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 cen ...

, 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 ...

, was a noted collector of the music of Scotland, a music publisher, and a friend of Robert Burns. 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 of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

for 60 years. His ''

A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice ''A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice'' is a multi-volume collection of Scottish song edited and published by the entrepreneurial musician, publisher and Clerk to the Board of Trustees for Encouragement of Art and Manufactur ...

'' 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 Thomas Campbell may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Thomas Campbell (poet) (1777–1844), Scottish poet * Thomas Campbell (sculptor) (1790–1858), Scottish sculptor * Thomas Campbell (visual artist) (born 1969), California-based visual artist ...

. 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 le ...

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 classic ...

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,

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 als ...

,J. Sachs. (1970). Hummel and George Thomson of Edinburgh. ''The Musical Quarterly'', 56(2): 270–287. Carl Maria von Weber,

Henry Rowley Bishop Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (18 November 178730 April 1855) was an English composer from the early Romantic period (music), Romantic era. He is most famous for the songs "Home! Sweet Home!" and "Lo! Hear the Gentle Lark." He was the composer or ar ...

, 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

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 w ...

, and spent the rest of his career with this body set up under the Treaty of Union to promote Scottish trade with money given by Parliament in compensation for losses in the Darien Scheme and for taking on a share of England's national debt, 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, 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, younger brother of the composer the Earl of Kellie, 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 meani ...

. 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 newl ...

for a letter of introduction to Robert Burns and in September 1792 sent it with his letter stating that Burns was already a contributor to James Johnson's ''

The Scots Musical Museum The ''Scots Musical Museum'' was an influential collection of traditional folk music of Scotland published from 1787 to 1803. While it was not the first collection of Scottish folk songs and music, the six volumes with 100 songs in each collected ...

'' 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 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 commo ...

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, but h ...

'' 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:

References

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

Early life

Collection of Scots songs

''Select Scottish Airs''

See also

References

Further reading

External links