ABSTRACT
Most critics would continue to comment on the over-use or lack of Caledonian sounds in MacCunn's music for remainder of his career. Because of his distinct Caledonian person and devotion to country and kinsman, Scottish press aligned him with Burns and Scott throughout his career. According to Arthur Porritt, who was on the London staff of the Manchester Examiner, MacCunn did some musical criticism for paper around 1890. Though his conducting largely consisted of individual engagements, he landed his first teaching post at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in 1888 and began taking on private pupils. This period also saw his marriage to Alison, Pettie's daughter, in 1889. Pettie loved music and took pride in MacCunn's talent, playing an important role in launching his career on podium. Musically, the cycle shows MacCunn exploring large-scale harmonic organization and, as in "I've found my mountain lyre again", thematic webs in new ways, likely in preparation for his move into opera.
