DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

212 GOW GEABU
musical world as performer, provider, and composer
of the daiice-mirsic then in use in the
northern capital. Whether or not his playing
was equal to that of his father, it is certain
that he was a more tutored performer, and had,
in addition, some skill in composition and
theoretical music. In 1796 he entered as
partner in a music-selling and publishing business
with William Shepherd, an Edinburgh
musician and composer, their tirst place of
business lieing at 41 North Bridge Street, Edinburgh.
Nathaniel Gow had, before this, aided
his father in the issue (through Corri and
Sutherland) of three collections of Strathspey
reels. While Gow was still actively engaged in
his ordinary professional work the firm Gow and
Shepherd published vast quantities of sheetmusic
(principally dance-music), and numbers
of ' Collections ' by the Gow family and others.
In or about 1802 Gow and Shepherd removed
to 16 Princes Street (which, in 1811, was renumbered
40), and did even a larger business
than before. Shepherd having died in 1812
Gow found himself in monetary difficulties, and
unable to meet his partnership liabilities with
his partner's executors, in spite of the great trade
done by the hrm and Gow's professional earnings,
which were exceptionally large. In 1814 the
stock-in-trade was sold off, but in 1818 Gow
again entered into the music business, with his
son, Niel Gow, as a partner at 60 Princes Street.
This continued until 1823, when the son died.
For eight months Gow was again a partner in
the music trade with one Galbraith, but Gow
and Galbraith ceased business in 1827, when
Gow became a bankrupt. About this time he
also was attacked with a serious illness, which
confined him to his room until his death on
Jan. 19, 1831. In his later years his patrons
were not backward in his behalf. A ball for
his benefit realised £300, and other three in
subsequent years yielded almost as great a sum.
He had a pension from George IV. and another
of £50 a year from the Caledonian Hunt. He
was twice married, and left a family behind him,
not distinguished as musicians ; his clever son,
Kiel, died before his father. For particulars
regarding the Gow family the reader is referred
to Mr. John Glen's Scottish Dance-Music, bk. ii.
1895 ; and for a contemporary notice to the
Geurgian Era, vol. iv. 1834. A biographical
article on Niel Gow appeared in The Scots'
Magazine for January 1809.
The chief composition by which Nathaniel
Gow is remembered to-day is ' Caller Herrin', ' a
piece written as one of a series to illustrate the
musical street-cries of Edinburgh. The original
sheet, which was published about 1798 or
1800, gives the cry of the Newhaven fishwife
mingling with ' George St. bells at practice ' and
other fishwives entering into the scene. This
remained purely as an instrumental tune for
more than twenty years, when Lady Nairne,
taking the melody, wrote her best lyric to it,
and published them together in The ScotUh
Minstrel, vol. v. circa 1823.
After Gow's bankruptcy Alexander Robertson
and Robert Purdie, both Edinburgh music
imblishers, acquired the rights of publication of
The
the Gow Collections, and added to ' them
' Beauties of Niel Gow (three parts), ' The Vocal
Melodies of Scotland ' (three parts), ' and The
Ancient Curious Collection of Scotland ' one
part. As the ' Gow Collections ' are of the
highest value in the illustration of Scottish
National music (many of the airs contained
therein being traditional melodies printed for
the first time) the follo^ving list with the dates
of publication is given :
' ACollection of Struthapey Keela (edited) by Niel Gow at Duokeld
117841.
'
' ASecondCollection'il788); 'A Third' 11792) ; 'AFuurth 11800/
A Fifth 'by >iel Gow and Sons 11809); and 'A Sixth' 0822).
' A Complete Repository of Original Scots Slow Strathspeys and
' Dances' leditedl by Niel Gow and Sons (1799) ; Part Second' (1802)
' ' ' Part Third 11806) ; Part Fourth ' (1817). All in folio.
Tn addition to these there are several collections of air^ issued
by Nathaniel Gow, being the composition of his pupils or patrons,
beside a vast number of single sheets of similar works by the Gow
family and others. F. K.
Other sons of Niel Gow were William (1751-
1791), Andrew (1760-1803), and John (1764-
Nov. 22, 1826). They were each musicians
of average merit as violinists and composers of
Strathspeys, etc., some of which apipear in the
Gow^ publications.
Prior to 1788 John and Andrew had settled
in London, where they established a music-
selling and publishing business at 60 King Street,
Golden Square. On the death of Andrew in
1803 John removed to 31 Carnaby Street,
Golden S(juare, and in 1815-16 to 30 Great
Marlborough Street. Before 1824 he had
taken his son into partnership, and at 162
Regent Street they were ' music-sellers to His
Majest)',' issuing much of the then popular
quadrille and other sheet dance-music.
Niel Gow, junior, the son of Nathaniel Gow,
was a musician of excellent talent. He was
born about 1795, and remained with his father
in Edinburgh, where he died, Nov. 7, 1823.
His compositions include ' Flora Macdonald's
Lament ' (' Far over yon hills of the heather so
green'), and 'Cam' yeby Athol,' songs equally
famous with his father's ' Caller Herrin'.' F. K.
GOWARD, Mary Axne. See Keeley, Mrs.
GRABU, Lewis, or LcU'i.s Grabut, or sometimes
Grebus, a French musician, who came to
England about 1666, and finding favour with
Charles II., wdiose predilection for everything
French was unbounded, was assigned a prominent
place in the direction of the Court music,
to the great chagrin ofjohn Banister, then 'Master
of the Music' [He was leader of the band from
1668. W. Nagel, Ge^ch. d. Musik in England,
vol. i, p. 58, etc.] Upon Oct. 1, 1667, he produced
at Court an 'English Song upon Peace,'
n'hich Pepys, who heard it, criticised very unfavourably,
although admitting, at the same
time, that ' the instrumental musick he had