Niel Gow

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Portrait of Niel Gow, 1787, by Sir Henry Raeburn .

Niel Gow (* 1727 in Strathbraan, Perthshire ; † March 1, 1807 ) was possibly the most famous Scottish fiddler of the 18th century.

biography

Gow was born in Inver, Perthshire , to John Gow and Catherine McEwan. He began playing the violin at a very young age and received his first lessons from a John Cameron at the age of 13. Although he was some kind of musical prodigy , he first trained as a plaid weaver, but eventually gave up to devote himself entirely to music. He was widely regarded as the best fiddler in Perthshire, an area famous for its musicians - it is said that when he was 18 he entered a competition where the blind John McCraw was referee. McCraw awarded Gow first prize and then claimed that he would recognize Niel's style among a hundred violinists ("I would ken his bow hand among a hunder players"). This caught the attention of the Duke of Atholl , who became Niel's sponsor, and also secured Niel's involvement in balls and dance festivals held by the local nobility. Over time he became famous as a fiddler.

Niel Gow was married twice. His first wife was Margaret Wiseman and they had five sons and three daughters. His sons William, Andrew (1760), Nathaniel (1763) and John (1764) all succeeded their father as fiddlers and composers of violin music. Two of the daughters were Margaret (1759) and Grizel (1761). The youngest son Daniel (1765) died when he was little. William died in 1791 at the age of 40, and Andrew died in 1794. Of Niel's sons, Nathaniel is by far the best known and also an outstanding composer of Scottish music, having written nearly 200 pieces. In 1768, after being widowed, Niel married Margaret Urquhart of Perth and they were happily married until she died in 1805. Niel suffered greatly from her death and stopped playing the violin for a while. His friends finally got him to start again, and the first thing he played was his "... Lament for the Death of his Second Wife" (see compositions). Niel died in Inver on March 1st, 1807 at the age of 80.

Niel Gow composed a lot of dance music - according to John Glen (1895) he claimed 87 pieces, "some of which are outstanding". However, it must be mentioned that he did not shy away from republishing good material by other composers under his own name; Glen claims that at least a quarter of the 87 are based on older tracks or are direct copies of tracks previously published elsewhere, often under a different title. Since this was not uncommon at the time, it apparently did not damage his reputation; in fact, the famous painter Henry Raeburn was commissioned several times to portray him.

Many of Niel Gow's compositions are still played today by folk musicians, on ceilidhs and for Scottish country dance . He himself spelled his name Niel , although others sometimes write Neil or even Neal . (To add to the confusion, he had a very musical grandson (from Nathaniel) who was actually called "Neil.")

The annual Niel Gow Fiddle Festival is held in Dunkeld and Birnam , Perthshire and Scotland . It's been around since 2004 and is designed to celebrate Gow's life and music. It is hoped that, over time, the festival and other activities will raise enough funds so that an appropriate memorial can be erected to Gow in Dunkeld and Birnam.

Compositions

Recordings

literature

  • The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music , republished by the Highland Music Trust, 2001 ( ISBN 978-0-9541478-1-5 )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gow, Niel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish fiddler
DATE OF BIRTH 1727
PLACE OF BIRTH Strathbraan, Perthshire
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1807