Introduction
Thomas Erskine (1732-1781), 6th Earl of Kellie, was a Scottish musician and composer, who also founded a racy ‘gentleman’s club’ in Edinburgh called the Capillaire. His music has long been forgotten, and much of it is lost, but people are at last realising just how good some of it is.
AS a young man of twenty Thomas Erskine, Sixth Earl of Kellie, was passionate about music, but scarcely able to tune his own violin.
A four-year visit to Joseph Stamitz in Mannheim changed all that.
On his return in 1756, his new-found virtuosity earned him the nickname ‘Fiddler Tam’.
Soon he was delighting Edinburgh and London with symphonies and string quartets in the extravagant Mannheim style. But by his own admission, his best work was the scribbles he dashed off for every band of musicians he met, and never published.
Something of a bon viveur, the Earl founded a spicy gentleman’s club in Edinburgh which hosted lavish society balls, with the wife of General John Scott of Balcomie and Bellevue turning up to one in a necklace worth over £30,000.*
Sadly, this fast-paced lifestyle took its toll. In 1781, after a brief visit to Spa in Belgium for his failing health, Thomas succumbed to a fever and died in Brussels, aged just 49.
Equivalent to about £3.25m in real terms today (measuringworth.com).
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Précis
Four years in Germany turned Thomas Erskine, the Sixth Earl of Kellie, into a gifted performer on the violin, and a leading British composer in the ‘Mannheim Style’ which also influenced Mozart and Beethoven. However, his lavish lifestyle affected his health, and during a visit to Belgium he died, shortly after his 49th birthday. (54 / 60 words)
Four years in Germany turned Thomas Erskine, the Sixth Earl of Kellie, into a gifted performer on the violin, and a leading British composer in the ‘Mannheim Style’ which also influenced Mozart and Beethoven. However, his lavish lifestyle affected his health, and during a visit to Belgium he died, shortly after his 49th birthday.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, despite, may, must, otherwise, since, whereas, who.
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Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Lavish. Society. Symphony.
2 Fast. Just. Sad.
3 Own. Which. Young.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
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Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
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