The Campbell Letters – Letters of James Campbell and of his father, Archibald Campbell of Kilberry.
Edited by Malcolm McRae
By RODDY LIVINGSTONE.
When I was asked to review this book, it is fair to say I only accepted the task with some reluctance. The reasons for this were perhaps an over familiarity with the subject and a recognition of my own unconscious bias. So, now is the time to declare my interest. I studied piobaireachd with James Campbell for 25 years, from 1978 until 2003. My final lesson was conducted from James’ hospital bed a few months before he passed away, aged 87. Having had such a close relationship over an extended period, I thought I could anticipate the content of the book and indeed much of it was familiar territory although the depth of detail that became apparent on close study opened my eyes further to the depth of knowledge held by both Archibald Campbell and James.
The book is divided into six sections, each reflecting a broad subject or recipient of the letters. Inevitably, there is some duplication across sections as the same subject is discussed with different correspondents. The editor explains the reasons for this in his introduction and justifies the repetition in setting context. I agree that without this, some matters would be difficult to follow.
The book starts with letters from Archibald Campbell to a young Neville MacKay in New Zealand, who along with Donald MacGillivray (Calrossie) was the last direct link with the teaching of John Macdonald of Inverness. It is interesting to note that the conversations are continued some 50 years later, this time with James Campbell taking his father’s place. It progresses though various communications from James to well know luminaries of the piping world such as Archie Kenneth, Andrew MacNeill (Colonsay) and Norman Matheson as well as several overseas pipers who sought out James’ expert knowledge. In the later sections, excerpts of correspondence between Archibald Campbell and John Macdonald (Inverness) and Robert U. Brown are reproduced and finally a comprehensive series of appendices incorporates a number of other letters reproduced in full and articles of relevance to the correspondence. These are valuable documents in their own right deserving of publication or reproduction.
This book is over 230 pages in length and cannot be considered a ‘little bit of light reading’. However, neither is it a dry academic tome suitable only for the most diligent of scholarly theorists. Without exception, the content is from pipers to pipers and will be of interest and value to all piobaireachd lovers – whether competitors, adjudicators or just interested players or students of ceòl mòr . The editor considers that the book might be best considered as a companion to The Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor and Sidelights on the Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor and this makes sense considering the degree of informed and detailed analysis it provides on the tunes presented in those volumes as well as others published elsewhere to which similar principles may be applied.
During my earliest meeting with James Campbell, he told me of his father’s wish to avoid dogma in matters relating to the playing and teaching of piobaireachd, a quality which James himself followed and is clearly demonstrated throughout the book. That being said, there is no reluctance to prosecute the case for a traditional framework to how we approach ceòl mòr as handed down through John MacKay of Raasay and his pupils. The evidence provided to support this is compelling and dispels many myths whilst raising legitimate questions over the accuracy of an argument for an alternative forgotten style.
The content of the letters strongly demonstrates the views of both Campbell’s that the labelling of nuances and subtleties in piobaireachd playing as rigidly the ‘MacPherson Style’ or the ‘Cameron Style’ should be avoided. It is advocated that the comparatively minor differences should be viewed as sub-styles within the traditional framework transmitted via John MacKay rather than distinct schools. Discussion around the antecedents of the both the Cameron and MacPherson families of pipers indicates far more commonality than disparity and indeed a healthy willingness by the master’s of the past to change, and exchange, views on interpretation. We are reminded once again that how Archibald Campbell recorded tunes included in the Kilberry Book and his notes in the subsequent ‘Sidelights’ are an attempt to accurately reflect the teaching of Alexander Cameron as it was passed on in 1911 and not to exercise any form of diktat.
I cannot conclude this review without a word on ‘The Elusive Appoggiatura’. This article was first published in the Piping Times in 1988 and considered by James Campbell to be his most significant contribution to piping. A significant proportion of the correspondence in The Campbell Letters is devoted to this subject and shows the many years of thought James devoted to this short article. The article in itself deals specifically with depiction of the movements hiharin, hihorodo and hiharara but gives us a wider window on the limitations and misunderstanding of the use of staff notation to record ceòl mòr. James records in numerous letters the caution that needs to be exercised when considering how we write piobaireachd as opposed to how we actually play it. This is a further extension of the much-overlooked section, on notation, of the introduction to the Kilberry Book in which Archibald Campbell states: “It makes no pretence to be scientifically accurate, or even intelligible to the non-piper. Call it pipers’ jargon and the writer will not complain. His desire is to make the music as clear as possible to the piobaireachd player, and not to instruct beginners”.
This book will provide valuable insight to pipers, especially those who might have gained a somewhat one-sided view of earlier generations of piobaireachd scholars, exhibiting the immense contribution these individuals made to the preservation and understanding of our great music.
The absence of a detailed index to the book may be considered by some to be an oversight but this is perhaps the only real omission I can identify. The book must be considered an essential item for the library of any piobaireachd enthusiast whilst also providing a unique insight into significant 20th century events in understanding, recording and publishing ceòl mòr. In editing and making this material available, Malcolm McRae has provided an immeasurably valuable service for this and future generations of piobaireachd players.
* Roderick J. Livingstone is a well known and respected solo piping judge. He is Secretary of the Solo Piping Judges’ Association and a member of the Piobaireachd Society’s General Committee.
* The Campbell Letters can be purchased from The Bagpipe Shop, priced £25 plus shipping.
