Scotland’s ferry fiasco continues to cause severe disruption to life in the inner and outer Hebrides, writes the Editor. You cannot go about your business confident that you will be able to get off or on to a particular island at a particular time.
Tobermory and Mull are no different and ‘boat issues’ meant late arrivals and early departures for many participants at the annual games held yesterday, July 24, at Earraidh Park.
It was, nevertheless, a successful and enjoyable day with eleven senior pipers and the same again in the juniors. The weather was ideal: calm, no harsh sun, and dry – absolutely perfect for a tune in the west Highland air, high on a cliff top with views over the sea to Morven and Ardnamuchan.
Piping Convenor Torquil Telfer and steward Alastair MacGregor joined the judges, myself, Robert Barnes and Lewis Barclay, in the Tobermory Hotel for breakfast refreshment. We were stirred from our chairs by the sound of the Oban High School band led by MacColls x 2.
Fronting them as they marched up the street was clan chief of the Macleans, Sir Lachlan, and his son Malcolm. Behind, a swelling crowd.
To the park where I was assigned piobaireachd duties, Robert the senior light music, and Lewis the juniors. The results were as follows:
Piob:
1 Ed McIlwaine (pictured top), British Columbia, Lament for the Departure of King James, £100
2 Angus D MacColl, Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon, £65
3 John McElmurry, Northern Ireland, Lady Margaret MacDonald’s Salute, £40
4 Andrew Hall, Prince’s Salute, £25
5 Mark MacKenzie, Australia, Beloved Scotland, £10
Local Piob:
1 Angus D MacColl 2 Kyle Cameron (Kyle and his family have recently moved to Tobermory) 3 Calum Maclean 4 Scott MacLean
March: 1 Angus J MacColl 2 Angus D MacColl 3 John McElmurry 4 Rebecca Capon 5 Kyle Cameron; Local March: 1 Angus J MacColl 2 Angus D MacColl 3 Kyle Cameron 4 Euan Dewar
S&R: 1 Angus D MacColl 2 Angus J MacColl 3 John McElmurry 4 David Bruce 5 Andrew Hall; Local S&R: 1 Angus D MacColl 2 Angus J MacColl 3 Kyle Cameron 4 Euan Dewar
Junior Piob: 1 Roan MacColl 2 Alasdair Bullock 3 Morla Bruce 4 Euan McCracken 5 Mark Hewitt
Junior March: 1 Roan MacColl 2 Morla Bruce 3 Mark Hewitt 4 Alasdair Bullock 5 Lily Robertson
Junior S&R: 1 Junior Piob: 1 Alasdair Bullock 2 Roan MacColl 3 Morla Bruce 4 Euan McCracken 5 Alexander Cruickshank
A few comments on the piobaireachd. Ed McIlwaine produced the best pipe of the day to win. The finger and expression were good too, my only quibble the slight front loading of the movements in Variation 1. Angus D MacColl had an uncharacteristic slip in Patrick Og but still delivered this masterpiece with due mastery.
John McElmurry continued his success from Inveraray but the pipe wasn’t quite locked in this time and there was rushing in the T&C doublings. Andrew Hall trimmed mercilessly the end of phrase cadence notes in the Prince’s Salute but played well otherwise. Mark MacKenzie would have done better had he settled down and let his tune breath more instead of forcing it on.
Of the others a word for Scott MacLean, Lochgilphead. He was travelling very well in the Earl of Antrim when the concentration went. VG pipe and finger. Calum Maclean gave a good reading of the Earl of Seaforth but the crunluath still requires attention. Kyle Cameron didn’t have his usual good pipe and was rather one-paced with Rory MacLeod’s Lament.
The piping ended mid afternoon and, after the prizes, there were hurried good byes and a scampering for the boats. Next year’s games are on July 23rd and I suppose we can but hope that the ferries will be back to normal by then.
Gesto Collection – Transliterated by P/M W MacLean
This is a dowloadable copy of the 1910 work transliterated from the Gesto Canntaireachd by P/M William MacLean, Kilcreggan. He has taken the canntaireachd and interpreted it in such a way as to provide us with scores of tunes in settings that are eminently playable by today’s pipers. There is a fulsome introduction and you can read more about the pipe major <a href="https://pipingpress.com/pioba…
I was interested in the competition report [Mull Games] and the comments on the way Ed McIlwaine timed the first variation of Lament for the Departure of King James. Mr Wallace had a quibble about the “front loading” of the grips on B, D etc. I have found the Singling and Doubling of the first variation had its own difficulty, despite having had instruction on the tune. The instructions were to give value to the theme note before the grips in the Singling, but in the Doubling to value the theme notes after the grips – not to be overdone of course in either the singling or doubling. Always looking for further information on such things I mooched some information from the late Donald Morrison. I heard him at the tune and this timing was to good effect. Donald suggested that this effect can be caught in the Singling by spreading the movement, thus giving the theme note the slight value before the grips. Then in the doubling, valuing the theme notes slightly after the grip movements. This adds interest to the tune. Perhaps competition reports should not be responded to, but if a writer has the initiative to commit his thoughts to paper, it may generate interest and hopefully not a criticism of the author.