10 FEBRUARY 1838, Page 19

The Vocal Gems of Scotland. By J. M. MULLER. This

is a collection of forty popular Scottish Melodies, newly arranged for the voice and pianoforte. The want of a new collection of this kind is not very apparent to us in the South, who have access to Mr. GEORGE THOMSON'S admirable publication ; or to that more recently undertaken by Messrs. JOHN THOMSON and FINLAY MN, both of whom add to their general capability as musiciansithat peculiar fitness for the task of editing such a work %%bids results from national feeling and perfect acquaintance with the characteristic features of the Scottish melodies. Mr. MULLER censures the arrangement of former collections; in which, he says, "the accompaniments consist of little more than the melody, given to the right hand, or, being too elaborate, are ill suited to the pianoforte, cramp the voice," 8:c. Did this gentle- man ever chance to examine the collections we have mentioned ? if so, we believe he is the first person who has ventured to designate the ac- companiments "ill suited to the pianoforte ; " nor will any one readily credit that the arrangements of HAYDN, KOZELUCK, Humates, and WEBER were so. Mr. MULLER'S arrangements are in general clever, but we must be pardoned for preferring those of Mr. THOMSON'S col- lection; which, for the quantity of musical and practical talent it called into existence and embodied, we hold to be quite unrivalled.