The Piobaireachd Society’s annual recital will take place in St Cecilia’s Hall, Niddry Street, Edinburgh, on August 10. It is a black tie event for the pipers and the time is 7 for 7.30pm.
The beauty of the recital, entitled ‘Classical Pipe Music – Scotland’s Hidden Treasure’, is that there is no break in sound throughout; there is no tuning in the auditorium, one piobaireachd flows seamlessly into the next.
By the Editor
Ever since the recital started in 2018, this feature has always proven very attractive to all listeners. The large audience usually comprises an eclectic mix of piobaireachd enthusiasts, inquisitive tourists, and music lovers intrigued and keen to learn more about ceòl mòr.
The three recitalists are Alasdair Henderson, winner of the Open Piobaireachd at Oban last year, and 2024’s two Silver Medallists, John McDonald (Oban) and Brodie Watson Massey (Inverness). Here is the running order and the tunes for the evening:
Phantom Piper of the Corrieyairick ……………………………… Alasdair Henderson
Stewart’s White Banner……………………………… Brodie Watson-Massey
Tulloch Ard…………………………………… John McDonald
Interval
Park Piobaireachd No2 …………………… Brodie Watson-Massey
Prince’s Salute ……………………………………… John McDonald
Red Speckled Bull …………………………………………… Alasdair Henderson
A detailed programme for the evening has been produced. It has short bios of the pipers and stories of the tunes. As you can see from the list above these are all outstanding pieces of music testing the piper’s capacity for memory, technique, tuning and expression.
But this is not a competition. It is important to dismiss this from the mind, difficult though that is for professional pipers and judges skilled in searching out the negative. No, this evening is about much more than that.
Edinburgh University’s St Cecilia’s Hall is an ideal venue. Not only visually stunning, it has an acoustic that seems to bring the best out of the pipe; the harmonics fair ring round the room. The pipers can relax knowing the audience is theirs for the taking. They want to enjoy themselves.
Enjoy this clip of Finlay Johnston from 2023…..
At the end of proceedings, 9-9.30pm, the pipers and audience repair to the small museum beneath the hall where we enjoy a refreshment and a chat.
- The concert is part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Tickets £15 and £12 (concession) are available via their box office here or by cash at the door.
