from oblivion the veftiges and fragments of our ancient mufical art; and the valuable fpecimens you have exhibited of it, no lefs demonstrate your taste and judg ment. "In treating of the hiftory of the church of Ireland in the 12th century, it was neceffary to examine and refute an affertion of St. Bernard, that antecedent to the primacy of Malachy, we were ignorant of pfalmody and church mufic: they gave rife to the following notices and conjectures. "How plain foever it may appear, that mufic exifted in the Christian church from its foundation, yet fome industry is requifite to difcover it in England and in Ireland. Bishop Stillingfleet has been able to collect but few mufical traits of the Gallican or British offices, as contra-diftinguished from the Gregorian or Roman: the paucity of records, and the bare hints of writers forming very uncertain data from whence to deduce pofitive conclufions. The fame obfcurity clouds the remote periods of mufical history in Ireland. This must be an apology for the imperfection of the hints now offered on this topic, which however lies open to future improvement from fuperior abilities and more extenfive erudition. "It was in the year 1134, that Malachy O'Morgan afcended the archiepifcopal chair of Armagh. He was the beloved friend of St. Berrard, after whofe decease, the latter, in a high strain of paregyric, compofed his life. Among other particulars there recorded, he informs us, that the Irish, through the primate's zeal, were brought to a conformity with the Apoftolic Conftitutions and the decrees of the fathers, but especially with the customs of the holy church of Rome. They then began to chaunt and fing the canonical hours, as in other places, which before was not done even in the metropolitical city of Armagh; Malachy had learned fong in his youth, and enjoined finging in his own monaftery, when as yet it was unknown, or not practifed in the city or diocefe. Thus far St. Bernard. "This citation fuggefts two facts; the first incredible and certainly far from truth, that the Irifh church had fubfifted for seven hundred years without music or pfalmody: the other more probable, that Malachy exerted the influence of his ftation to oblige the Irish to relinquish their old ritual, and adopt the Roman manner of celebrating divine offices. His efforts were in vain, even allowing a temporary acquiefcence; for, in thirty years after we find the council of Cafhel decreeing an uniformity of public worship, according to the model of the English church. The Irish received, very reluctantly, in novations in doctrine and difcipline; was it before their princes were expatriated and the people reduced to extreme mifery, that they embraced foreign fuperftition, and obeyed the dictates of the fovercign pontiff. "That the Chriftian fathers adapted their pfalms and hymns to the Greek notation and modes, admits of the fulleft proof. Accuftomed from infancy to the choral fervice of Paganifin, the convert naturally retained his former mufical ideas, but applied them to more fanctified compofitions, and a purer object. Though it is impoffible to determine of what kind the ecclefiaftical modes were, or what the difcipline of the fingers, I cannot believe the whole fervice of the primitive primitive church was irregular; or that the people fang as their inclination led them, with fcarcely any other restriction than that it fhould be to the praife of God. For early in the third century, Origen informs us, the Christians fang in rhyme, that is, with nice regard to the length and fhortnefs of the fyllables of the poetry, and in good tune and harmony. The terms he uses are taken from the Greek mufic, and evince that Chriftians, in their church performances, were scientific and correct. The definition of a pfalm by Gregory Nazienzen, by St. Bafil and Chryfoftom, in the 4th century, is an additional proof of what is advanced. I have infifted on this point the more, in order to fubvert the groundless affertion of St. Bernard; and to demonftrate, that finging made a part of the Christian fervice, wherever the gospel was established. "About the year 386, pfalms and hymns were ordered to be fung after the Eastern manner; and about 384, the Ambrofian chant was formed of the Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian, and Phrygian tones, which were called authentic modes, and to which pope Gregory, in 599, added four plagal. Western Europe had been evangelized antecedent to Gregory's pontificate, and the Ambrofian chant admitted into many principal churches: I fay principal, because there is reafon to believe, many bishops and diocefes preferved the Curfus, that is, the offices and finging introdu-, ced by the first miffionaries, and which more closely adhered to the Eastern, that is, the ancient Greek mufic, than the chant of the cathedral of Milan. And this feems countenanced by a very curious M S. fuppofed to have been written -1786. by an Irish scholar about 901, and printed by fir Henry Spelman. In this it is faid, that the Curfus of the Scots (for fuch was the appellation of the Irish in those days) was compofed by St. Mark, and uted by St. Gregory Naz, St. Bafil, St. Patrick, and communicated to the continent by Columbanus. No notice is taken of St. Ambrofe and pope Gregory but just mentioned. Now, as the monaftic rule of our countryman Columbanus has been published, and as this rule made part of the Irish Curfus, we shall fee how great a part of it was made up of pfalmody and anthems, or alternate finging. "The monks are to affemble thrice every night, and as often in the day, to pray and fing. In each office of the day, they were to use prayers and fing three pfalms. In each office of the night, from October to February, they are to fing thirty-fix pfalms and twelve anthems, at three feveral times; in the rest of the year, twentyone pfalms and eight anthems; but on Saturday and Sunday nights, twenty-five pfalms and twenty-five anthems. Here was a perpetual pfalmody or laus perennis, like that practifed in Pfalmody Ifle in the diocefe of Nifmes, founded by Corbilla, a Syrian monk, about the end of the 14th century. Thefe may be added to the other numerous inftances of the orienta ifm of our church, and its symbolizing with the eastern in moft articles of faith and practice, and which created fo much uneafinefs to Rome and her emiffaries for many ages; the feduct ons of flattery and the thunders of the Vatican were equally ineffectual to fake our principles; the mellifluous eloquence of St. Bernard might calumniate, but was unable to fub ject us to the domination of the Roman fee. "The canons afcribed to St. Patrick, Auxilius, and Iferninus, extant in Corpus Chrifti College, Cambridge, were tranferibed, according to an excellent antiquary, in the 10th century; Dachery fuppofes they were made in the 8th, and I have elsewhere fhewn this to be probable. The fecond directs the readers to remain in the church in which they are appointed to fing; this feems to be the meaning, but whatever it is, it teaches us that the reader and finger had the fame office. Many of our primates, as may be feen in Ware's Bifhops, and most of our leaned men, among other literary diftinétions, are called readers. On this it is remarked — That the name, lector, is more frequently found among the Irish hiftorians than that of feribe; neverthele's, to conceal nothing, fome by the ancient fcribes understand writers ;"-this throws no light on the lector. By the 15th canon of the Laodicean council, no one is to fing in the church but the canonical fingers, who are to afcend the desk and read from the book. In the answers of John, bishop of Citri to Conftantine Cabafilas, archbishop of Dyrrachium, we find the readers were placed on each fide of the choir, and, like the precentor and fuccentor, led the choristers. At this day we read each verfe of the pfalm before it is fung; in this inflance alfo we retained the ufage of the Eaftern church. On the whole, the evidence now produced is fufficient to convict St. Bernard of error, and vindicate our practice of mufic and pfalmody. Giraldus Cambrenfis gives a fpendil a count of the perfection of Arith mufic in the 12th century, and Caradoc of Lhancarvan agrees with him. They confine their praife to fecular performances, and fpeak nothing of ecclefiaftical. Such excellence was not attainable by any fudden or fashionable application; it must have been the effect of long practice and habit. Perhaps the following obfervations may elucidate this point. "Caradoc, without any of that illiberal partiality fo common with national writers, affures us, the Irish devifed all the inftruments, tunes, and meafures in ufe among the Welfh. Cambrenfis is even more copious in his praife, when he peremptorily declares, that the Irish, above any other nation, is incom parably fkilled in fymphonal mufic. Such unequivocal teftimony of our fuperior tate and improvement in the mufical art, naturally calls for fomé enquiries into fo curious a fact, more especially as the perfons, who deliver it, lived in a polifhed age, both in refpect of literature and manners. "The words of Cambrenĥs are clearly expreffive of attainments in the fcience of mufic far beyond the minstrelty of England and France, or any other country he had travelled. The richness of our invention; the vivacity, beauty, and variety of our melodies extorted applaufe from him: I fay extorted, because he takes care to inform us, there was fcarce any thing elfe to commend among the Irish. "This incomparable fkill could never be predicated of unlearned, extemporaneous, bardic airs: it implies a knowledge of the diagram, and an exact divifion of the harmonic intervals; a juft expreffion of the tones, and in the quickest movements, an unity of melody. Cambrenfis obferves thefe particu lars lars of our music. He accurately us, had three inftruments, confedistinguishes the Irish and English styles: the latter was the diatonic genus; flow and made up of concords: heavy; the intervals fpacious, as in ecclefiaftical chant. The former was the enharmonic genus; full of minute divifions, with every diefis marked: the fucceffion of our melodies lively and rapid; our modulations ful and fweet. "He alone who had the fharpeft faculties, and was the most profoundly verfed in the mufical art, felt ineffable pleafure. It is then evident, that all this tranfcendent excellence in mufic could be derived but from two fources; a perfect knowledge of it as a fcience and practice. We are not, it is true, able to produce our ancient tablature, or tunes from M. S. S. hitherto difcovered; but as from Caradoc, it appears we communicated both to the Welfh, and as they exist in Mr. Morris's Collections, we may fairly affume them as our own, and derivatives from this ifle. Thefe collections are of the 12th century, the very time in which Caradoc and Cambrenfis flourished; fo that connecting the evidence together, that we had mufic in fcere, can hardly be difputed, and what is more extraordinary, most of the pieces for the harp are in full harmony and counterpoint. From thefe facts a mistake of Cambrenfis unfolds itfelt to view. The Irish, he informs us, ufed but the tabor and harp. Here then could not be a varied combination of founds; a multiplicity of parts, or fuch an artificial compofition as to constitute counterpoint: a fingle melody, and that confined within a finall compass, was all that could be executed. The Welsh, he tells quently they could play counterpoint; fo that Cambrenfis must have been ignorant of the art he was defcribing, or extremely inadvertent, as no fuch effects, as he fuggefts, could be produced by fuch intruments. Nor can any reafon be aligned, why we should not have an equal number of mufical inftruments with the Welsh, who confeffedly adopted them from us. An omillion of a tranfcriber very probably gives rife to the error. 66 "The tenor of our ecclefiaftical hiftory very explicitly fhews the propagation of the gofpel among us by Hellenistic miffioners; our doctrine and difcipline were the fame as practifed in the primitive church during the four first centuries. Each bishop appointed fuch an order for the celebration of divine offices, as he judged most eligible and belt fuited to his refpective diocefe. So various were thefe offices in 1090, that Gillebert, bishop of Limerick, preffes the Irish clergy to adopt the Roman. "What," fays he, can be more indecent, or fchifmatical, than that a clergyman who is very learned in the offices of one church, fhould be very ignotant and a laic in thofe of another?" This is a new proof that we were unacquainted with the Roman fervice, as well as with the Ambrofian and Gregorian chant, and that we retained the forms of the eastern church, originally delivered to us. Bifhop Stillingfleet, as cited by Dr. Burney, makes the principal difference between the Roman and Gallican ritual to confift in their church mufic. "St. Paul defires the Ephefians to fpeak to each other in pfalms and hymns and fpiritual fongs. He here feems to make use of a harth expreffion to avoid introducing a heathen term. With what propriety could chriftians be faid to speak to each other in hymns, which celebrated the divine perfections? But they might, as in the Pagan Dithyrambics and Poeans, exercife themselves in the antiphonial finging, and fucceed or anfwer each other. And this is clearly the Apoftle's meaning. "However, he difliked the prac rices of idolatry; the permiflion he here gives the Ephelians, a gay and luxurious people, of uling 'pfalms, hymns, and odes, was abfolutely neceffary for keeping new converts in the faith: they could not eafily forget the raptures of their feftal and choral hymns; and it is probable the apostles, and their difciples, formed fpiritual fongs, on their model, in various metres and melodies: at least, the early fathers of the church, as Clemens of Alexandria, Eufebius, Chryfoftom, Bafil, and Gregory Nazienzen did fo. Some of their imitations are poetical; but no merit of this kind could compenfate a Grecian ear for the negligent, injudicious, and offenfive ufe of improper meafures, with which the chritian compofitions abounded. Dionyfius Hallicarnaffæus, in his beautiful treatife laft cited, gives inftances of the most favourite performers being hiffed on the stage, for the smallest want of rythm or accent; fuch were the delicacy of Grecian or gans, and the correctnefs of Gre. cian taite. "The more zealous catholics digefted thefe infipid productions; but the public were very far from acquiefcing in fuch unlearned and barbarous poetry and mufic. St. Bafil complains that his flock neglected his pfalms and hymns for their old Pagan fongs. The Arrians, Apollinarians, and other he retics taking advantage of the popular difguft formed poems in the true Greek style, and in captivating melodies; the union and charms of harmony and verfe were too powerful for orthodoxy; the number of fectaries foon exceeded that of true believers. The church beheld this triumph with terror and amazement, the faw her danger and endeavoured to avert it. She reformed her hymns, and embraced the Greek modes; nor was John, the ecumenic bishop of Conftantinople, afhamed to urge his people to imitate the Arrian compofitions. Gildas and Bede agree, that Britain was infefted with Arianifm, and St. Jerom complains, that the chriftian world groaned under this heresy. "Thefe notices, hitherto uncon. nected, may perhaps throw fome light on the peculiar ftyle of our ancient mufic. We received the knowledge of the gofpel about the end of the 4th century, and with it the Greek or eastern harmony, then univerfally in ufe. From an expreffion of St. Auftin, it is evident, the enharmonic genus was then adopted and cultivated, as it alone was calculated to exhilarate the fpirits, revive pleafing hopes, and banish melancholy and defpair; nor can there be any doubt but our primitive miffioners first conciliated the affections of their hearers by harmony, before they opened to them the doctrine of redemption. Bede makes Auguftine approach Ethelbert and his court, finging litanies. "Before the Ambrofian and Gregorian chants were generally introduced, we were grown ftrong in religion and learning, and for a long time ftrangers to, as well as averie from Romish innovations. We had an independent hierarchy, which neither in 900 nor in rogo, as has beca |