Thomas Alexander Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie (1 September 1732 – 9 October 1781), styled Viscount Fentoun and Lord Pittenweem until 1756, was a Scottish musician and composer whose considerable talent brought him international fame and his rakish habits notoriety, but nowadays is little known. Recent recordings of his surviving compositions have led to him being re-evaluated as one of the most important British composers of the 18th century, as well as a leading exponent of Scotland's music.
He began propagating the modern Mannheim style, of which he was to become widely acknowledged as the leading British exponent. Six of his three-movement "Overtures" (Symphonies) were published in Edinburgh in 1761. James Boswell borrowed five guineas from Erskine on 20 October 1762, and on 26 May 1763 took him on a visit to Lord Eglinton's in London, where the overture the Earl composed for the popular pastiche The Maid of the Mill (at Covent Garden in 1765) became exceptionally popular. In 1767 the Earl returned to Scotland, where he became a leading light of the Edinburgh Musical Society, acting as deputy governor, and as an able violinist directed the concerts in St Cecillia's Hall in Niddry Street (formerly Niddry's Wynd), Edinburgh.
In addition to his musical and social pursuits, Thomas Erskine was actively involved in the intellectual circles of his time. His friendship with prominent figures such as James Boswell and his contributions to the Edinburgh Musical Society solidified his position as a key cultural figure in 18th-century Scotland. His influence extended beyond music, contributing to the broader cultural and intellectual landscape of the Scottish Enlightenment.[2]
In 1775, while returning from a continental trip, Thomas almost died in a shipwreck off of the English Channel. The tale was captured in the following poem which is believed to have been written by Thomas' kinsman Henry Erskine.
"In ancient story this I've found,
That no Musician e'er was drown'd.
A harp was then, or I mistake it,
Much better than the best cork-jacket;
…
'Twas thus the tuneful Peer of Kelly
Escap'd some whale's enormous belly;
And safe in London, thinks no longer
He'll prove a feast for shark or conger."[3]
His dissolute lifestyle extended to founding an (all-male) drinking club, and reportedly the playwright Samuel Foote advised Kellie to put his red nose into his greenhouse to ripen his cucumbers! He tended to compose on the spot and absent-mindedly give music away without further thought for it. His health suffered and he visited Spa, Belgium, but while returning was "struck with a paralytic shock" and while stopping for a few days at Brussels was attacked by a "putrid fever" and died.
Succession
His brother the Hon. Archibald (b. 22 Apr 1736; d.8 May 1797) became 7th Earl of Kellie, but he died unmarried with no heir. The title went to the 7th Earl's third cousin once removed, Charles Erskine, 8th Earl Kellie, whose father, also named Charles Erskine (1730-1790), was 6th Baronet of Cambo (one of the Erskine Baronets) and the son of David Erskine, Lyon-Clerk who died 7 Oct 1769. Another of David's sons, was Thomas Erskine, 9th Earl of Kellie. When the 9th Earl died in 1828, his brother, Methven Erskine became 10th Earl Kellie.
Compositions
Minuet in A by Thomas Erskine, played by Jan Waterfield on the square piano
Until the 1970s only a small number of his compositions was thought to survive, though the discovery in 1989 of two manuscripts containing chamber works at Kilravock Castle has doubled the number of his surviving compositions – notably with nine trio sonatas and nine string quartets. Interest in him was recently revived by John Purser, among others, and a CD of his works has now been made.
List of compositions
- Sinfonia a Quattro in G major
- Sinfonia a Quattro in D major
- Quartet in C minor (I. Allegro, II. Andante, III. Allegro)
- Quartet in A Major (I. Allegro molto, II. Adagio, III. Minuet)
- Minuet
- The Favourite Minutes (1. Lady Betty Stanley's Minuet)
- Overture in C major, Op. 1, No. 2 (I.???, II. Andantino, III. Presto assai)
- Overture in B Flat 'The Maid o the Mill' - (I. Allegro, II. Adagio ma non troppo, III. Minuet (Rondo)
- Periodical Overture No. 16
- Periodical Overture No.17 in E-Flat Major (Andantino, Allegro con spirito, Presto) <Which order?
- Death Is Now My Only Treasure
- The Lover's Message
- Lord Kelly's Reel
- Trio Sonata No. 5 in E (I. Andante con espressione, II. Minuetto)
- Trio Sonata No. 6 in G (I. Andantino, II. Tempo di Minuetto)
Reception
His reputation was well represented in his obituaries in Scots Magazine and Gentleman's Magazine, though the two magazines cannot agree on the day on he died. Gentleman's magazine described him as follows: 'one of the finest musical composers of the age, and esteemed by the cognoscenti as the first man of taste in the musical line, of any British subject... He loved his bottle, but was a worthy social character.'[3]
^Purser, John (1993). A History of the Traditional and Classical Music of Scotland from Earliest Times to the Present Day. Trafalgar Square. ISBN978-1851584260.
^ abRoscoe, P.C. (1951). "Thomas Alexander Erskine: A Biographical Note". The Musical Times. 92 (1295): 15–16. doi:10.2307/935283. JSTOR935283.
^Purser, John (2019), The Scots who helped mould Mozart?, The National, Monday 23 December 2019, pp. 20 - 21
David Johnson, Music and Society in Eighteenth-Century Scotland (2nd edition, Edinburgh, 2003)
