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Which song collections contain most of Robert Burns’s songs?
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Robert Burns
Robert Burns, engraving from A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, 1870.
The majority of Robert Burns’s songs are contained within two primary collections to which he contributed extensively during the latter part of his life:
- The Scots Musical Museum (1787–1803): Published by James Johnson, this series featured Burns as its virtual editor. He dedicated significant effort to finding, editing, and rewriting songs for this project.1
- A Select Collection of Original Scotish Airs for the Voice (1793–1818): Compiled by George Thomson, this collection included the first five volumes of work to which Burns contributed. Burns frequently clashed with Thomson to ensure the traditional character of the folk music was preserved against Thomson's attempts to "refine" the material.1
Burns viewed his work on these collections as a service to Scotland and famously refused payment for his contributions.1