Category: History

New Books Available for Free Download

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Today we make available two books which will be of interest to piobaireachd enthusiasts. The first is a copy of the Gesto Canntaireachd first issued in 1828 and compiled by Captain Niel Macleod of Gesto from tunes taken from ‘John MacCrimmon’. The second is P/M William MacLean’s transliteration of this book into staff notation. Read more about the pipe major and his work here. He is pictured above. Both books…

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Letters: Highland Division in North Africa etc

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Four new letters published this morning. They include this very interesting poster from reader Maurie de Hayr in Australia: We’d be interested to know if anyone can identify the pipers on parade, and there may even be someone out there whose father or grandfather or other relative played with the Highland Division in North Africa. Please contact us if you have any information or other photographs. The three other letters concern…

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Strathclyde Police at Cowal Gathering

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The above picture shows the front rank of the all-conquering Strathclyde Police Pipe Band in the 1980s playing up the road at the Cowal Games. It comes to us courtesy P/M Barry Donaldson, now of the City of Edinburgh Pipe Band. P/M Donaldson writes: ‘The picture shows the band parading up the street on the Saturday morning. The picture shows [left to right] P/M Ian McLellan, the late Harry McAleer, myself and…

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The Quality of Solo and Band Adjudication

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[wds id=”2″] Robert Wallace: This quiet period in the piping and pipe band season affords an opportunity to look back through old documents and magazines. Many’s the pleasant hour can be spent thus engaged. I thought I’d share this excerpt from the ‘Piping and Dancing’ magazine of September 1939 with our readers.  Some reflections on it tomorrow, time permitting. There are wonderful film clips of Cowal in the 30s on British…

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James Campbell, Kilberry: Letters – Part 1

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Today, in an important series exclusive to pipingpress.com, we have the first excerpt from articles by piobaireachd scholar and senior adjudicator, Norman Matheson, Aberdeen. They are based on correspondence he had with ceol mor authority James Campbell, Kilberry, between 1997 and 2003. They concern piobaireachd playing in general, and in particular the production of the ‘Masters of Piobaireachd’ CD recordings of the playing of RU Brown and RB Nicol, Balmoral, and contain…

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