A new book of piobaireachd music is to be launched at the Piobaireachd Society Conference at the end of this month. ‘Pipers Meeting’ (the title comes from one of the tunes) is taken from the Campbell Canntaireachd manuscript and many of the tunes have never been published in staff notation before. The book’s compilers are Patrick Molard and Dr Jack Taylor, friends and students of the ‘Bobs of Balmoral’, RU…
Writing of Dr John MacAskill’s self-penned piobaireachd on Friday served as a reminder of the current impetus there is behind ‘modern’ ceol mor. At the end of the month we will have the Donald MacLeod Memorial contest in Stornoway (see banner ad.) where his music will be enjoyed once more by the large crowd. Donald’s tunes feature in this year’s Silver Medal lists too, and other modern tunes such as…
Gaelic broadcaster, writer and photographer, Cailean Maclean has unearthed a new piobaireachd composed by the late Dr John MacAskill. What’s more he has provided a copy of the tune and a recording of the writer playing it. Dr John, who died in 2003, was a renowned composer of such ceol beag masterpieces as the reel Lexie MacAskill and an article on him featured earlier in Piping Press. Cailean writes: ‘Dr John…
The 5th Annual competition moves to James Gillespie’s High School in Edinburgh this Sunday (12th March) for the annual competition. There will be over 80 performances with a record 81 bands, 11 quartets and freestyle ensembles in a variety of categories ranging from piping quartets for smaller groups to the top Juvenile bands going head to head for the Grand Prix. Bands from all over Scotland and the north of…
Some members of the old guard may be beating a selective and not too dignified retreat from the professional solo board, but any idea that the two late withdrawals from Saturday’s invitational Uist & Barra competition would somehow leave an unfillable performance vacuum should be dismissed forthwith. There is a phalanx of excellence taking over the solo piping scene; a new generation of expert pipers is abroad, young, keen and able. Whilst…
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