Catalogue Raisonné

A Catalogue Raisonné of his works in the University of Cape Town Libraries
by Michael Tuffin

Glaswegian born Erik Chisholm (1904-1965) is now being recognized as an important musical figure in Scotland's musical history, and John Purser's fine biography, published in 2009 by Boydell & Brewer, underlines the important contributions he made to the musical life of particularly Glasgow and Cape Town and to the people with whom he came into contact.

This Catalogue raisonné is intended to supplement the selected list of works in the biography. It attempts to reproduce the original sources, both literary and musical, on which Chisholm relied for his inspiration.

It includes an essay on Erik Chisholm and his use of Scottish music, literature and Gaelic legend, and in particular, his love of piobaireachd (bagpipe music) and the use he made of Rev Patrick McDonald's Collection of Airs and Dances of 1784. The McDonald Collection he received as a gift aged ten years and it accompanied him throughout the rest of his life. He used these airs and dances not only in piano pieces and ballets, but most importantly, in the over 300 songs meant for inclusion in his Celtic Song Book. A chart is provided of the uses of the Airs & Dances found throughout Chisholm's oeuvre. It also describes his startling clash with Hindustani music in the last years of WWII.

The Chisholm Collection, which includes manuscripts and papers, is in the Manuscripts and Archives Department of the University of Cape Town Libraries, and copies are kept in the Scottish Music Centre, Glasgow.

A copy of the Catalogue Raisonné (as a single pdf document) may be downloaded here.