This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/01/pentatonic-burns-auld-lang-syne
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Pentatonic Burns | Pentatonic Burns |
| (4 months later) | |
| There has been much controversy over comments by the writers Alasdair Gray and James Kelman about the domination of English people in Scottish artistic institutions. The Scottish artistic community has been vociferous in its condemnation of their "anti-English" views. Can we now expect these same people to be robust in defending Scotland's greatest bard from the smug metropolitan arrogance of the Guardian's editorial In praise of... The end of the world (19 December)? The song Auld Lang Syne is not a "dirge". It is a piece of sung poetry that lends itself open to various interpretations. It is this very ambiguity that ensures it is one of the world's best-known songs. The fact that the tune uses a pentatonic scale, common in Asian cultures, has also ensured its popularity far beyond Scotland. Choosing a Beatles song to denigrate Auld Lang Syne is particularly crass. The Beatles had a long, deep and positive relationship with Scotland. Alistair Johnson Bonnyrigg, Midlothian | There has been much controversy over comments by the writers Alasdair Gray and James Kelman about the domination of English people in Scottish artistic institutions. The Scottish artistic community has been vociferous in its condemnation of their "anti-English" views. Can we now expect these same people to be robust in defending Scotland's greatest bard from the smug metropolitan arrogance of the Guardian's editorial In praise of... The end of the world (19 December)? The song Auld Lang Syne is not a "dirge". It is a piece of sung poetry that lends itself open to various interpretations. It is this very ambiguity that ensures it is one of the world's best-known songs. The fact that the tune uses a pentatonic scale, common in Asian cultures, has also ensured its popularity far beyond Scotland. Choosing a Beatles song to denigrate Auld Lang Syne is particularly crass. The Beatles had a long, deep and positive relationship with Scotland. Alistair Johnson Bonnyrigg, Midlothian |
| guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |