The influential Italian singing master

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Music teacher to Bonnie Prince Charlie, Domenico Corri was a musical innovator who arrived in Edinburgh in 1771 and then published A Select Collection of the Most Admired Songs, Duetts, etc. Priced at the equivalent of 31 days' wages for a skilled tradesman, it included 237 songs and used an annotation system which he invented to show off the way fashionable singers were embellishing their performances. In the first of this week's Essay series, which showcases new insights gained from studying historic documents, Dr Brianna Robertson-Kirkland from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland uses this textbook to demonstrate different singing styles. Her essay links performances by Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera to a Covent Garden favourite, Elizabeth Billington, performing in 1801. Recorded in Scotland by Minnie Harrop and edited by Robyn Read The music which begins the Essay is The Bush Aboon Traquair, recorded by Brianna with Claire Haslin on the harpsichord at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.