An Comunn Gàidhealach Publications > Gaidheal > Volume 26, October 1930--September 1931

An t-Sultuin, 1931.
AN GAIDHEAL.
181
and with quaintly laid out extensive grounds.
Mr. Campbell received and welcomed us
most kindly in a Gaelic speech, and we were
sorry there was not more time to spend with
him and Mrs. Campbell, as we were due at
Glen Forsa, where Colonel and Mrs. Gardyne
entertained us to a bountiful and most
welcome tea. It will be seen that study is
not too exacting at our Gaelic Summer
Schools!
The Junior Class was again under the
experienced and skilfyil guidance of Miss
Annie Johnston of Barra. One of the most
gratifying and beneficial results of this class
is the thorough grounding given in the
Elementary Course. The student gained self-
confidence and a measure of fluency in the
simpler Oral work that ensures his continued
study during the coming winter. A return
to another Summer School is a certainty if
the Fates permit. Much hard work at
preparation of composition and reading had
its reward in the rapid progress made under
bright and happy guidance. The halting
answers given in the Comhradh became
bolder, more fluent, and—if not always—
were at least frequently accurate. The
Picture Lesson was a test of readiness of
vocabulary, and knowledge of phrase and
idiom.
The daily Singing Lesson was a real return
to the joy of youth with the rhythm and lilt
of music. The “Baby Class,” under the
inspiration of Miss Johnston, were able to
contribute several items to the concert pro¬
gramme in Aros Hall.
It has been suggested to me that I might
write a little account of the musical side of
our activities at the Summer School of Gaelic.
To do so, apart from the rest of our
experiences, would be difficult and perhaps
a mistake, because the music we enjoyed at
the end of each day was so much a part of
the whole, and was so congenial to our
spirits, that we felt it to be the keystone of
all. There was music in the rushing streams,
in the wind among the trees on the wooded
slopes around us, in the twinkling lights at
night in Tobermory Bay, and in the white
moon soaring above. There was a day of
days when we drove down Glen Mor to
reach the monument to the memory of the
bard who wrote “An t-Eilean Muileach,”
and so left his name and his Island Song as
a heritage for evermore.
There was fairy music, faintly echoed from
bygone days, among the towers of Duart
Castle, where our gracious welcome by the
venerable chief was an unforgettable
honour and pleasure. There was another
day which memory cherishes, when a sudden
outbreak of sunshine made indoor work irk¬
some and a Gaelic class took place outside
the School walls in the lovely surroundings
of moor and mountain and sparkling sea.
But let it not be supposed that our evening
Music Class was a mere matter of songs and
sentiment. We worked hard at the Gaelic
School. Others will tell of the literature and
language classes. I will only say a word of
gratitude for the musical training we got
from our indefatigable teacher, Mr. Neil
Orr. We had a solid half-hour every evening
of sight-reading in Sol-Fa and in Staff
notation, before going on to part-singing and
practice of songs. We were led through the
Island songs and others from “ A’ Choisir-
Chiiiil,” and our evenings came to an end
with many a pleasant ceilidh, in which we
were assisted by residents in Tobermory.
This class always seemed particularly refresh¬
ing, coming as it did at the end of our day’s
work.
One of the pleasantest things about a
meeting of Highlanders is the fellowship that
is in it. It is in a measure “An gradh sin a
cheangladh a’ chlach gun aol”-—and music
is the best of all the cements of friendship.
Aros Hall, Tobermory, was filled to its
utmost capacity with an eager and
enthusiastic audience; the occasion being
the Highland concert given by the Gaelic
Summer School as their farewell to the
“Delectable Isle” of Mull, where they had
spent so many pleasant and profitable hours.
In the absence, through illness, of Colonel
Greenhill Gardyne, the chair was taken by
the Bev. J. M. Menzies, M.A., whose fluency
in the Gaelic tongue made his amusing and
appropriate remarks much appreciated.
As was appropriate, the concert commenced
with “An t-Eilean Muileach,” which was
rendered with much feeling by the Senior
choir. The reception which this opening
song received gave at once an insight into
the character of the audience, which,
whether the theme was grave or gay,
entered fully into the spirit of the song,
appreciating the delicate shades of feeling so
exquisitely brought out by the choir leader,
Mr. Neil Orr.
There were many delightful solos, which
showed the variety and range of Gaelic
minstrelsy, and these were all sung with
beautiful feeling by each and all. Among