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THE CELTIC MACIAZINE. 295GAELIC SON G S.There are certain varieties of music -wliicli may be described as belongingpeculiarly to tlie Highlands of Scotland. The bagpi2:)e stirs up the enthusiaismAvlien it sounds the tear cry, enlivens the spirit when it plays the quickstep, and when it peals the Avail of the lameid the effect is sad and mournful.The fiddle is the only instrument equal to elicit the exhilaratingturns of reel music. The harp, in its day, Avas the instrument forkeeping time and tunc to the voices of our fair Highland inaidens Avhensinging their songs in our Highland glens and valleys. It may be saidthat the first is the only one remaining now among the natives. Thefiddle, the harp, and even msuical voices have almost disajipeared, andundoubtedly the cause is, the depopulation of the country. The jirofessionalpiper is as plentiful as ever He Avas the appendix of chiefs,chieftains, and other cadets, and not the chosen discourser of music inthe habitations of the country people. They preferred the sprightlysprmgs of the fiddle Avhen intent on the dance ; or if pouring forth thesweet melody of song, their choice accom2)aninient Avas unquestionablytlie clarsuch (harp). If the art of printing has been sIoav inexhibiting itself in the northern portion of Scotland, that of musicprintinghas scarcely yet passed the bounds of the capital of the country.While there remained a succession of tenantry, Avitli their Seanacldes,bards, and minstrels, to perpetuate our Highland melodies, by transmissionfrom one generation to another, Ave might feel no alarm for theirsafety, Avhether printed or not ; but, desolate Avith desertion, and Aviththe other consequences of cruel evictions, as our Highlands have nowbecome, the notice Avhicli has appeared in the Celtic Magazinethat the Gaelic Society of London Avere engaged in committing asmany as they could gather of our Highland songs and melodies to jjiintpossessed much interest for their votaries. Although the inhabitants ofthe Highlands are iioav fcAV and sparse, yet their offspring are found innndtiijlied numbers in the southern portion of the kingdom, in India,and in the American and Australian colonies. To these descendants acollection of the songs of their ancestors, arranged for modern musicalinstruments, Avith the Avords for the voice, cannot but be acceptable.This exordium, brief and imjjerfect as it is, on the importance of contributionsto one of the most engaging sections of art, leads us to notice arehearsal of some tAventy of the songs in their forthcoming collection,Avhich the Gaelic Society recently gaA'e at a concert held in St George'sHall, London. The critics of the London and proA'incial press havealready AA'ritten of it, and in every instance gave favourable reviews ofthe beauties of the songs and melodies. Independently of the chroniclersof general information, Ave have it, in this communication, from a reliablesource, that the Gaelic nativity and origin of the melodies, in an Englishdress, sung by professional artistes, and accompanied Avith the gracesof appropriate symphonies by a skilled pianist, Avero uiimistakaUe,