The Morgan Library & Museum presents Robert Burns and ″Auld Lang Syne″, a displaydedicated to the eighteenth-century Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). The exhibition is supported by a gift in honour of Mr. Thomas Burns Reid and Mrs. Mary Theresa Reid. The installation is curated by Christine Nelson, the Morgan Library's Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, and Head of Interpretive Strategy.
″Auld Lang Syne″ – What Does it Mean?
The title of the song, ″Auld Lang Syne″, can be roughly translated as ″time gone by,″ or ″old time's sake″. The song, recognised throughout the English-speaking world, is traditionally sung on New Year's Eve. The simple act of standing in a circle, crossing your hands in front of you, and holding your neighbour's hands as you sing, invokes the most nostalgic atmosphere, conjuring up memories of loved ones and times past, saying goodbye to the previous year, and welcoming the new year.
The Morgan's exhibition asks how and why a traditional Scots folk song has become one of the world's most popular anthems, especially since the lyrics are scarcely understood by most?
Robert Burns and ″Auld Lang Syne″ – Highlights of the Exhibition
The display also includes a rare manuscript in the hand of Robert Burns, together with several extremely rare early printed copies, such as an edition published by George Thomson. Thomson was the first to publish ″Auld Lang Syne″, bringing the words and music together after Burns's death. The song appeared in his publication, Select Collection of Original Scotish Airs, dated 1799.
The display features a selection of letters relating to the origins of the song, drawn from The Morgan's own comprehensive collection of Burns's correspondence, the largest in the world. Perhaps the most important is Burns's letter to Thomson, dated 1793, where he describes the tune saying: ″the air is but mediocre; but the following song, the old song of the olden times, & which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript, untill I took it down from an old man's singing; is enough to recommend any air."
Earlier editions, that pre-date Burns's version, are also on view. One such piece, a hand-written manuscript showing the words: ″Should old acquaintance be forgot, is believed to be the oldest surviving manuscript. It dates from the 1660s and was discovered in a nobleman's notebook. Although the first few words are familiar, the rest of the verse bears little relationship to the version we sing on New Year's Eve.
Pilgrimage to Burns's Tomb
Every year thousands of pilgrims make the journey to south-western Scotland to pay tribute to the great poet. The exhibition features gifts left by visitors, including pressed wild flowers left by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne during his visit in 1857, and a letter from John Keats to his sister, written during his visit in 1818, a visit which inspired his sonnet ″On Visiting the Tomb of Burns″.
The exhibition is enhanced by a multi-media guide allowing visitors to listen along as they inspect these rare musical scores. In addition, an online exhibition presents manuscripts and printed scores allowing viewers to explore the song's early history.
Related Programme of Events
Robert Burns and ″Auld Lang Syne″ is accompanied by a varied programme of public events including gallery talks and concerts. The exhibition will be open until 5th February 2012, and further information and tickets are available from The Morgan Library and Museum.
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
