Music has recorded the memories and cultures of humanity for thousands of years, but some music has been lost or fragmented in the course of history. Scientists from Belgium have discovered “lost” music fragments hidden in a 500-year-old printed book, which will bring back parts of the lost Scottish culture and music.
Scholars from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland conducted research on a copy of “The Aberdeen Breviary” from 1510 AD and found hidden “lost music notations” in the book. This discovery could potentially change people’s understanding of Scottish music before the religious reforms of the 16th century.
The book was originally kept in Glamis Castle in the Angus region of Scotland and is now located in the Scottish National Library in Edinburgh. The copy they studied contains handwritten notes and annotations of prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings used in Scottish daily worship.
It was the first major work published in Scotland, including detailed accounts of the lives of Scottish saints. It originated from an initiative by King James IV of Scotland in the 15th century, where he requested the printing of books containing Scottish religious practices to reduce dependence on imports from England or Europe.
Researchers found a music score of only 55 notes on a blank page attached to the copy, with most symbols clearly and distinctly marked. These notes are spread across two lines, with the second line being approximately half the length of the first. The first line of the score uses a five-line staff, while the second line only has four lines, with a C5 clef sign at the beginning but no time signature.
However, this extremely short music score is not part of the original printed book; it is written on a page bound within the book’s structure and not inserted later, suggesting the author’s intention to combine music and book.
As there are no textual annotations, titles, or attributions on the musical score in “The Aberdeen Breviary” copy, researchers initially were unsure whether the music was religious, secular, or even intended for vocal performances.
After investigation, the team deduced that it might be a form of polyphony (singing or playing two or more independent melodies simultaneously), a technique commonly seen in Scottish religious institutions but with few surviving complete musical scores to date.
Furthermore, researchers found similarities between the polyphony of the discovered music score and the music and harmony in the clergy hymn “Cultor Dei memento”. The male alto part of the music was found to match the faburden in the hymn, which is a three or four-part musical harmony.
“Cultor Dei memento” is a nighttime hymn sung during Lent, but it is not a well-known hymn outside of the UK, only used in some churches of the Church of England, including Scottish Episcopal churches.
From this, scientists infer that the “lost” music fragment in “The Aberdeen Breviary” copy is likely one of the accompaniment voices of faburden in “Cultor Dei memento” as the tunes displayed in both pieces are highly aligned.
The team believes the piece originated from Aberdeenshire and could be associated with St. Mary’s Church and Aberdeen Cathedral in the northeast corner of Scotland. The book was once owned by a senior priest from Aberdeen Cathedral and later became a family heirloom of a Scottish Catholic whose travels extended from post-Reformation Scotland to the Habsburg dynasty and the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
David Coney from Edinburgh College of Art expressed to the school’s press office, “For musicologists, identifying a piece of music is a true ‘Eureka moment’. Even better, the male alto voice we found actually harmonizes with a well-known melody, meaning we can reconstruct other missing voices.”
He continued, stating, “So, just from a hastily written music score on a blank page, we are able to hear a hymn that has been silent for nearly five centuries. While this is just a part of Scottish music and religious tradition, it is a valuable artifact.”
The principal author, Dr. Paul Newton-Jackson from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, stated, “We have found some musical clues from the past in this book, as there are very few surviving musical scores from that time. There may be similar secrets hidden in the blank spaces of ancient books stored in libraries and archives in Scotland.”
Dr. James Cook from Edinburgh College of Art remarked, “In the past, people believed that there wasn’t much religious music in pre-Reformation Scotland. However, we discovered that despite the religious reforms destroying many things, Scottish churches had mature music traditions, similar to other parts of Europe.”
This research was published in Volume 105, Issue 4 of the “Music and Literature” journal.