The name of John Macdonald, Inverness, must be one of the best known and illustrious in piping history. However, until now, there has not been a single account of his life and his influence on the development of piping, and piobaireachd in particular, during a critical period towards the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.
By Alan Forbes
John Shone has put that right in his new book by pulling together what was already known of his life, along with hitherto unpublished material from documents in his possession, to produce the first really comprehensive account of his life and his contribution to piping.
As well as information about his private life, his success as a competitor and influence as a teacher are covered, with reproductions of the scores of a number of piobaireachds in his own meticulous hand writing from his manuscript book.
John Macdonald appears to have been a modest and fairly private individual, but blessed with a prodigious musical talent and a life-long desire to pass on his knowledge and playing style to as many as possible.
His main interest was in piobaireachd, having been brought up in a piping family and having received tuition from the very few pipers at the time who could trace their playing styles back to the MacCrimmons. These included Malcolm MacPherson, widely known as Calum Piobaire, as well as his own father, Alexander MacDonald, and his uncle.
The book contains a most interesting listing of prize-winners, compiled by Bessie Brown, sister to RU Brown of Balmoral, across a wide range of competitions from 1928 to 1938, then for 1946 & 1947. Macdonald’s name appears prominently over the whole pre-war period as an outstanding competitor, despite the famous names against whom he was competing – William Ross, RU Brown, John Wilson, Malcolm MacPherson, JB Robertson, RB Nicol, Robert Reid among others.
His main contribution, however, would almost certainly be considered to be his influence in keeping alive the traditional ways of playing piobaireachd, which were thought by many at the time to be in grave danger of disappearing. This came partly through his association with the emerging Piobaireachd Society around the turn of the 20th century. He was highly regarded as a teacher and passed on his knowledge freely to those he thought had the talent and integrity to carry on the tradition.
He was appointed to carry out the first piping classes for the Army, his own salary being paid for by the Piobaireachd Society. The book contains examples of his correspondence with Sherriff JP Grant of Rothiemurchus, President of the Piobaireachd Society at the time, and others. These well written letters give a clear insight into not only his teaching approach, but also to the personal interest he took in the progress of his pupils. There can be no doubt that he had a significant and long-lasting beneficial effect on Army piping.
He also, of course, had many civilian pupils, including RB Nicol, RU Brown and Pipe Major Donald MacLeod, all of whom held him in the highest regard. Through them his influence has been carried on down the generations.
John Shone’s book will be of value to everyone with a serious interest in piobaireachd. It is beautifully produced in A4 size, logically arranged and easily readable. It contains lots of interesting snippets of information as well as an array of photographs of John Macdonald and his contemporaries. His manuscripts, written out in full with no abbreviations, are clearly reproduced and show how methodical and meticulous a person he was.
- The book is available from the PS webshop here. This review first appeared on the Piobaireachd Society website.
