a

veyed away in grants of titularity to laymen; and individuals were appointed to the different offices who were non-resident, and incapable of serving,—a circumstance of less moment, as the choral service, and all instrumental music, having been forbidden, their occupation was, in fact, at an end, and no farther duty remained. In this state of things, we observe, that in 1586," Thomas Hudson, musician, maister of his Majestie's chaipell-royall," was " appointed, with power to him to searche and try the auld foundatioun of the said chaipell-royall; and all superstitioun and idolatrie being abolist, to follow and embrace the form, so far as it aggreis with Goddes worde, and religioun presentlie profest within the realme." We find, accordingly, that in 1610 the service was reduced to the simple and naked psalmody of the Presbyterian Church; and its situation at this period, in this and other respects, is described in the "Information" already referred to, as follows:-" The sax boys had 90 merkis among them, whareof there is none this day, and of all the sixteen chanonis and nyn prebendis, only sevin attendis and hes no means, so that only they sing the common tune of a psalme, and being so few as skarse knowen."

After the accession of James VI. to the throne of the three kingdoms, the restoration of the chapel-royal was one of the steps in the progress of this monarch's ill-advised and disastrous undertaking to bring the religious institutions of Scotland into a state of conformity with those of England— an undertaking, the obstinate and reckless prosecution of which was attended with such fatal results to his son and successor. In 1606, the foundation revenues and privileges of the chapel-royal were ratified by Act of Parliament:b and, in 1612, Maister William Birnie (minister) was appointed its dean, "with speciall power to the said Mr Williame, to chuse ane sufficient number of prebendares, skeilful in musick, being apt and qualifiet for uthir divine service," and to confer upon the benefices belonging to them "according to the first institution ;"—the place of residence to be "at Halyrudhous, the palice of the samyn, and the

a Privy Seal Register, 5th June 1586.

bActa Parl. p. 299.

C Privy Seal Register, 20th Sept. 1612, Present. to Benefices, fol. 8.

chappell not to be called the chappell-royall of Striveling, as heretofore, but his majesties chapell-royall of Scotland;' and the members to attend his majesty in whatever part of Scotland he may happen to be." In pursuance of these objects, in 1629 an annual pension of L.2000 was granted by Charles I. to the musicians of the chapel;a and for several years previous to his coronation in Scotland, in 1633, exertions appear to have been made by remodelling its arrangements, and appointing efficient persons for the discharge of its various duties, in order that, upon this occasion, and the contemplated introduction of Episcopacy by the authority of the legislature, which took place immediately afterwards, the religious service should be there celebrated according to the form of the Church of England. The nature of these arrangements is circumstantially set forth in the "Information" by Kellie, which has given rise to this digression, and from which, in this place, we subjoin the following extract, as more particularly relating to the object for which we have had occasion to refer to it :_____

"Therafter your majestie was gratiously pleased, by your letters under your highnes privie seall, with consent of the dean of your said chappelroyall, to constitute mee collector and distributer of the rents pertayning to your said chappell, and to see such good orders established in the same, as the service therein might be well and faithfully done, and that none but persons sufficiently qualified should have any place there, and that they should be all keept at daily practise; and, for that effect, your majestie appointed mee ane chamber within your pallace of Halyrudehouse, wherein I have provided and sett upp an organe, two flutes, two pandores, with violls and other instruments, with all sorts of English, French, Dutch, Spaynish, Latine,d Italian, and OLD SCOTCH MUSICK,

a Privy Seal Register, Feb. 18, 1629.

b Besides these preparations from some documents that have come under our notice, particularly "the accompt of James Murray of Kilbabertoun, Master of Wark to our Sovereign Lord, 1628," (General Register House,) and MS. notes to Sibbald's History of Fife, Advocates' Library, it would appear that about this time, considerable sums were laid out in repairing the Royal Chapels at Stirling and Falkland.

c The reader will find the whole of this "Information" printed entire in the Appendix. d We suppose that the "Latine" music here mentioned consisted either of masses or church

vocall and instrumentall. In the said chamber the said organist and the boyes doe remain, and the remanent musicians and under officers doe meet therein twice a week to practice and to receive directions for the next service," &c.

From this, it appears that the musicians of the chapel-royal were "kept at daily practice" in all sorts of vocal and instrumental music, including English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Latin, Italian, and OLD SCOTISH MUSIC. There can be no doubt that this last expression referred to the popular national music of Scotland. That sacred music was here not meant is sufficiently obvious; the metrical psalmody of the Reformed Scotish Church was not old, and the music of the church in Scotland before the Reformation was identical with that of Rome, and therefore not Scotish. Again, we are told that the music provided by Kellie was of "all sorts"— secular, of course, as well as sacred; nor is there any thing very extraordinary in this, when we see that from its outset-from the time that the original founder of this institution required that a portion of the "musicians of the chapel" should ever be ready to "sing and play with him, and hold him merrie," they had been in the custom of extending their cultivation of music to all its different departments. Charles I., who (as Playford remarks in his Introduction) was "not behind any of his predecessors in his love and promotion of this science," and who was himself a tolerable performer on the viol da gamba,a in seeking to revive the ancient usages of the institution, was not likely to have omitted one which was calculated to contribute so much to his own personal gratification.

Farther, the mention of old Scotish music is not a little interesting from the particular manner in which it is here introduced. The music of other countries is simply designated as English, French, &c.; that of Scotland (par excellence) OLD Scotish music-a circumstance quite decisive as to the description of national melody which was then most in repute, that it was not of a contemporaneous, but of an ancient date. Allan Ramsay, in his preface to his "Tea Table Miscellany," (1724,)

services, motets, hymns, or songs of a sacred or serious character, of which there were many with Latin words.

Burney's History, vol. iii. p. 361. Hawkins's do. vol. iv. p. 14.

observes" What further adds to the esteem we have for them (the Scotish airs) is their antiquity, and their being universally known ;" and this Mr Ritsona notices as "the earliest testimony hitherto met with of the excellence and antiquity of Scotish music." Here, therefore, we have a testimony one hundred years older than that of Ramsay. But the truth is, that this observation of Mr Ritson was not made with that scrupulous attention to accuracy, so common with this author; other authorities on this point can be appealed to, and, among them, the wellknown dictum of the Italian poet, Tassoni, who, in the Tenth Book of his "Pensieri Diversi," (a portion of that work which first appeared in 1620,) observes-" We, again, may reckon among us moderns, James King of Scotland, who not only composed many sacred pieces of vocal music, but also, of himself, invented a new kind of music, plaintive and melancholy, different from all other, in which he has been imitated by Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, who, in our age, has improved music with new and admirable inventions." Ever since this passage was, first of all, publicly noticed by Lord Kaimes, in his Sketches, in 1774, and commented upon by Mr Tytler, in his Dissertation, in 1779, it has been hailed as the most unanswerable proof which could be adduced of the ancient celebrity of our Scotish airs, and it has ever and anon given rise to the most triumphant ebullitions of national congratulation. We are sorry, however, to be constrained to take a different view of it from that which our countrymen have hitherto done. We confess, that its sole importance appears to us to lie in this,that, in the words, "a new kind of music, plaintive and melancholy, different from all other music," the peculiar expression and style of the Scotish melody, as known at the present day, are so distinctly marked, as to lead to the inference that it was, at this time, prized and celebrated in the more distant parts of Europe for the same national characteristics which it still continues to pos

a Historical Essay on Scotish Song, p. 105.

b"Noi ancora possiamo connumerar trà nostri Jacopo re di Scozia che non pùr cose sacre compose in canto, ma trovò, dà se stesso, una nuova musica lamentevole é mesta, differente da tutte l'altre. Nel che poi é stato imitato da Carlo Gesualdo, principe de Venosa, che, in questa nostra età, hà illustrata anch'egli la musica con nuove mirabili invenzioni." P. 436.

sess. Mr Tytler, however, the author of the Dissertation on Scotish Music, taking it for granted that it was meant to imply that the Scotish music had been imitated in the compositions of the Prince of Venosa, exclaims, in a burst of enthusiasm, "What an illustrious testimony to their excellency! Some of the dilettanti in the Italian music of the present times may perhaps sneer at being told that the Italians, the restorers of music, owe the improvement of their music to the early introduction of Scotish melody into it; yet nothing is more certain, not only from the candid acknowledgment of Tassoni, but from the testimony of the Italian music itself, before the Prince of Venosa's time, as I shall attempt to illustrate." And forthwith he proceeds to show us that the Italian music of the sixteenth century, even that of the sublime Palestrina himself, however admirable for its harmony and the contexture of its parts, being deficient in melody, this deficiency had happily been supplied by an infusion of the music of Scotland. "In the above state of music in Italy," says this author, "we may suppose the Scotish melodies of King James I. had found their way into that country. Is it then to be wondered at that such a genius as the Prince of Venosa should be struck with the genuine simplicity of strains which spake directly to the heart, and that he should imitate and adopt such new and affecting melodies, which he found wanting in the music of his own country?" That the melodies of Scotland should have performed such a distinguished service to the general interests of music, was an announcement not a little gratifying to all Scotsmen, and, since Mr Tytler's time, few of our countrymen have shown any disposition to disclaim the very high honour here conferred upon them. But, although we may, in consequence, draw down the disapproval of such (if such there be) who, in the words of Johnson, "love Scotland better than truth," we must endeavour to put an end to this delusion. Had the melody of Italy been in the least degree tinctured with the national peculiarities for which that of Scotland is so remarkable, their effect would have been very distinctly discernible in the music of the former country. But every one at all acquainted with the subject knows, that that is not the case. The groundwork of those exquisite strains which sprung up in Italy in the seventeenth