By Brian Laidlaw, US Border Patrol During my junior year of high school (about 1991), in Elkhart, Indiana, I began wondering, ‘where is the name Laidlaw from?’ I asked my dad to which he simply replied ‘Scotland’. I do not remember anyone in my family really talking about the genealogy, […]
By Peter McCalister For better or worse, tune settings in the Kilberry book, and in the Piobaireachd Society’s (PS) collection, have become known as the ‘usual’ versions – and other versions as ‘alternative’ settings. Why play an alternative setting of a tune? The PS has, over the last 80 years […]
• From the March 2000 Piping Times. By Jeannie Campbell The Mackintoshes are part of Clan Chattan and claim descent from MacDuff, the Earl of Fife. They were supporters of the Bruces and acquired the lands of Moy in the 14th century. Malcolm, the 10th chief, fought at the Battle […]
• This article first appeared in the Piping Times, June 1983. By Bruce Campbell On the 11th of August, 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart stepped ashore at Kinlochmoidart on the west coast of Scotland in a bid to restore his family’s right to the ancient Kingdom of Scotland. John Maclntyre, […]
By Roderick Cannon The piobaireachd MacCrimmon will Never Return is famous from the setting published in Angus MacKay’s book, and from the song which is still sung, both in Gaelic and in an English translation. But the oldest pipe setting we have is much less well known. It is one […]
Cristiano Bicudo has spent more than three decades pioneering the instrument in his home country BRAZIL conjures up images of sambas and carnivals rather than strathspeys and crunluaths – but the piping scene there is growing thanks to the dedication and hard work of Cristiano Bicudo. However, it has not […]
By Seumas MacNeill Probably no period in the history of piping will see such changes as did the 19th century. At the beginning of it, all pipers were Gaelic-speaking highlanders, solo performers whose repertoire consisted almost entirely of piobaireachd. All teaching was by canntaireachd, for no piper could read staff […]
By Hugh Cheape, MBE Pìobaireachd is not an easy subject but Roderick Cannon was its master. This was his chosen field in the study of the music of the Great Highland Bagpipe and, more particularly, of the type of composition regarded as its ‘classical music’. In spite of the prominence […]
By T. M. Gibson (introduced by J. Ernsting). R.A.F. Institute of Aviation Medicine, Farnborough, Hants Pipers contend that playing the bagpipes is extremely strenuous. Cases have been experienced by piping teachers of neophytes fainting while trying to play the pipes. Watson (1972) suggested that hypocapnia caused the faintness. He reported […]
By Pipe Major Jim Henderson John McLellan, as I remember him, was a very shy and quiet individual, not given to pushing himself or promoting the great talent he possessed. Besides being a quite outstanding bagpipe music composer, he wrote songs, was a poet of some distinction and had a […]
