James Scott Skinner

James Scott Skinner (August 5, 1843 - March 17, 1927) was a Scottish dancing master, violinist and fiddler.

Skinner was born in Banchory, near Aberdeen. His father was a dancing master on Deeside. James was only eighteen months old when his father died. When James was seven, his elder brother, Sandy, gave him lessons in violin and cello. Soon the pair of them were playing at local dances. In 1852 he attended Connell's School in Princes Street, Aberdeen.

Three years later he left to joined "Dr Mark's Little Men", a travelling orchestra. This involved spending six years intensive training at their headquarters in Manchester. It also involved touring round the UK. The orchestra gave a command performance before Queen Victoria at Buckingham on February 10, 1858. JSS attributed his own later success to meeting Charles Rougier in Manchester, who taught him to play Beethoven and other classical masters. Finally he took a year's dancing tuition from William Scott. JSS could now earn his living as a dancing master for the district around Aberdeen.

In 1862 he won a sword-dance competition in Ireland. The following year he won a strathspey and reel competition in Inverness. Gradually he broadened his district of clients until Queen Victoria learned of his reputation. She requested him to teach callisthenics and dancing to the royal household at Balmoral. In 1868 he had 125 pupils there. In the same year his first collection of compositions was published. By 1870 he had married and was soon living in Elgin. For twelve years he continued as a dancing master and violinist. He gave virtuoso concerts, with his adopted daughter joining him as a pianist. In 1881 his wife became seriously ill and died a couple of years later. For the ten years he spend little time in any one place. The 1880s did see three more collections of tunes published. In 1893 he toured the USA with Willie MacLennan, the celebrated bagpiper and dancer.

After returning to Scotland he virtually gave up dancing and concentrated on the fiddle. In 1897 he re-married and wrote some of his best work. In 1899 he made his first cylinder recordings. In 1903, he wrote "Hector the Hero", a lament for a friend who had committed suicide.

In the period 1906 to 1909 he lived a settled life in Monikie but had so little money that he could not afford to publish his work. He sent manuscripts to friends who copied them out and played them to create a market. Those precious scraps of paper, the backs of envelopes and hand-bills are now in museums. JSS frequently used the word "genius" to describe himself. This might explain the fact that in 1909 his wife "resigned" and moved to Rhodesia. He threw himself into another round of concert tours. Several of his 1910 recordings for Columbia in London are available on a CD on the Temple label. These include traditional tunes as well as his own works. This is a unique window into early twentieth century fiddle playing and probably looks back to the 1850s.

In 1925 he was still top of the bill on five tours of the UK. Skinner entered a reel and jig competition in the USA in 1926. He immediately had musical differences with the pianist and strode off stage without completing his test pieces. He died on March 17, 1927 without giving another public performance.

Over 600 of his compositions were published. The best known is "The Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord". He made over 80 recordings. His marble memorial gravestone in Aberdeen was unveiled by Sir Harry Lauder.

References

*Alburger, Mary Anne (1983), "Scottish Fiddlers And Their Music", Victor Gollancz Ltd., ISBN 0-575-03174-3.
*Emmerson, George S. (1971), "Rantin' Pipe And Tremblin' String", McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN 0-7735-0116-9.

External links

* [http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/ The Music of James Scott Skinner (Aberdeen University) ]
* [http://www.visitbanchory.com Visit Banchory - Birthplace of Scott Skinner ]