麻豆社

Music knows many different forms in Scotland, as a result of her radically different traditions: the Lowland Scots one, the Gaelic Highland one, and that one represented by the north-east, greatly influenced by ancient links with Norway. Poet Kenneth Steven chooses to explore the stories of five composers, almost seeking to weave a piece of tweed from the journeys of their lives as musicians.

The Reformation: Tobias Hume

It鈥檚 more than likely Tobias Hume came from a Catholic family. His name derives from one of the books of the Apocrypha, those texts omitted from the Protestant Bible. This may well be why he ended up in Poland, for that was one of the countries to which many Catholics from Scotland fled in the 16th century in order to be able to worship in freedom. It was also the reason Tobias Hume gained such a knowledge of Polish music. But he was hardly in Poland to enjoy life as a musician, much as he might have wished he could have been - he was here rather as a soldier and a mercenary.

His first music was published in London in the years of 1605 and 1607; since James had been crowned in 1603 that would point to his having come to London in the hope of seeking his patronage.

Presenter Kenneth Steven
Producer Mark Rickards

A Whistledown Scotland production for 麻豆社 Radio 3