William Thomson (''fl.'' 1695–1753) was a Scottish folk song collector and singer. He is said to have been the son of Daniel Thomson, one of the king's trumpeters for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. As a boy singer, he sang at a concert – ''The Feast of St. Cecillia'' – in 1695. Before 1722, he had settled in London, and according to Charles Burney had a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

that year. He appears to have become a fashionable singer, as his volume, dedicated to Caroline of Ansbach, Princess of Wales, contains a lengthy list of notable persons as subscribers. He was the editor of the first collection of Scottish folk songs published together with their

melodies A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

. This is a

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

named ''Orpheus Caledonius, a collection of the best Scotch songs set to Musick'', entered at Stationers' Hall on 5 January 1725. The book consists of 50 songs with their airs, along with a simple accompaniment. A second volume, in two volumes

octavo Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...

, had another 50 added. The two editions are interesting and valuable, although Sir

John Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

described him as "a

tradesman A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast ...

" and said that his collection was injudicious and incorrect. The words of the songs were largely taken from Allan Ramsay's ''Tea-Table Miscellany'', published in 1724.

References

*Kidson, F. (1922) "Thomson, William", ''

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

External links

*Digitised copies of volumes 1 and 2 o
Orpheus Caledonius, or, A collection of Scots song
by William Thomson, 1733 at National Library of Scotland * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, William 17th-century births Scottish musicologists 18th-century Scottish male singers Scottish song collectors 1753 deaths Scottish folk-song collectors