Reader Tom MacKenzie has written from Canada: ‘What was your source for the typeset version of the Campbell Canntaireachd in the article on the Lament for the Castle of Dunyveg? Having the ‘scientific notation’ with the canntaireachd is, I think, an excellent idea. Now I can sing the tune with the canntaireachd.
‘I have the ‘Pipers Meeting’ book by Patrick Molard and Jack Taylor, but the tune is not in there, and they do not notate the tunes with the canntaireachd.’
Jack, Music Editor for the Piobaireachd Society, responded: ‘I’m glad that you find Dunyveg from the CC to be of interest Tom. It is not in ‘Pipers Meeting’ because it is already published by the Piobaireachd Society, being referred to in the note in Book 1.
‘The tunes we put in the book were CC tunes not in the PS books. Patrick Molard interpreted the tune directly from the vocables, and I wrote out the score. Patrick plays the tune on the PS website.
‘We decided having the vocables underneath the music might clutter the book too much, but I can see the value in helping to decipher the code, and to sing – they are remarkably close to the singing and can help with rhythm and timing I think. Thanks for your interest.’
Here is a copy of the full tune in the Campbell Canntaireachd setting. It is set for the Silver Medal next year and it is recommended that those who submit this setting of the tune play the variations here noted.
The tune only has a ground and thumb variation in the original. Cadences marked with an asterisk are optional.
