More from maestro P/M Donald MacLeod in these excerpts from the historic recording made at an impromptu recital given in Seattle, WA, in 1955 whilst Donald was on a tour of the western US and Canada.
I reckon Donald would have been in his early 30s at the time of the recital. On leaving the Army he joined the firm of Grainger and Campbell in Glasgow with John MacFadyen as his partner.
By the Editor
It is from this time that he began his classic collection of ceòl beag books known to pipers around the world and bringing him even greater fame than he had as a player and winner of innumerable medals and trophies.
Readers will be familiar with his own tunes such as Malcolm Ferguson, Crossing the Minch and P/M GS Allan which we hear in the recordings below.
Donald gets into the really heavy March, Strathspeys and Reels too with Donald Cameron, Captain Carswell, John MacDonald of Glencoe and Cameronian Rant.
The music starts about one minute in on the first two clips:
To finish his recital he gives a brilliant display of strathspey and reel playing including his own setting of John Roy Stewart and the Traditional Reel, not yet four parts, the Sheepwife and the Smith of Chilliechassie:
- We are grateful to Jack Lee, British Columbia, for forwarding these unique recordings.
