MUSIC. 
Of National Music. 
Smollet in his Hiftory of the Hebrides, tells us, that 
every laird entertains a piper as one of his houfehold, 
who alway* marches at the head of the clan, with his bag¬ 
pipe, to animate them to battle, with martial tunes com- 
pofed for that purpofe; and that fuch is the influence of this 
Angle inftrument over thefe people, that the piper, by va¬ 
rying his airs, never fails to melt them into forrow or de- 
fpondence, and by a fudden tranfition of rouflng them to 
rage and revenge, and a total contempt of danger and of 
death; nay even in the greateft emergency of war they 
will not march a furlong or draw a fword, without being 
roufed by the mufic of this inftrument. The highlanders 
have a particular fpecies of tune, called a pibroch; fome of 
their tunes (which a ftranger cannot poflibly reconcile to 
his ear) are intended to reprefent a battle ; they begin 
with a grave movement refembling a march, then gradu¬ 
ally quicken into the onfet,run off with a noify confulion 
and turbulent rapidity, to imitate the conflict and pur- 
Tuit} after which they fwell into a few flouriffies of tri¬ 
umphant joy ; and clofe with the wild and flow wailings 
of a funeral proceflion. This tranfports and elevates a 
highlander; it conveys to his mind the fublime ideas of 
danger, courage, armies, and military fervice. 
There is a dance in Swiflerland, which the young ffiep- 
lierds perform to a tune, played on a fort of bagpipe, called 
the ranz des caches; it is wild, and has little to recom¬ 
mend it, if we judge only by the notes, without being 
acquainted with the ftyle and manner of it. But the Swils. 
are fo intoxicated with this tune, that, when abroad in 
foTeign fervice, if they hear it, they burft into tears, and 
often fall lick, and even die of a paffionate defire to vilit 
their native country ; for which reafon, in fome armies 
where they ferve, the playing of it is prohibited. This 
tune, the attendant of their early youth, recalls to their 
memory thofe days of liberty and peace, tliofe nights of 
feftivity, thofe tender paflions, which formerly endeared 
them to their country; and awakens in them fuch regret, 
when they compare their former happinefs with the feenes 
of tumult they are engaged in, and the fervitude they are 
obliged to undergo, as entirely overpowers them. 
Mr. Bruce, in his delcription of the war-trumpet ufed 
in Abyffinia, fays that it founds only one note, in a loud, 
hoarfe, and terrible, tone ; that it is played flow, when on 
a march, or before an enemy appears in light; but after¬ 
wards it is repeated very quick, and with great violence; 
and has the eff'edf upon the Abyffinian loldiers of tranf- 
portingthem abfolutely tofury and madnefs, and of mak¬ 
ing them fo regardlefs of life, as to throw themlelves into 
the rnidft of the enemy, which they do with great gal¬ 
lantry. He adds, that he has often, in time of peace, tried 
what eft'eft this change would have upon them ; and found 
that none who heard it could continue feated, but that all 
rofeup, and continued the whole time in motion. 
Mufic is in a great meafure under the continual influ¬ 
ence of memory ; that is to fay, our pleafure arifes not 
merely from quietly liftening to the notes, but from our 
affociating the founds of thole notes with events that 
have happened long before. This may probably be the 
reafon why a new piece of mufic, how'ever we may after¬ 
wards do juftice to its beauty, will feldom make fo ftrong 
an impreffion upon us as an old one; and why, in every 
country, the favourite and real national mujic will for 
ever be oblerved to have a different ftyle from what it is 
found to have in another country. Mufic, thus being 
an accompaniment to our feelings and aftions, will 
therefore difplay founds analogous to them, and confe- 
quently we ihall prefer not only the national tune, but 
even that tune if fung in our own perhaps ruder lan¬ 
guage, to the fveeteft foreign one. However finer the 
laft may be than our own, however more melodious the 
founds may really be than thole of the fongs of our an- 
ceftors, or of our own living national compofers, we Ihall, 
perhaps, in liftening to their finer melody, luxurioufly 
SI 5 
fpend our hour, but feel nothing of that warmth with 
which we are infpired at hearing one of our own national 
airs fung or played, particularly when unexpedled. And 
thus that national mufic, viz. thofe founds which exprefs 
the character of a nation, will never be entirely fettered by 
general rules of beauty. 
