John Gunn (c. 1765 – c. 1824) was a Scottish

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

, writer on music, and professor.

Life

Gunn was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

about 1765. Gunn taught

violoncello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

and

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. He wrote at Cambridge his ''Treatise on the Origin of Stringed Instruments'', and published it with his ''Theory and Practice of Fingering the Violoncello, with Examples'', about 1789. ''Forty favourite Scotch Airs adapted for Violin, Violoncello, or Flute'' followed as a supplement to that work. In 1790 Gunn translated from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

A. D. R. Borghese's ''New and General System of Music'' (originally published in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, 1788,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

). From 1789 he was in

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for several years, studying languages and history. In 1795, he returned to Edinburgh. ''An Essay on Harmony … adapted to the Violoncello'' was brought out at Edinburgh, 1801. About this time Gunn married Ann Young, a pianist and music teacher, who wrote the books ''Elements of Music'', ''An Introduction to Music'', and invented several musical games for the use in teaching. In 1805 General Robertson of Lude, Perthshire, sent 2 harps, including what is now known as the

Queen Mary Harp The Queen Mary Harp ( gd, Clàrsach na Banrìgh Màiri) or ''Lude Harp'', is a Scottish clarsach currently displayed in the National Museum of Scotland. It is believed to date back to the 15th century, and to have originated in Argyll, in South W ...

to the

Highland Society of Scotland The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) was founded in Edinburgh in 1784 as the Highland Society of Edinburgh. The Society had its root in 1723 when the Society of Improvers of the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland was ...

, in Edinburgh, The Society commissioned Gunn to inspect the instruments, and he read his report on the harp to the Society later that year. This paper was printed by their desire in 1807 as ''An Historical Enquiry respecting the performances of the Harp in the Highlands of Scotland, from the earliest times till it was discontinued about 1734'', &c., 4to, Edinburgh. This is a valuable contribution to the history of music, and it is unfortunate that the author did not carry out his intention of writing an inquiry into the antiquity of the harp. Other works by Gunn were ''The Art of Playing the Flute'' and ''The School for the German Flute''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, John 1760s births 1820s deaths 18th-century Scottish writers 18th-century Scottish educators 18th-century Scottish people Year of death missing Scottish writers about music Musicians from Edinburgh British music educators Italian–English translators Scottish cellists Scottish music historians Scottish translators Writers from Edinburgh Writers about music