Piobaireachd enthusiasts need no introduction to James Campbell and to his father, Archibald Campbell of Kilberry, the compiler of the Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor and editor of Books 2 to 10 of the Piobaireachd Society Collection. Before his death in 2003, James Campbell had given a collection of his […]
Reader, Alexander Gillies is seeking information on his late father’s pipes. Alexander’s father was Pipe Major Roderick John Gillies [pictued] and he died in 1997 aged 67. Roderick served as Pipe Major of the Cameronians just before it disbanded in 1968. He was then Pipe Major of the Royal Scots […]
By Keith Sanger I first subscribed to the Piping Times in 1969 so it is possible to look back at the last half century of its publication, first as a reader and then as an occasional contributor. At the time I first subscribed, the attraction of the ‘PT’ was that […]
RODERICK CANNON sent this article to the Piping Times in late 2014. It is an update on an article he had written elsewhere on the life and career of the legendary John MacDonald of Inverness, focussing on his personal and professional aspects rather than his music John MacDonald was born […]
In 2000, as the new millennium dawned, William Donaldson published his controversial The Highland Pipe and Scottish Society 1750-1950. It was a landmark publication and it remains a masterly – and controversial – work. It should be part of any piper’s library. In his book, Donaldson takes a swipe at […]
There has been a call in recent years for change in the long-standing arrangements in the big piobaireachd competitions; that the Piobaireachd Society should stop naming its own settings as the preferred ones, or stop setting the annual tunes at all, allowing the performers free choice in which tunes they […]
At present 60 issues of the Piping Times are out of print, including almost all of volumes 2, 4, 13 and 16. We receive many requests for important articles which appeared in these issues so we have decided to reprint the most essential ones. Every piper should know something of […]
Since its inception in the 1930s the London Championship has grown in stature and is second only to Oban and Inverness in importance. In this article, by John Shone, we chart the progress of contest from idea to major championship Back in 1932 a group of very keen pipers found […]