The voluptuoufnefs of Italian national mufic will paint 
a life chiefly fpent in pleafure and enjoyment under the 
mod beautiful iky in the world. Next to it comes the 
national mufic of the Portuguefe, more like the Italian 
than any other, exhibiting a nation, where, in the want 
of genius for invention, an aftonilhing talent for imita¬ 
tion, and a tafte in the choice of what they hear and fee, 
has become in itfelf a kind of interefting originality. 
Spanilh fongs bear a refemblance to both; but they pofi- 
fefs more energy, united to a romantic turn, and to a 
certain pompoufnefs. 
The national mufic of all northern nations has in ge¬ 
neral a melancholy caff, appropriate to a cold climate, 
connected with a folitary life; yet there will be found 
fome drifting differences by which the feveral nations are 
charadterifed. The national fongs of the Ruffians will be 
eafilv diftinguilhed both from the Irifti or Scottish, or from 
the Danilh or Swediflr. There is in their melody very often 
a lort of barbarifm, as the fong generally does not finilh 
in the key-note, a peculiarity which is much lefs obfe'rved 
in the tunes of the other northern nations. To hear a 
regiment of Coflacks fing, on entering a town, is like 
liftening to the elaborate choruffes on the dage. Who¬ 
ever knows how difficult it is, fometimes, to make a cho¬ 
rus go on well, even when executed by thofe whofe pro- 
feffion it is, mud be ftruck when he hears common fol- 
diers perform with the greateft accuracy. Whether this 
talent for mufic is inherent in the Coflacks, or whether 
it has been the fruit of ftudy propagated through many 
centuries,remains doubtful. With this latter fuppofition 
we might perhaps look upon it as being derived from the 
Grecian canonic fong in the churches, in the times of the 
Chriftian emperors, when, unlike our choral fongs, in 
which every body uniformly lings only the melody, the 
fingers executed the different parts according to what 
they thought agreed with their voice; a cuftom which is 
dill kept up in the Grecian liturgy. The imperial horn- 
mufic, where from fifty to fixty people play upon the 
horn, and where each of them, having but one note to found, 
yet falls in always exadtly at the given time, and fo con¬ 
tributes to the performance of a mod beautiful concert, 
is another inftance of mufical talent which no other coun¬ 
try affords. 
The great foftnefs of the Swedilh, and particularly the 
Danilh, language, makes the fongs of thole two nations 
appear lefs ftriking than would be the cafe if we could 
hear the mufic fet to words of perhaps ruder language. 
A language may be foft without being agreeable, and 
may fometimes want the force of the neighbouring idiom 
without poffeffing the luxuriant and voluptuous harmony 
of words of that of another more fouthern nation. 
Very charadferiftic, and feemingly like each other, yet 
different, are Scottiffi and Irilh longs : though both are 
melancholy and gloomy, and though both of them paint 
the difeomforts of folitude, and of a northern climate, 
yet there is in the Irilh tunes more variety than in the 
Scottiffi. 
England may perhaps be faid not to poflefs any national 
mufic at all. There are, no doubt, fongs; yet it would 
be very difficult to recognile by them the character of 
the nation. To find out the caufe of this lingular phe¬ 
nomenon, in fuch a celebrated and great nation, will 
prove an interefting enquiry. Baron Arnim reafons upon 
it as follows : If by national mufic w’e are to underftand 
the expreflion of national charadter, the word cliaraEler 
can naturally not be underftood otherwife than the repre- 
fentation of the reigning propenlities of fuch a nation in 
conjundlion with the climate in which it lives, and with 
