Box and Fiddle
Year 21 No 03
November 1997
Nathaniel Gow – the fourth son of Niel Gow, was born at Inver on 28th May, 1763. Like his elder brothers William, John and Andrew, he was taught by his father on the kit (a kind of small fiddle) then sent to Edinburgh to study with Robert MacKintosh (Red Rob) and Alexander ‘King’ McGlashen, so-called because of his majestic, stately appearance and showy dress. Nathaniel inherited his father’s talents as a violinist, but with his superior education he was the better all-round musician of the two. He studied the cello under Joseph Reinagle, who became Professor of Music at Oxford. He also played the trumpet, and in 1782 was appointed one of His Majesty’s Herald Trumpeters in Scotland.
In 1791 he succeeded his brother William as the leader of the orchestra that played at the fashionable concerts in Edinburgh, especially the Caledonian Hunt Balls and Assemblies. Nathaniel was the leading musical figure in the capital and, like his father, was absent from few really fashionable functions. The aristocracy showered him with gifts, and George IV granted him a pension. He was at one time reputed to be worth £20,000. In 1796, in partnership with William shepherd, he started an extensive music publishing business. Nathaniel claimed to have written 197 tunes but, regrettably, he was even more guilty of plagiarism than his father, especially of Marshall’s music. He was, however, a fine composer of original melodies, and his authenticated compositions show culture, variety and sophistication. His strathspey Lady Charlotte Campbell and the reels Loch Earn and Largo’s Fairy Dance and in the standard repertoire of any respected fiddler.
In 1791 he succeeded his brother William as the leader of the orchestra that played at the fashionable concerts in Edinburgh, especially the Caledonian Hunt Balls and Assemblies. Nathaniel was the leading musical figure in the capital and, like his father, was absent from few really fashionable functions. The aristocracy showered him with gifts, and George IV granted him a pension. He was at one time reputed to be worth £20,000. In 1796, in partnership with William shepherd, he started an extensive music publishing business. Nathaniel claimed to have written 197 tunes but, regrettably, he was even more guilty of plagiarism than his father, especially of Marshall’s music. He was, however, a fine composer of original melodies, and his authenticated compositions show culture, variety and sophistication. His strathspey Lady Charlotte Campbell and the reels Loch Earn and Largo’s Fairy Dance and in the standard repertoire of any respected fiddler.