The Wode Collection

Catherine Bott takes a look at the Wode Psalter, a hugely significant collection of part books that give a fascinating insight into Scottish music-making in the 16th Century.

The collection was initially the work of Thomas Wode, a monk and cleric from St Andrews, who was commissioned to produce a series of harmonisations of psalm tunes for a protestant Scottish Psalter. Wode was more ambitious however, and he took it upon himself to gather as much of the music he then heard being played in Scotland, in the fear that otherwise music from the nation might be lost to us for ever.

The highly decorative series of part books, which make up the Wode Collection, has been scattered across the world for centuries, but the books have recently been brought back together for a special exhibition at Edinburgh University.

Catherine Bott visits the exhibition and is shown around by curator Dr Noel O'Regan. Music for the programme is taken from a recent recording of items from the Wode Collection by the Dunedin Consort.