Music from John Forbes’ Songs and Fancies

Pre-concert talk: 12:00-12:20

Soprano Heloïse Bernard and lutenist Eric Thomas will perform selections from John Forbes' "Songs and Fancies".

Published in the latter half of the seventeenth century, this collection revisits some of the most beloved songs from Renaissance Scotland while also incorporating the latest trends in Italian music of the time.

2025 marks the centenary of both the National Library of Scotland and the Art Gallery’s Cowdray Hall concert venue. To celebrate this shared milestone we’re taking part in the National Library’s Outwith programme, which brings an early edition of secular music to the Art Gallery. Songs and Fancies was published by John Forbes in Aberdeen in 1682.