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Biography:William McGibbon
| William McGibbon File:Mcgibbon.jpg
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|---|---|
| Given name: | William |
| Middle name: | |
| Family name: | McGibbon |
| Place of birth: | Edinburgh |
| Place of death: | Edinburgh |
| Year of birth: | 1690 |
| Year of death: | 1756 |
| Profile: | Collector, Composer, Editor, Musician, Publisher |
| Source of information: | |
Biographical notes
William McGibbon (1690-1757) was a life-long Edinburgh resident, born there to a professional oboist of some reputation named Malcolm McGibbon. As a teenager he traveled to London to study with William Corbett, taking tutelage in violin and composition. He returned to Edinburgh sometime after 1716, and next is mentioned on the roster of the Edinburgh Music Society in the winter of 1726-27. He concertized regularly, and eventually became an employee of the Society where he became concertmaster. He composed in the classical style, producing three concerti, an overture (now lost), four sets of six sonatas (for two violins/flutes with basso continuo), six sonatas for flute/violin and basso continuo, six sonatas for two flutes, three collections of Scots tunes, and folk-tune variations for solo violin. McGibbon not only realized a salary and fees from concertizing with the Society, but he also sold copies of the parts of his compositions to the orchestra. The Society, however, also played Scottish music along with classical fare, the Scottish influences can be found in the technically proficient violinist's compositions, many of which include elements of traditional fiddling incorporated into classical violin technique and composition forms.
