George Thomson (1757–1851), born at
Limekilns
Limekilns is a village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth, around south of Dunfermline.
History and economy
Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an old settlement dating back to the 14th ce ...
, Fife,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
, was a noted collector of the
music of Scotland
Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, which remained vibrant throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. In spite of emigration and a well-developed co ...
, a music publisher, and a friend of
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who ha ...
. He was clerk to the board of trustees in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
for 60 years. His ''
A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice'' came out in six volumes between 1793 and 1841,
and included contributions from Burns,
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy'' ...
and
Thomas Campbell. Thomson published folksong arrangements by
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
,
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
,
[ ]Ignaz Pleyel
Ignace Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian-born French composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period.
Life Early years
He was born in in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Ma ...
,[ ]Leopold Kozeluch
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
,[ ]Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Mozart, Salieri and Clementi. He al ...
,[J. Sachs. (1970). Hummel and George Thomson of Edinburgh. ''The Musical Quarterly'', 56(2): 270–287.] Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...
,[ ]Henry Rowley Bishop
Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (18 November 178730 April 1855) was an English composer from the early Romantic era. He is most famous for the songs " Home! Sweet Home!" and "Lo! Hear the Gentle Lark." He was the composer or arranger of some 120 dram ...
,[ and ]Robert Archibald Smith
Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829) was a Scottish musical Ronantic composer, known for his collection ''Scotish Minstrel'', which began to appear in 1821.
Life
He was born on 16 November 1780.Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland ...
.[
]
Early life
His father was the schoolmaster at Limekilns
Limekilns is a village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth, around south of Dunfermline.
History and economy
Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an old settlement dating back to the 14th ce ...
, Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Acco ...
, and he had some legal training. In 1780 he gained a clerical appointment with the '' Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of Art and Manufactures in Scotland'' on the recommendation of John Home
Rev John Home FRSE (13 September 1722 – 4 September 1808) was a Scottish minister, soldier and author. His play ''Douglas'' was a standard Scottish school text until the Second World War, but his work is now largely neglected. In 1783 he wa ...
, and spent the rest of his career with this body set up under the Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...
to promote Scottish trade with money given by Parliament in compensation for losses in the Darien Scheme
The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing ''New Caledonia'', a colony on the Isthmus of Panama, in the late 1690s. The plan was for the co ...
and for taking on a share of England's national debt
A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit o ...
, eventually becoming Chief Clerk. He joined the Edinburgh Musical Society, playing the violin in the orchestra and singing in the choir. For 59 years he worked for the Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of Art and Manufactures in Scotland. His daughter Georgina was the wife of editor and music publisher George Hogarth
George Hogarth WS (6 September 1783 – 12 February 1870) was a Scottish lawyer, newspaper editor, music critic, and musicologist. He authored several books on opera and Victorian musical life in addition to contributing articles to various publi ...
, and his granddaughter Catherine married the novelist Charles Dickens.
Collection of Scots songs
Thomson played in the orchestra of the St Cecilia Concerts, enjoying performances of Scots songs by Italian castrati visiting Scotland. This gave him the idea of bringing out a collection of Scots songs with new accompaniments and respectable words.[ In the summer of 1792 he got ]Andrew Erskine
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
, younger brother of the composer the Earl of Kellie
The title Earl of Kellie or Kelly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1619 for Sir Thomas Erskine, who was Captain of the Guard and Groom of the Stool for James VI. It is named after Barony of Kellie in Fife, Scotland. Since 1875, ...
, to take part in the project, but about fifteen months later Erskine, with gambling debts, ended his life by jumping into the Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meanin ...
.
To continue the project Thomson asked Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
for a letter of introduction to Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who ha ...
and in September 1792 sent it with his letter stating that
Burns was already a contributor to James Johnson's '' The Scots Musical Museum'' and agreed to do the work, but indignantly added that "In the honest enthusiasm with which I embark in your undertaking, to talk of money, wages, fee, hire, etc. could be downright Sodomy of Soul! A proof of each of the Songs that I compose or amend, I shall receive as a favour."
''Select Scottish Airs''
The first part of Thomson's ''Select Scottish Airs'', brought out in June 1793, contained 25 songs by Burns.[ Thomson sent him a copy and, with the note that "''you must suffer me to enclose a small mark of my gratitude, and to repeat it–afterwards when I find it convenient''" a five-pound note. Burns responded indignantly
Thomson did not attempt again to make payments until, close to the end of his life, the dying poet desperately begged him for a further five pounds.
Burns gave his congratulations on the elegant appearance of the book, and Thomson soon decided, with the aid of his willing collaborator, to include "''every Scottish air and song worth singing''".
Burns kept on providing songs until a few days before his death, and became involved in a lot of correspondence with Thomson, responding to editorial suggestions and justifying reasons for altering an old song or writing a new song to a particular tune. This gives a valuable insight into his approach to Scots song. Once Burns had stated his wishes Thomson rarely argued back, but sometimes made alterations without consulting the poet and ignored the request of Burns to return unsuitable songs for Johnson to put into print. Burns made it clear that in giving one edition of his songs he was not giving away his copyright. Alternative English language versions of the songs were provided by ]John Wolcot
John Wolcot (baptised 9 May 1738 – 14 January 1819) was an English satirist, who wrote under the pseudonym of "Peter Pindar".
Life
Wolcot was baptised at Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. In the parish register, his surname was spelled ...
under the pen name of "Peter Pindar", but after he withdrew in August 1793 Thomson persuaded Burns to produce the English verses as well as his Scots language
Scots (endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly ...
lyrics.
Thomson frequently suggested "improvements" which Burns rejected. A particular instance was ''Scots Wha Hae
"Scots Wha Hae" ( English: ''Scots Who Have''; gd, Brosnachadh Bhruis) is a patriotic song of Scotland written using both words of the Scots language and English, which served for centuries as an unofficial national anthem of the country, ...
'' where Thomson insisted on an alternative to the familiar tune, and had Burns alter his stanzas to suit, but was later forced by public pressure to restore the original version.[Donald A. Low, ed., ''The Songs of Robert Burns'' (London: Routledge, 1993), , pp. 16–24.]
Burns wrote:
See also
* Jean Lorimer (Chloris)
References
Further reading
*McCue, Kirsteen (2003) "«The most intricate bibliographical enigma»: understanding George Thomson (1757-1851) and his collections of national airs", in: Richard Turbet, ed. ''Music Librarianship in the United Kingdom'' Aldershot: Ashgate; pp. 99–119
External links
Beethoven and George Thomson.
Robert Burns Country – Thomson, George.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, George
1757 births
1851 deaths
Scottish music
People from Fife
Scottish musicologists
Scottish literature
Robert Burns
Scottish song collectors
Scottish folk-song collectors