Last weekend’s recital held in the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen was well attended, with a close to capacity crowd of 60, writes Fraser Maitland, Chairman of Aberdeen Piping Society.
The crowd suggested that there is a real appetite for live piping in the city. These events are still well received here in Aberdeen.
One of our young pipers Murray Barclay, kicked off the night with some traditional marches. He has had an interesting start to his piping career. He’s already played for the HM The King, Princess Anne, and even US President Donald Trump, and now, to cap it all, Duncan Watson!
Ben played everything on a solid pipe. His tune selection showed a thoughtful approach, and his nod to Gordon Duncan was in great taste and well received by the audience.
He played the piobaireachd the Blue Ribbon in its entirety, and the piobaireachd song version of I Got a Kiss of the King’s Hand, plus several other sets of quality light music.
I thought it might be nice to get the recitalist’s point of view, so I asked Ben, modest though he is, for his views on the evening. Afterwards he told me:
‘I tried to link in tunes with Gordon Highlander themes including the 92nd Quickstep, the Heights of Dargai and the Battle of Waterloo which connects both the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the Gordons.
A short clip from Ben’s performance….
‘With GS McLennan being an Edinburgh born man, later settling in Aberdeen, I tried to link the cities with his and other tunes, for example, the Little Cascade (in both its original form and in jig time), Mrs MacPherson of Inveran in jig time, the Bob o’ Fettercairn, Lonach Gathering, Queen’s Edinburgh Rifles (Wm Sinclair) and the Duchess of Edinburgh.
‘I added the Gordon Duncan set to honour the 20 years since his tragic passing. My 9/8 march and jigs set, beginning with Brigadier David Allfrey’s Farewell to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, was a nod to my old regiment.
‘I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Playing in such an elegant and intimate setting was perfect for a piping recital.’
- The Aberdeen Piping Society (TAPS) meet on the last Wednesday of every month at 7pm at the Aberdeen Squash and Racketball Club. All welcome.
