Northern Meeting Revisited – Part 2

For this article we have a review of the 2026 Clasp competition by adjudicator Dr Jack Taylor MBE. For some inexplicable reason the BBC chose not to record this world class event, opting instead for the light music. Their microphones missed some outstanding piping, none better than the performance by the winner, Callum Beaumont. Fortunately Callum had friends around who did the recording job for him and they have kindly forwarded us a copy….

The Clasp final had, for me, a sense of weariness this year.  No surprise, as the competitors had to raise their game twice.  Many, too, had played in the Former Winners’ Silver Star MSR the evening before.

Silver Star winner Chris Armstrong was on first. On a resonant, balanced pipe he gave us the seldom heard Beinn a Griain. His performance was well shaped and expressive with particularly sensitive shading in the ground, but the drones wandered from mid-tune.

By Dr Jack Taylor MBE

Iain Speirs gave his customary mellifluous treatment to Port Urlar. There was more lament than wildness in his approach, and perhaps he could have been more adventurous in his interpretation of that unusual variation one.

The Finger Lock demands adventure too. Alan Bevan’s ground was driven on, but could he have gone further to emulate Dr Roddy Ross’s famous ‘hakka’ demonstration?  By maintaining the dithis doubling tempo into the taorluath he kept interest. More sparkle maybe had he applied the same drive to the taorluath a mach as he did to the crunluath a mach. It was a perfectly fingered performance on a deep, resonant, true pipe.

Colin MacLellan struggled with a wayward outside tenor and stopped. 

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In contrast Stuart Liddell’s pipe was resonant, deep and rock solid. Somehow he didn’t manage to make Lament for the Earl of Antrim, good as it was, really sing. Weariness perhaps?

Angus MacColl’s Scarce of Fishing was good, with V1 maybe over-clipped. Interest was lost as the drones drifted.

The Sound of the Waves against Castle Duntroon is long and repetitive. The waves crashed well as Alasdair Henderson gave due attention to both long and short notes in the ground, and he kept this going well until tiring in the crunluath.

Jack Lee’s musicianship was in no doubt in Lady MacDonald’s Lament, but the effect was marred by some flawed high G and taorluath work, and a pipe with a disturbing overtone on high A.

How could one not inject emotion into a tune called My Dearest on Earth give me Your Kiss? – and Ian K MacDonald did just that. Lyrical and elegiac were my words. Perhaps cautious in tempo for some, but spacious for others, there was a smoothness throughout, enhanced by deep drones and a warm chanter sound. 

Lament for Macleod of Colbeck has a similar construction, but demands a bolder approach. Connor Sinclair achieved that well with a well rounded and expressive performance, disturbed only by mild tenor waver from mid-tune.

We had none other than the Phantom Piper of the Corrieyairack on the bench with us – Iain MacFadyen. His fingers were just so cold that day that he couldn’t play. So the pipes heard enabling the dinner to be hot as his army hiking detachment emerged from the mists of the Corrieyairack Pass, were phantom indeed.  Andrew Hayes’ interpretation of the tune marking the occasion was on point, but drifting drones and a lumpy crunluath movement were distracting.

The ‘big’ Nameless, cherede darievea, might be said to have emerged from the mists of the Campbell Cantaireachd to have become one of the finest and most popular pieces in the repertoire of top players.  Callum Beaumont’s interpretation was delicate and smooth, with particularly sensitive handling of passing notes and the approach to phrase endings, all complimented by his characteristically resonant, true pipe and immaculate fingerwork. Not a hint of weariness.

Result: 1 Callum Beaumont 2 Alan Bevan 3 Ian K MacDonald 4 Connor Sinclair 5 Iain Speirs

• Listen now to Callum’s winning performance…..

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