In the spring 2000 edition of The Voice, Dr. John A. MacAskill conducted an interview with James Campbell, the son Archibald Campbell of Kilberry. When MacAskill asked him what he considered to be his greatest legacy, Campbell replied: “… I have taken pride in my contribution in the Piping Times […]
This sweet tune is a favourite with most pipers. According to Donald MacDonald (in his manuscript of 1826), Lament for MacSwan of Roaig was composed on the death of the chief of this minor clan who lived in northwest Skye. Like many in the wider region, the clan was of […]
By Roderick Cannon This well known air has had a varied history, in the course of which it has become separated into at least two distinct tunes, played on the pipes as a slow march and a jig. It first appears in Patrick MacDonald’s collection of Highland Vocal Airs (1784), […]
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 […]
The literature of the Highland BagpipeThe works of Angus MacKay (Raasay). Part 3 – his manuscripts By Captain John A. MacLellan When Angus MacKay died in 1859 his widow either sold or bequeathed his collection of manuscripts to Michael MacCarfrae who was piper to the Duke of Hamilton at Brodick Castle, […]
The literature of the Highland bagpipe The works of Angus MacKay (Raasay) – Part 2By Captain John A. MacLellan Until 1838 the only book of Piobaireachd available to pipers was Donald Macdonald’s collection of Piobaireachd which contained 23 tunes. In 1836 Angus MacKay released the prospectus for his book, which […]
Today we begin an occasional series looking at the stories behind some of our well known tunes. We kick off with Pibroch of Donald Dubh, an old tune that was originally a pibroch but which was developed subsequently into ceòl beag (there are excellent march, jig, reel, quickstep and hornpipe […]
With most of us self-isolating during these uncertain times, there is, perhaps inevitably, a dearth of news to report. However, we at Bagpipe.news will continue to use this time to bring you great articles from our archives. Today’s piece was written by Dr Peter Cooke and published in The International […]
Part 2 of Iain MacInnes’s 2000 John MacFadyen Lecture Competition is very much part and parcel of the piping culture here in Scotland, and its shaped not just the music, but also the style of performance. It all goes back to 1781, when the Highland Society of London started the […]
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 […]
