The annual Piobaireachd Masterclass was held at Cancale, Brittany, on Saturday, 12 September.
Seventeen participants of a variety of ages and expertise attended for a full day’s instruction, held on the day preceding the ‘Piobaireachd by the Sea’ recital.
By Bill Wotherspoon
I was joined by Patrick Molard who took the morning session and ably assisted me with translation in the afternoon. We took it in turns to explain the music and style we had both received in our early 20s from RB Nicol and RU Brown, the famous ‘Bobs of Balmoral’.
We concentrated on the tunes we ourselves were to play the following day – the Battle of Waternish and the Lament for Captain MacDougall. At the end of the afternoon session we invited the students to play the ground of their own tune and gave simple advice. It was heartening to hear how responsive they were.
The following day we attended the celebrated ‘Pibroch en Bord de Mer’, the 22nd iteration of the annual outdoor piobaireachd recital, open to anyone and everyone and all interspersed with suitable refreshment.
We had azure skies, turquoise sea and ideal warm conditions for the 32 participants playing a variety of tunes ranging from Lament for Donald of Laggan to the mighty Donald Gruamach’s March.
Some were old hands at this event, but this year there was a sizeable contingent of younger talent under the expert tutelage of Herve le Floc’h and Sylvain Hamon. Piobaireachd is certainly flourishing along traditional lines here.
A new granite sculpture was commissioned this year in recognition of the event and the photograph at the head of this article was taken at the unveiling ceremony with the Mayor of Cancale accompanied on the pipes by the artist, Perry Van Mulukom.
The event was rounded off in the late afternoon by a duet of the current President, Remy Le Castrec, and Jackez Pincet, whose original idea this unique event had been. They played the seldom heard tune, the Carles wi’ the Breeks.
A special thanks goes to the organising committee for their ceaseless help and catering.
