Musical tribute to 'rare and powerful' 16th century lesbian poet at Scottish festival

Presented by award-winning folk singer, songwriter, and composer Josie Duncan and a specially formed band, the new work, commissioned for Edinburgh TradFest, will celebrate Ms Maitland’s love poetry through new music and songs, reflecting on her life, her relationships and the world she lived in.

The performance of A’ Chiad Litir has been specially commissioned by The Soundhouse Organisation, which programmes the festival and will also include a reading of a nine stanza verse believed to be one of the very earliest examples of lesbian verse in any language in Europe.

Ms Maitland was born into a wealthy and influential family in East Lothian, a noblewoman and the daughter of Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington, a prominent Scottish statesman, judge and poet.

For the new music commission, Ms Duncan, who works both in English and Scots Gaelic, has written a variety of new songs and instrumental tracks inspired by Ms Maitland’s life and poetry.

These include several composed in the style of a “waulking” song, a type of singing that was traditionally performed by women while fulling newly woven tweed cloth usually in the Hebrides.

In addition, historian Ashley Douglas, who has written extensively on Marie Maitland and brought her work to light, will read the nine-stanza verse known as Poem 49 from a manuscript created by Ms Maitland. In it, the poet speaks openly and passionately of her love for another woman, even stating her desire for the two women to be married. In the final stanzas, she reluctantly accepts the impossibility of their formal union, but nonetheless vows her ever-lasting devotion.

Ms Duncan said: “Marie Maitland’s poetry is a rare and powerful testament to queer love in 16th-century Scotland. Through this music, I hope to amplify her passionate, brave and vulnerable voice and celebrate a story that still resonates deeply today.

“I felt an immediate emotional connection to her work. Marie, like Sappho, wanted to be remembered and she is because of Ashley Douglas, who I knew had to be part of this show. It’s an honour to have her work to be inspired by so many years later. Work like this challenges the idea that queer love could ever be considered ‘modern’.”

Historian and author Ms Douglas said: “Women who love women have always existed - and remarkable women like Marie Maitland, who bequeathed us her love story, in her own hand, left us the records that prove it. When those stories are recovered from the margins, they have the power to validate and inspire the women who love women of today.

“I’m overjoyed that Marie’s story has so inspired Josie to create such beautiful music and song, and I’m so excited to work with her in continuing the legacy of Scotland’s sixteenth-century Sappho.”

Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producer of Edinburgh Tradfest, said: “Through our connections with Bogha-Frois (Queer Voices in Folk), Edinburgh Tradfest has always been an ally to LGBTQ+ artists, so Josie’s suggestion for a show about Marie Maitland really appealed to us.

“It is a fascinating subject, and is proof-positive that queerness was not invented in the 21st century. Working with Josie on this special commission has been an enlightening and inspiring experience.”