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perform'd at Court, Bath,
Tunbridge & all Public Assemblies with proper Figures or
Directions to each tune set for the Violin, German-Flute &
Hautboy. Pr. 3s 6d. London"
Vol 1 1751-57 - Go to ABC file. ABC by Peter Dunk
from a transcription by Fynn Titford-Mock
Go to PDF of VMP transcription
Vol 2 1758-65 - Go to ABC file. ABC
by Andrew Kuntz & John Adams
Go to PDF of VMP transcription
Vol 3 1766-72 - Go to ABC file. ABC by Peter Dunk
from a transcription by Fynn Titford-Mock
Go to PDF
of VMP transcription
Vol 4 1773-80 - Go to ABC file. ABC by Peter Dunk
from a transcription by Fynn Titford-Mock
Go to PDF of VMP transcription
There is known to be at least one further volume
Go to ABC file. ABC by Simon
Wilson
Go to PDF of VMP transcription
Hornpipes of a theatrical persuasion, in every time signature imaginable! Seemingly originally published as four volumes of 30 tunes each, then consolidated into one volume. Tunes named for heroes of The Seven Years War (1756-63) suggest that the short volumes were published around that time and consolidated some time after that
"containing the best & easiest instructions to learn that
instrument, with a collection of celebrated march's & airs
perform'd in the Guards & other regiments &c. London :
Printed for and sold by C. & S. Thompson, [c1765]"
Important source of military fife music of the late 18th and early 19th centuries
Facsimile at Internet Archive here
(others available)
Go to ABC file. ABC by Roger Hare
Go to PDF of transcription
Go to ABC file, with dance directions
Transcribed by Chris Partington (1999) and Anne Wride (2017)
Go to PDF of VMP transcription
One of a series of annual Country Dance books. The first sixteen
tunes are from a fragment in the Winder family collection, less
title page. We previously referred to this as "Frg_1792". The
remaining eight were kindly supplied by Carolyn Shankle, Special
Collections Specialist, University Libraries, Martha Blakeney
Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, Greensboro, NC
Thompson, Peter, and his
successors. Peter Thompson was the senior founder of the
important and successful business carried on by the Thompson
family for half a century. They were the last survivors of the
music trade which once thronged St. Paul's Church Yard, and
their place of business had very likely been one of the shops
held by members of the trade a century or more previously.
Thompsons' shop was at
the North West corner of St. Paul's Church Yard ; it was
afterwards numbered 75, and I believe was situate near an
opening into the West End of Paternoster Row. In its earliest
days the sign of the house was the "Violin and Hautboy," or "The
Violin, Hautboy, and German Flute," as some imprints give. The
sign, however, was seldom used after the death of Peter
Thompson, and the address at first being merely "West end of St.
Paul's Church Yard"; was afterwards invariably given as "75, St.
Paul's Church Yard."
Peter Thompson was
certainly publishing in 1751, though there is rather a puzzling
entry in the directory of 1754 — " Peter Thompson, chocolate
maker, St. Paul's Church Yard." This might suggest that he
combined the two trades, or it is not unlikely that it is a
mistake of compiler or printer.
Absolutely the earliest
book with Peter Thompson's imprint which I have yet seen to
definitely fix a date is his yearly set of Twenty-four Country
Dances for 1755; in the British Museum. As this begins at dance
No. 97, page 49, and ends with dance No. 120, page 60, it is
pretty evident that the yearly dances commenced with those for
1751. About this time Peter Thompson published octavo
instruction books for the violin and other instruments, and
continued the yearly dances to 1757-8 when the seven yearly sets
were gathered (with some others added) into a volume containing
two hundred dances. This book, numbered volume 1st, has Peter
Thompson's imprint. The yearly dances for 1759 and 1760 have the
imprint, Thompson & Son, while those for 1762 have an " s "
added to Son. In 1764, though another plate is engraved for the
title page, yet the imprint is still Thompson & Sons. The
dances for 1764 have now a fresh imprint "Charles & Samuel Thompson," and this continues for some years ;
it may now be assumed that Peter is dead. An imprint, however,
on an early work in my own library leads me to suppose that
Peter Thompson must have died about 1758, and that his business
was then carried on by his eldest son, Charles, and his widow,
Ann, so that the imprints Thompson & Son and Thompson &
Sons refer to the widow and her sons. I think too that she must
have died or retired before 1764. The work with the imprint I
refer to is " Thirty Favourite Marches, which are now in
vogue... London, printed for Chs. & Ann Thompson, at the
Violin and Hautboy, in St. Paul's Church Yard," 8vo. The
contents and style of this book certainly fix it about 1758-59.
The Ann Thompson is also most assuredly not the person of the
same name who afterwards entered the firm.
Charles and Samuel
Thompson, the two brothers, when they got the business into
their own hands made very rapid strides, and while previously
the publications had been mostly confined to small dance
collections, tutors, etc., much more important works are found
bearing their names. They acquired some plates or copyrights of
John Simpson's and republished Lampugnani's Sonatas; Burk
Thumoth's Irish and Scotch, and Irish and English collections
were also reprinted by the Thompson family.
Between 1776 and 1778
Charles Thompson dies or retires from the firm and Samuel alone
holds the business, but this is only for a very short interval —
Hook's songs for 1778, as well as the directory for 1779, gives
the firm as Samuel & Ann ; this latter, it may be easily
imagined, is the widow of Charles — she is certainly not the Ann
Thompson of the imprint circa 1758-9.
In 1780, Peter, who may
be a son of Charles or of Samuel, and a grandson of the original
founder, is added to the firm, which now stands as Samuel, Ann
& Peter, and the business prospers still more. In 1792 it is
Samuel, Ann, Peter, and Henry, and in 1795 Peter drops out,
leaving Henry in his place. In 1796, Samuel has disappeared and
the house is styled Henry & Ann Thompson. This continues
till 1799, when Henry alone remains until the year 1802. Shortly
after this date Purday & Button have sole possession and are
publishing from the Thompson address in 1805-6.
The directory and the
yearly sets of Country Dances give the changes of the Thompson
family very fully, and for the reader's convenience I will
repeat these in tabular form compiled from the above authorities
and from other sources equally reliable. I do this the more
readily as so much misapprehension exists regarding the family's
business history. One work on the violin gives "C. & S.
Thomson (sic). 1720-48," and "Thomson & Son, S. & P.,
1764." I also remember to have seen a violin label of Samuel,
Ann, and Peter Thomson with a M.S. date altered into 1748 ! — it
could by no possibility be before 1779. I am afraid that foolish
and unscrupulous dealers and owners who have thus tampered with
fiddle labels have done much to muddle the history of violin
making. It is fortunate that directories and music books, which
contain more reliable data, still remain.
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