Volume II, song 108, page 111 - 'Hamilla' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1 (to the tune 'The bonniest las in a' the warld'): 'Look where my dear Hamilla smiles, Hamilla, heav'nly charmer! see how with all their arts and wiles, The loves and graces arm her! A blush dwells glowing on her cheek, Fair seat of youthful pleasure! There love in smiling language speaks, There spreads the rosy treasure.' The 'Scots Musical Museum' is the most important of the numerous eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collections of Scottish song. When the engraver James Johnson started work on the second volume of his collection in 1787, he enlisted Robert Burns as contributor and editor. Burns enthusiastically collected songs from various sources, often expanding or revising them, whilst including much of his own work. The resulting combination of innovation and antiquarianism gives the work a feel of living tradition. The tune to this piece is known as a 'Scots measure', which refers to the variation in the amount of notes per bar. Franz Josef Haydn rewrote a musical accompaniment to these lyrics in 1792, which took the song's title and not the original melody's name. There is, however, no explanation of the significance of the name Hamilla.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503305

Title

Volume II, song 108, page 111 - 'Hamilla' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Object Type

PhysicalObject

Measurements

- 130 x 211 mm