The MacDonald’s Salute is one of three compositions relating to the reconciliation between the MacLeods of Dunvegan and the MacDonalds of Sleat, following a protracted period of conflict between the two. The other tunes are MacLeod’s Controversy and The MacLeod’s Salute. The tunes are attributed to MacLeod’s piper, Donald Mòr […]
Peter Bain was a prominent piper and judge of the post-war era. Taught his piping by William MacDonald, Lairg, Peter joined the Scots Guards in 1927 and was appointed Pipe Major of the Holding Batt. in 1941 then the 4th Batt. In 1944-45 he was Pipe Major of the 2nd […]
Online evening classes are being launched at the National Piping Centre. The initiative is a means of maintaining lessons amid the restrictions placed on movement due to the global pandemic. The 12-week course commences on Monday, May 25 – and at £75 / £65, the cost is lower than the […]
Inveraray & District Pipe Band piper, Chris Gray has released his first recording. The self-entitled CD is available now from his website. Recorded last year, the reocrding was co-produced by Calum MacCrimmon and features a multi-instrumental ensemble. Read Iain MacInnes’ review. A set of pipes that were reportedly played at […]
Iain MacInnes reviews Chris Gray’s debut recording. As Scotland’s pipers explore ever wider musical horizons, this beautifully-made debut CD from Chris Gray points the way to what can be achieved. Gray comes with an impressive piping pedigree (he was a pupil of Tony MacDonald’s in his native Lockerbie), as well […]
Last week we kicked off an occasional series looking at the stories behind some of our well known tunes. The tune we looked at was Pibroch of Donald Dubh. Today we look at Cock of The North. In the late 1890s, when news came of Piper Findlater’s exploits at Dargai […]
We found this photograph whilst delving into the fascinating archives of the Piping Times yesterday. We post it today whilst the contribution made by pipers last Friday to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day is still fresh in the mind. The photograph was sent in a few years ago […]
The Bruce Gandy Bagpiping Development Society is to establish a piping scholarship fund to honour a young Canadian piper who was killed in a military helicopter crash on April 29. Almost two weeks after the crash, the cause of the crash of the Cyclone helicopter is still not yet known. […]
On the last Saturday in February I played in the Archie Kenneth Quaich in Edinburgh, Scotland. Had I known this would be the last ‘traditional’ competition in Scotland for the foreseeable future I might have hugged my friends a little longer. I would certainly have tried to spend just a […]
We are grateful to Pipe Major Alistair Duthie for sending us some statistics on the number of pipers killed or wounded during the Second World War. On Friday we estimated the figure to be 10,000. However, the true figure is a little less. Mr Duthie made the following calculation: “If […]
