Glen, John

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Glen, John

Glen, John, Scottish manufacturer of bagpipes and music researcher; b. Edinburgh, June 13, 1833; d. there, Nov. 29, 1904. His father, Thomas Glen (1804-73), the inventor of the “Serpentcleide,” had established himself as a manufacturer of musical instruments, and the son succeeded to the business in 1866. He confined himself to the manufacture of bagpipes, of which he was soon recognized as the foremost manufacturer in Great Britain. He was equally noted for his research in Scottish music. He compiled The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music, Strathspeys, Reels and Jigs…containing an Introduction on Scottish Dance Music (2 vols., 1891, 1895) and Early Scottish Melodies: including examples from MSS. and early printed works, along with a number of comparative tunes, notes on former annotators, English and other claims, and Biographical Notices, etc. (1900).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire