Hew Morrison Collection > Piobaireachd

150 Piobaireachd : its Origin and Construction
is always athirst, and yearning after that strain which dwells upon the " fairy
duns " and enchants the soul ; sounds so sweetly in his ear, and carries him away
to fairyland as no other Theme can do that lies within the realms of our Celtic
" Ceol Mor."
The creators of piobaireachd must have been so overcome with joy on the final
completion of its form, even although the date is shrouded in antiquity and mystery,
that it would have seemed to them as if they had taken an aerial flight into a new
world of perfect harmony, touched the lost chord, and burst asunder the fetters
which lay between them and a glorious achievement.
No passages in pipe music can be more full of real life and romance than
piobaireachd, yet without words, which can be read and understood by the High-
lander alone.
If we perform our duty to the masters of old from whom we have inherited this
ancient and noble art, we should always praise them and remember that they were
greater than we can ever hope to be.
My closing lines can only be that if we wish to know what can be made of
simple thoughts by labour and anxious care, and above all by genius, then look
at the masters of old and see how they could ennoble and exalt their ideas, and how
what was once a mere suggestion of nature, became a lofty ideal for the piping
world to study and to praise.