiswoode of Berwickshire and his wife Helen Wauchope of Niddrie Marischal. On 16 March 1836 she married Lord John Scott, a younger son of the 4th Duke of Buccleuch, and consequently was known as Lady John Scott.[1] Lord John Scott died in 1860. Under the will of her father, she resumed her maiden name Spottiswoode in 1866, and was sometimes known as Lady John Scott Spottiswoode.[2]

Lady John Scott was a champion of traditional Scots language, history and culture, her motto being 'Haud [hold] fast by the past'.[3] One of her best known works, "Annie Laurie," was published in 1838. Scott was born at Spottiswoode, Scottish Borders, in the former Berwickshire[4] and died there on 12 March 1900.[2]

Her compositions were published by Paterson & Roy,[5] and included:

Works

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Selected works include:

  • “Annie Laurie”[5]
  • “Douglas Tender and True” [5]
  • “Durisdeer”[5]
  • “Etterick”[5]
  • “Farewell to Thee”[5]
  • “Foul Fords”[5]
  • “Katherine Logie”[5]
  • “Lammermoor”[5]
  • “Loch Lomond”
  • “Mother, Oh Sing Me to Rest”[5]
  • “Shame on Ye, Gallants”[5]
  • "Think on Me"[5]
  • “When We First Rode Down to Ettrick”[5]
  • “Within the Garden of My Heart”
  • “Your Voices Are Not Hush'd”

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Preface by Margaret Warrender (March 1904) in Songs and Verses by Lady Jane Scott, Edinburgh: David Douglas, pp. i–lxiv
  2. ^ a b "Obituary – Lady John Scott Spottiswoode". The Times. No. 36089. London. 14 March 1900. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Lady John Scott". Scottish Poetry Library.
  4. ^ Rogers, Charles (1882). The Scottish minstrel: the songs of Scotland subsequent to Burns. Nimmo. p. 447. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers (Second edition, revised and enlarged ed.). New York. ISBN 0-9617485-2-4. OCLC 16714846.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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