1976 BY JEANNIE CAMPBELL MBE The Gathering had remained unchanged for many years but 1976 marked a watershed with the first of several big changes coming in the force. In January 1976 Seumas MacNeill wrote: “1976 is going to be – for piping at least – a great deal different […]
1975 BY JEANNIE CAMPBELL MBE Competitors in the Open and Clasp competitions in 1975 were required to submit four tunes from this list of six: The Battle of Glensheil, The Sister’s Lament, Nameless, Hihio-tro tro, The Park Piobaireachd No. 1, The Old Woman’s Lullaby and Salute on the Birth of Rory Mor. For […]
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 […]
Jimmy McIntosh, who has just died, will be remembered as a major authority on piobaireachd. Yet, as many will know, Jimmy was quite late coming to the art. He only started to compete seriously when he was in his 40s. He was deeply appreciative of Robert Bell Nicol and Robert […]
James Haddow McIntosh, a true piping legend, died suddently this morning at home in South Carolina, USA, aged 95. Born in Broughty Ferry, near Dundee, one of four siblings. Jimmy’s father had arranged for Jimmy to receive his early piping tuition from Pipe Major Tom Sutherland, Royal Scots Fusiliers. Jimmy […]
The late 1980s was a period of transition in piping. In 1987 the 78th Fraser Highlanders became the first overseas pipe band to win the World Pipe Band Championships and in 1988 Ottawa-born Amy Garson would be the first female invited to compete at the Glenfiddich. The 1988 Glenfiddich was […]
By Captain John MacLellan The year 1781 has much more significance to piping than the fact that it was the first time that a properly organised competition for ceòl mòr was held. As to the past, we can only surmise that competitions were held – none are on record. Apart […]
In the summer of 2008, Senior Judge Malcolm McRae recorded his thoughts as he adjudicated at various highland games around Scotland that year. His diary was serialised in the Piping Times. A judge’s ramblings – my trip around the games in July 2008 By Malcolm McRae What a privilege it […]
In his far-reaching blog posted on this site last week, Stuart Letford questioned whether the Set Tunes should continue to be set solely by the Piobaireachd Society’s Music Committee. I suggest it is time to actually abolish the Set Tunes altogether. I have spoken on this topic before. Indeed, this […]
