Reflections on the Northern Meeting Part 2

Friday, after attending to duties with the juniors, I headed into the Clasp. The music and instruments heard here were alone worth the £27 admission, writes the Editor.

I heard all but the first four performances. The top three performances were hard to split. Callum Beaumont had, for me, the sort of bagpipe you encounter but rarely. The top hand had a bell-like quality, chiming with the drones throughout the Daughter’s Lament. Stuart Liddell, the winner, had a bolder sound, and Angus MacColl’s a quieter.

Each played magnificently and the title could have gone to any of the three and there would have been no complaint.

Angus MacColl’s Sutherland’s Gathering was a model of momentum and controlled progression, crisp technique adding to the thrilling tempo he set. He told me afterwards that it was with this tune that he won the Clasp 25 years ago.

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Stuart Liddell punctiliously punctuated Colin Roy MacKenzie, the phrasing could not have been clearer. His more open, but immaculate, technique impressed too. And a lesson to all aspirants – when you hear his performance on the radio, check the control he has in the a mach.

New dad Callum Beaumont hasn’t had much sleep or a lot of time to practice, but you would never have known it from the purity of his pipe, his fingerwork and his complete mastery of the Daughter’s Lament. Take a bow gents.

Turning to the light music, from all accounts we had clear winners in the ‘big’ MSR (Callum Beaumont), the ‘A’ grade (Sarah Muir) and the ‘B’ (Callum Wynd). Elsewhere in these contests, especially the A & B, it was a mixed bag with a lack of understanding of the basic rules of the game hampering many of the pipers’ efforts.

My correspondent told me the Former Winner’s MSR contest was of a high standard and entertaining for all those privileged to be present in the theatre. The competitors entered the stage with clockwork precision, adding to the overall entertainment factor.

Were the audience numbers down? He thought so. Is it be possible to re-schedule things so that the prize giving takes place right after this blue ribbon event? A huge crowd would be guaranteed.

Stuart Liddell walked away with the Hornpipe & Jig with Ruairidh Brown taking the B version. Credit to the NM committee for stemming the numbers pulling out of these important contests. As it was pointed out to me, names are in the programme and people have paid good money to hear the listed contestants.

Bass drones
Between tunes there was plenty of time to catch up with old acquaintances and to discuss the state of the piping world and the issues which beset it.

One comment I heard a few times, and one that I share, is that we are now in the era of what adjudicator Peter Hunt calls the Pavarotti Pipe. Pray elucidate I hear you say. Well, was not the great Luciano one the ‘Three Tenors’? In other words, where have all the bass drones gone?

So neutered are our ultra steady pipes that we are simply not hearing the depth a good bass gives us. Synthetic reeds need to mirror the harmonics of cane. The less they do so, the more they are moving us away from what a Great Highland Bagpipe should sound like.

It is a creeping prevalence, ears becoming inured and converted to the Pavarotti Pipe. Judges must consider depth of sound not just steadiness if we are to reset the dial.

Looking back on last week, the Northern Meeting Piping Committee are to be congratulated on hosting another successful event. It was a fine advert for piping. The pipers played their part too, not only in their performances but in their demeanour and professional appearance – jackets, bonnets, shining brogues and pipes.

Inverness 2026 is on September 3 and 4. Get those set tunes moving and the tickets booked.

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