I am not sure the prestige of Inveraray Games is helped by the pipers being given their piobaireachd a week before the contest. It makes things easier all round for the competitors but is much less of a test. Compare it with Braemar where it’s eight tunes, the chosen piece given at the bench. Promoters often justify the ‘early tune’ decision by saying it cuts down the number of breakdowns….
David Hester of the Alt Pibroch website has been in touch following my article on judging and subsequent comments on Donald MacDonald. David: Two quick questions, just for the purpose of me gaining a bit of insight and better sensitivity to the idiom: 1) What is particularly poor about the fare of the MacDonald book and manuscript? Is it missing something, for example? Are the pibrochs chosen too massive? Some…
A warm, sunny day and a high standard of play. Apart from the solo piping boards, the large crowd was entertained royally by Oban High School Pipe Band under P/M Angus MacColl Snr. and the Mull & Iona Pipe Band under P/M Neil MacCallum. Angus is pictured above on his way to glory in the ceol mor. Piobaireachd (three tunes asked for and given and selected tune given at the…
The Masters of Piobaireachd series comprising 10 CDs was an initiative of Norman Matheson and Robert Wallace. As each CD was released, Norman sent a copy to the late James Campbell who responded with letters of analytical content, extracts of which appeared in Piping Press from March 2015. For those pipers who have the CD collection, the letters are of interest, and to retain them along with their collection would be…
The vast majority of the hundreds of readers who responded to our poll on minor band contests are concerned about the lack of support these events are getting. And they are calling on Grade 1 and Grade 2 bands – and the RSPBA – to do more to help. In answer to our question ‘Do Grade 1 & 2 bands have a duty to support the smaller competitions and Highland…
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