Author: Duncan Watson

Review: ‘Over the Chindwin to Lochaber – A Scottish Piper’s Memoir’ by Pipe Major Evan Macrae BEM

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Evan Macrae was the Pipe Major in the Cameron Highlanders for 13 years and served in various theatres of war and conflicts including places in the Far East – but this is not a war book. It is an easy, pleasant read. Evan was born in 1922 and commences with his earliest memories as a young lad, one of a family of four. Despite knowing him, I was surprised to learn…

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The Northern Meeting and Questions over its Continued Presence at Eden Court Theatre

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This year, due to the pandemic, the sound of the Highland bagpipe did not reverberate through the walls of Eden Court Theatre, Inverness. The Northern Meeting competition, which is really the foremost in piping, did not take place as scheduled. And with various newspaper reports telling of the theatre’s financial woes, we are now concerned for next year too. Eden Court has been the home of the ‘Meetings’ for a…

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P/M Niall Matheson’s New Tune for the 51st Highland Division

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It seems that with this fallow period in piping and pipe band competition, when participants are stuck at home, capable pipers with fertile minds have made good use of the time and turned to composition. The results are that we have many new piping pieces for us to study and play.    By Duncan Watson Some old tunes have certainly stood the test of time and doubtless some of the new ones will…

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Ian Fraser 1929 – 2020

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It is with sadness that it was learned that Ian Fraser, affectionately known as ‘The Sheriff’, passed away in a care home in Grantown-on-Spey, Moray. Ian had celebrated his 90th birthday in December 2019. For many years he had a small agricultural holding at West Forigen, near Carrbridge, Inverness-shire. His parents had been there before he took over its running. His piping teachers were among the best: Pipe Major William Ross…

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Be a Better Piper: Tuning Preludes Part 2

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Piper, teacher and adjudicator Duncan Watson follows up on the Editor’s earlier article on the subject of tuning preludes It seems that tuning preludes were of greater importance in piping in the past as examples appear in several publications. Mostly they comprise of fragments of variations from ceol mor. Probably the earliest reference we have is from Joseph MacDonald’s ‘Compleat Theory of the Scots Highland Bagpipe’ (c.1760) where it is…

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