Thomson, George
Thomson, George
Thomson, George, Scottish collector of folk songs; b. Limekilns, Dunfermline, March 4, 1757; d. Leith, Feb. 18, 1851. For 59 years (1780-1839) he was secretary to the Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of Arts and Manufactures in Scotland; from 1780, was active as a violinist in the orch. and as a singer in the choir of the Edinburgh Musical Society. An ardent collector of Scotch, Welsh, and Irish melodies, he issued a series of vols, containing authentic melodies, with piano accompaniments and instrumental arrangements by the most celebrated musicians of his time, including Beethoven, Haydn, Pleyel, and Koželuh. Each song had, in accordance with his plan, a prelude, coda, and ad libitum parts throughout (for violin, or flute, or cello). The collections are A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs (6 vols., London; Vol. I, 1793; Vol. II, 1798; Vol. Ill, 1799; Vol. IV, 1802; Vol. V, 1818-26; Vol. VI, 1841), Collection of the Songs ofR. Burns, Sir W. Scott, etc.(6 vols., London, 1822), Select Collection of Original Welsh Airs (3 vols., London, 1809), Select Collection of Original Irish Airs (2 vols., London, 1814-16), and 20 Scottish Melodies (Edinburgh, 1839).
Bibliography
J. Hadden, G. T., the Friend of Burns. His Life and Correspondence (London, 1898).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire