APPENDIX.

No. I.

ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE MUSIC OF SCOTLAND. BY MR FINLAY DUN, TEACHER OF SINGING, &c., IN EDINBURGH.

THE national music of Scotland will always occupy a distinguished place in the history of music, on account of its remarkable structure and peculiar style, as well as its great popularity. It is generally considered to be of high antiquity. Its history, however, seems to be involved in obscurity.

When, and by whom, the early Scotish melodies were composed, and how long they continued to be handed down, by tradition, from one generation to another, are questions not easily answered at the present day, from the absence of positive historical evidence. There may exist unpublished documents, however, to which we have not had access, and which may yet throw light upon this subject; but the vague and unsatisfactory accounts given by our early historians, and their common practice of indiscriminately confounding with each other the poetry and the music of the Scotish songs, render it a task of no ordinary difficulty to trace the history and progress of our national melodies.

Judging from the music itself, there is every reason to believe that it originated in a remote age. The few notes upon which the oldest (at least those considered as such) of the Scotish melodies turn, lead us to infer, either that these melodies were composed at a time when the musical scale and musical instruments of the country were yet in an infant state; or, that they were formed upon models of an early period, which had continued to be imitated in after times, even when the musical scale had become enlarged, and musical instruments improved. And whatever changes, in the course of time, may have taken place upon their external form, it is undoubtedly from these early models that our melodies derive their essential and peculiar character.

Independently, altogether, of the poetry of the Scotish songs, and the powerful associations connected with it in the heart of every Scotsman, there is something remarkable in the music of these songs. It is like no other music of the present day. Its wild irregular strains speak of times long past. It may not be uninteresting, therefore, to endeavour to ascertain, by an analysis of the music itself, what it is which produces such pleasurable effects, not only upon the native, but upon the stranger, unacquainted alike with the poetry and associations of the country. Such an enquiry, also, may be attended with the farther result of establishing a standard of reference as to the real nature and form of the music, which being once ascertained, would prevent, either in composition or performance, the introduction of any ill-advised changes and innovations, or admixture of incongruous matter, and so preserve entire the purity and simplicity of the inspirations of the olden time. That such changes have been made, from time to time, upon our melodies, may be easily proved by examining and comparing the various versions of them published in different collections. Several of them, however, seem to have retained, even to the present day, their primitive form, unchanged and uncorrupted; while others in their style and structure furnish as decided internal evidence of the changes and innovations which have been made upon their original form, by the prevailing fashions of successive generations. Notes foreign to the native character of the music have been substituted for the true and legitimate ones; others have been added which had no place in the originals, besides modes of expression and embellishments peculiar to other countries. In short, through mistaken attempts at refinement and modernization, many of our melodies have already been almost entirely deprived of their national and characteristic form; and should such attempts be continued, it is not difficult to foresee that a period may arrive when the music of Scotland may be so completely blended and incorporated with that of other countries, as to lose all title to a distinctive and national character.a

In the hope of guarding against such an event, we, some years ago, entered upon an analysis of the Scotish airs, founding our observations on the structure of such as were reputed to be most ancient and authentic; and we propose, in this place, to present the reader with a brief sketch of the views which then occurred to us. These

■ That such a result has actually taken place, from similar causes, in the national music of France, may be learnt from the following passage of M. Fétis. After speaking of the old French airs previous to the year 1596, he adds :-" Les vaux-de-vire ou vaudevilles et les romances ont insensiblement fait disparaître tous ces anciens airs, et le mélange de quelques-unes des formes Italiennes et Allemandes dans les airs populaires français a fini par ôter à ceux-ci le caractère national qu'on ne retrouve plus que dans quelques provinces, qui sont restées fidèles à leurs souvenirs."

we might have illustrated by referring to the data upon which they were originally formed the Scotish airs which are currently known to every one; but having subsequently been made acquainted with the contents of the old MS., which has given occasion to this publication; and finding that they tend to enforce and corroborate the ideas which we had previously adopted, we shall endeavour to deduce our examples from the airs in that MS. as well as from others more generally known to the public. In fact, we think it preferable to do so, as the documentary authority upon which they rest is so much more solid and satisfactory than any reliance that can be placed on the antiquity of airs handed down by tradition alone.

We shall begin with the modulation-the melodic forms or traits of melody, and the closes or endings of the airs, which appear to us to contain some of the most remarkable features by which the music of Scotland is distinguished. These subjects we shall examine separately, and it may be proper, at the same time, to furnish a brief explanation of several of the technical terms which we may have occasion to employ.

With respect to

THE MODULATION OF THE SCOTISH AIRS,

we cannot find a more apt illustration to suit our purpose than that which presents itself in the air" Adew, Dundee," No. XXIV. Although this air begins and ends

a Modulation may be said to be the course of the melody. It may be farther explained as the art by which the impression of any given key is made upon the ear, and by which the constitution and establishment of a key is effected. A melody may modulate, or move about, in any way whatever, through a scale, and still continue strictly to be in one key; or it may pass out of one key into another, or through several successive keys. Modulation, accordingly, is twofold. It may be confined either to one key, or extend to two or more keys. The Germans call the first kind leitergleich, or leitertreue, (like, or true to the scale,) and also der Tonart treue modulation, (the true modulation of the key.) The second kind, the passing or transition from one key to another, is what is generally understood by the term modulation, although it may be correctly applied to both kinds. See Gfr. Weber's "Theorie der Tonsetzkunst," Zweiter B.S. 97-8, § 184-5. Also Mr G. F. Graham's admirable "Essay on the Theory and Practice of Musical Composition," just published, from the current edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He says, "Modulation signifies, properly, the regular constitution of melody and of harmony, in any given key," &c. &c. Also that "modulation takes place even in the simplest melody confined to one key." See p. 31.

in D minor, (speaking according to our modern notions of keys,)—the key in which it is here given-it will be observed that the modulation or progression of the melody is not such as is found in modern tunes in that key, nor are some of the sounds present which constitute that key in modern music. Modern tunes, for instance, have the sixth degree of the scale, B flat in this key, and the seventh, c sharp, in the ascending series of sound. Now, these sounds, B and C, as used in " Adew, Dundee," are natural throughout the melody: for the two first parts or sections only are to be considered as the real melody, the third and fourth parts being only variations upon it. The use of the c natural, at the beginning of the third bar of this air, is particularly worthy of notice. The effect is uncommon, and strange to a modern ear, as the c sharp might have been expected instead. It is, however, of frequent occurrence in Scotish music, and is an example of a modulation to the major second below the key-note, or, by inversion, to the minor seventh above the key-note. It is one of the characteristic modulations of our music, and takes place in minor as well as in major tunes; although oftener, perhaps, in the former. "Adew, Dundee," is a beautiful specimen of Scotish melody, and the version given of it in the Skene MS. far surpasses the current one in expressive simplicity. Its recovery will doubtless be appreciated by the public.

Another example of a similar progression of melody may be found in "Johne Andersonne," No. VII. This air is also in D minor, and yet the c is natural throughout. The sixth of the scale, B, is not introduced. At the fourth bar, there is a close or cadence upon c, the seventh degree of the scale, as in the second bar of "Adew, Dundee;" and at the eighth bar, a cadence upon a, the fifth of the scale, as in "Adew, Dundee," at the eighth bar of the second part. At the fourteenth bar, (two bars before the end of the first part of "John Anderson, my Jo," which, in fact, contains the air, the second part being a mere fanciful amplification of what has gone before,) we find r sharp introduced, which converts the previous impression of the key of D minor into that of D major. Another example of this manner of ending is found in "Male Simme," No. XXXVIII.; to which we might add the national music of other countries, especially that of Spain, and also in a certain style of musical composition, which will be afterwards noticed. In No. XXVII." Lett never crueltie dishonour bewtie," there will be seen another instance of diatonic modulation between the second and third bars-and also between the fourth and fifth, the eighth and ninth, and the twentieth and one-and-twentieth bars.

a

Many more instances of the same characteristic form of modulation could be

Although it may be questioned whether many of the Scotish melodies can be said to come under the head of, or belong strictly to, any particular major or minor key, as used in modern times

brought forward, not only from the Skene MS., but from the current airs of the day. Those already adduced may be sufficient to point out to the enquirer others of a like description. The sudden transitions, as exhibited in the above examples, from the scale of one key to that of another, one degree higher or lower, (speaking according to our modern notions and phraseology,) would not be so very remarkable, did they not occur so frequently, and form, in fact, so essential a property of the Scotish melody. They may often appear harsh to a modern ear; because they are sudden and unexpected; but still, when judiciously introduced, as in "Adew, Dundee," the effect is bold and striking.

Examples of such modulation are indeed not wanting in modern music; they are used by the best composers, but only occasionally, and almost as exceptions to general practice; whereas, in the music of Scotland their occurrence is so frequent, that they form one of its most prominent and striking characteristics.

Another prevailing course of modulation to be noticed in the Scotish melodies is, that of the alternation of the major key, and its relative minor; the melody moving to and from these keys to the exclusion of every other, and this, too, not unfrequently, at regular distances. Nos. I., II., III., and XX., are examples of this kind of modulation-of these, No. I., "Alace yat I came owr the moor," is a spirited and genuine Scotish air. No. II., " Peggie is over ye sie wi' ye souldier," is also a beautiful and expressive air, in the best style of our national melodies, and deserves to be made known. No. XX.-" I mett her in the medowe"-exhibits this alternate modulation of the minor, and its relative major key exclusively throughout. Of this description, also, are the well-known airs of "Poortith cauld," "Wandering Willie," "Bonnie May," besides many others, which alternate from major to minor, beginning in the former and ending in the latter. We have also instances of modulations at once diatonic and alternating, taking place in the same tune. There is a remarkable specimen of this combination in the air of "Blithe, blithe and merry was she."

It may be worthy of remark, that, in these examples of modulation, the melody, for the most part, keeps true to the diatonic scale of the principal key; and that even when other notes of that scale are, in the course of modulation, used as substituted or temporary key-notes, still, no accidental flats or sharps, foreign to the principal key, are introduced in the melody; and that, therefore, the modulations, however varied, are still, in fact, confined to one principal key. This will appear the more clear as we proceed farther. We are quite aware that we are now treading

in modern music, yet, in order to be better understood, we have retained here, in the meantime, the common notions and expressions about major and minor keys. But more of this afterwards,