QUINES / The Bubblyjock Collective

The Bubblyjock Collective present ‘QUINES’, a brand-new programme celebrating female Scottish composers and neglected women from Scottish history. It features works by Helen Hopekirk (1856-1945), Isobel Dunlop (1901-1975), Marie Dare (1902-1976) and Claire Liddell (b. 1937), four extraordinary women whose music has not previously received the attention it deserves. At the heart of the programme is a newly commissioned song-cycle by Lisa Robertson, which sets texts from Gerda Stevenson’s QUINES poetry collection, written in the voices of neglected women from Scottish history.

The five women brought to life in the new song cycle are:

• Mary Garden (1874-1967), born Aberdeen, died Inverurie; world-renowned opera-singer ; the first to create many leading roles in new operas, including those by Debussy, Massenet and Prokofiev
• Williamina Patting Fleming (1857-1911), born Dundee, died Boston; astronomer; received numerous international honours; her name was eliminated from Harvard’s list of astrological discoveries, denying her credit for discovering Horsehead Nebula
• Màiri Mhòr nan Òran (1821-98), from the Isle of Skye; Gaelic poet, singer-songwriter, and bard of the Highland Land League; falsely accused and imprisoned for theft
• Violet Jacob (1863-1946), from the County of Angus; novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, and botanical artist; travelled widely abroad; her only child, a son, died in WW1
• Moira Shearer (1926-2006), born Dunfermline, died Oxford; internationally renowned ballerina and actress, famous for her starring role in the legendary ballet film The Red Shoes

Watch: Quines - The Bubblyjock Collective


Find out more about the programme at: bubblyjockcollective.com/quines

This tour has been funded by Chamber Music Scotland’s Small Venues Touring Fund. The new commission is generously supported by Vaughan Williams Foundation and Hope Scott Trust