A lost Vivaldi flute concerto is to receive its modern world premiere in Perth.
It was discovered among papers in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh by Southampton University research fellow Andrew Woolley.
The set of parts for Il Gran Mogol has since been authenticated as the 18th century composer’s work.
It has not been performed for centuries and will be played at Perth Concert Hall on January 26.
Mr Woolley said, “This piece was previously known only from a mention in the sale catalogue of an 18th-century Dutch bookseller.
“Discovering that it is actually in existence is unexpected and hugely exciting.”
It is unclear how the concerto was brought to Scotland, but it is believed to have been the property of flute-playing nobleman Lord Robert Kerr, son of the third Marquess of Lothian, and that he may have acquired it on a grand tour of Europe in the early 1700s.
The manuscript was preserved among the family papers of the Marquesses of Lothian, acquired by the National Archives of Scotland in 1991.
Although the catalogue describes the title and composer, which are recorded on the manuscript, Mr Woolley is the first person to recognise the significance of the work.
Il Gran Mogol belonged to a quartet of “national concertos” the others, La Francia, La Spagna and L’Inghilterro, remain lost.
The flute concerto Il Gran Mogol is almost complete, missing just the second violin part.
Mr Woolley has replaced it by referring to another flute concerto by Vivaldi, kept in Turin, which appears to be a reworking of Il Gran Mogol.
At the unveiling, at which a flautist played an extract, Scottish culture minister Fiona Hyslop said, “This remarkable discovery of an unpublished concerto by one of the world’s best-known composers shows the outstanding quality of the collections in the National Archives of Scotland.”
George MacKenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said “We’re delighted that the significance of this musical score has been identified, and we congratulate Andrew Woolley on his exciting find.”
From Southampton, research fellow Adrian Chandler, a violinist specialising in the works of Vivaldi, will perform the piece with other members of the leading early music group and Gramophone award winners La Serenissima.
Katy Bircher, lecturer and leading performer on early flutes, will play the solo part.