Drysdale Collection
A collection of manuscript compositions, as well as a number of published pieces and a quantity of archival material, by Edinburgh-born composer Learmont Drysdale (1866-1909).
On leaving school, Drysdale studied architecture for some time, but his interest in music led him to enrol at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After his student days, Drysdale taught for a short time in the Athenaeum in Glasgow, but the remainder of his fairly short life was devoted to composition.
His works include:
- songs and song arrangements
- orchestral works
- instrumental music
- chamber music
- operas
- dramatic cantatas
As the result of the friendship which developed in the 1940s between Henry Farmer and Drysdale’s sister Janey, who through the years had tried to promote her brother’s works whenever possible, she was persuaded by Farmer to donate his papers to Glasgow University Library.
The Farmer Collection is an additional source of material on Drysdale as it includes many letters from Janey Drysdale to Henry Farmer concerning her brother’s music, as well as other topics.
How to find material in the Drysdale collection
- To access a list of records from this collection, see MS Drysdale ; alternatively, use the manuscripts search
- Additional material may be found in MS Drysdale Add and MS Farmer
- Sheila Craik and David Weston Tunic, tinsel, toga: an exhibition to mark the centenary of Henry George Farmer, 1882-1965 (Glasgow: 1982)
Quick Links
Portrait of Drysdale from Janey Drysdale's manuscript biography (MS Drysdale Cb10-x.14)