We continue with our article from the Oban Times of early September 1981. It is by Alfred Morrison, their piping correspondent at the time. He continues his examination of the performances in that year’s competition for the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal…..
The next player was P/M Gavin Stoddart who has had a successful a successful season as a competing piper. He was asked to play the Fingerlock. He had my sympathy because this is a tune which to me has neither music nor rhythm. It sounds more like a finger exercise on the bottom hand. I am sure Gavin dealt with it as competently as anyone could. His pipe was good and his finger work was excellent and he completed the job hand carefully and correctly.
Robert Barnes, who is teaching piping in Oman, followed to play the King’s Taxes. He had an unsteady pipe but his phrasing and timing of the ground were excellent. The variations followed in the same vein and it was clearly evident that Robert knew his tune. His crunluath finish was both excellently timed and executed and this was a tune which had risen to a high standard.
The next player was Ronald MacShannon from Campbeltown. Ronald had possibly the best pipe of the day. His tune was Black Donald’s March. His ground was slow, again resting on the low As too long. He was also guilty of the same error in the variations. He played the variations in 2/4 time instead of 4/4 time, a common mistake made with this tune. He was labouring in the crunluath a mach and had some misses.
Patricia Henderson came on to play A Flame of Wrath for Squinting Patrick. She had a high pitched chanter which she seemed to be overblowing. She was inclined to rush the echo on the B note. In her desire to get as much of the wrath into the variations, she inclined to overdo it and consequently the variations were fast. She timed her crunluath well and her fingering was good.
She was followed by P/M Iain Morrison who was given the Prince’s Salute. Iain, as usual, had a most melodious pipe. His ground was excellently phrased and one got the feeling this was going to be a musical performance. He played the variation as it was taught by Alexander Cameron without the F note at the end of each line. This is done from the ground onwards. One could hardly fault this tune as it was a musical performance from start to finish. His crunluath was well nigh perfect. This tune was one of the highlights of the day.
He was followed by Jakez Pincet from Brittany and his task was A Flame of Wrath. He had a nicely balanced pipe although it was somewhat sharp. He had some trouble with his finger work as he squealed in the first line and when he repeated this in the second line he realised it was of little avail to carry on.
He was followed by P/M Evan Macrae who is the schools piping instructor in the Lochaber area. As is his custom, Evan had a most musical pipe and he was asked to play the King’s Taxes. His phrasing of the ground and his timing were identical to that of Robert Barnes. The variations followed in the same way, musically expressed and presented. This was a good tune but it was slightly marred by Evan hanging too long on the Bs and Ds in the crunluath movement. This had the effect of making the crunluath sluggish.
Robert Wallace, one of the partners of the Grainger and Campbell pipe-making firm, was second last to play. His tune was Clan Campbell’s Gathering. His pipe was tuneful and his ground was musically played. This is a tune one would expect for a beginner rather than a Gold Medal competition. Robert’s execution was faultless and his phrasing was good. His crunluath finish was excellent and this was a performance which merited commendation.
The last player to appear before the judges was Dugald MacNeill who is now resident in Edinburgh. His tune was the End of the Great Bridge. He had difficulty in bringing his pipe into tune and this put him at a disadvantage. One could get the impression that he was not quite familiar with the tune as it was played in an over-cautious manner and there was no flow, with the result that the lament was completely lost. His crunluath a mach was too crushed.
Sixteen competitors entered and played in the competition. The judges did not take long to arrive at a decision. On the whole the standard was not a high one, apart from three or four tunes, and the final placings emerged thus:
1 P/M Gavin Stoddart 2 P/M Iain Morrison 3 Tom Speirs 4 Dr Jack Taylor. The judges were P/M Ronald MacCallum MBE, P/M and Captain Andrew Pitkeathly; P/M and Captain John MacLellan.
- To be continued. Read the first excerpt here.
Classic Piobaireachd (Vol.3 M-Y): Lessons on Great Tunes
Another batch of the great tunes from the ceol mor canon. As before, each tune is played in full, without interruption, on the practice chanter by piobaireachd Gold Medallist Robert Wallace. This means that the student can play along whilst following the music and learn the subtle phrasing and expression so important in this music. There is no assertion that this is the only way to play these tunes. Need sheet music? All tunes available from the Piobaireachd Society shop https://www.piobaireachd.co.uk/shop
