Niel Gow (spelled “Niel,” not “Neil”) was a famous Scots fiddler of the 1700s. Born in Perthshire, the son of a weaver of plaids, young Niel began on the fiddle at nine, and in 1745, at age 18, won a major competition in Perth. Through his long career, he entertained a series of Dukes of Atholl, for whom he was engaged to play for many social events. Gow’s band often included a second fiddle player, and Niel’s brother Donald on cello.
One story goes that when asked about the long road home after a dance, and perhaps having enjoyed a bit to drink, causing a bit of side-to-side rambling, he said, “it wasna the length of the road he minded, but the breadth o’ it.”
Surely he appreciated whiskey at least a wee bit, as he is the composer of the reel “Farewell to Whiskey” (written to bemoan the failure of the barley crop in 1799).
Known for his snappy bow, he emphasized the upstroke in the staccato strathspey and the spritely reel (Gow is also credited with writing “Mrs. McLeod’s Reel,” a lustrous pearl of the Scottish fiddling repertoire), and his music was said to be “a continuous stream of gorgeous sound, like an organ in full gallop.”)
He lived to be 80. On his tombstone is the great couplet:
Time and Gow are even now;
Gow beat time, now Time’s beat Gow
Check out this bio of Niel Gow from the website of Living Tradition magazine.
There is a new award, sponsored by Fiona Ritchie and others, created to honor his place of honor in the pantheon of great fiddlers. According to the award’s website:
The Niel Gow International Fiddle Composition Award is launched in 2008 to encourage creative fiddle composition. Based in Scotland, it seeks to attract entries from the global village of writers/fiddlers. The melodies composed need not be in the traditional Scottish style (jig, reel, strathspey, air etc), however they should in some way evoke the spirit of Gow and his Highland Perthshire homeland.
Staged as part of the 4th Perthshire Amber Festival, it is hoped that this inaugural Award will mark the beginning of an annual event. Six finalists will be invited to perform their original melodies in Birnam, Perthshire on October 28th. The winner will receive an engraved trophy as well as a cash award of £1000. He or she will also be invited to perform the winning melody at Blair Castle during the following evening’s concert as a guest of Dougie MacLean.
Nice bit o’cash, there. Let’s see, tune is due in a week, by Aug. 31. Drawing on my Scandinavian tradition . . . hmmm . . . “Farewell to Aquavit?”
