Category: Reviews

Revisiting the Past: 2/4 Marches and a Letter from Archibald Campbell

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Until the advent of recordings, music was ephemeral. Performances faded from memory, save for occasional outstanding examples imprinted on our minds. Memories become clouded in time, however.  Historic recordings can remind us of what we heard in the past. I am old enough to detect that march playing has arguably deteriorated, even at the highest level.  I can assure readers this is not just a personal view – it is shared…

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Society Announce Line Up for Showpiece Annual Recital

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The Piobaireachd Society has announced the following pipers for its annual gala concert held each summer in Edinburgh. The pipers are Iain Speirs, Edinburgh, Dr Jack Taylor, Aboyne, Matt Pantaleoni, St Louis , Missouri, and Cameron May, Dillarburn, Lanarkshire. The venue is Edinburgh University’s beautiful St Cecilia’s Hall just off the Royal Mile. The date is August 11. Iain is one of the outstanding players of piobaireachd in world piping….

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Editor’s Notebook: 2/4 March Tempos/ Alastair MacQueen/ Bangor BB/ Pipe Band Gradings

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Further to my comment about the slow playing of 2/4 marches, and concerned that I was talking out of turn, I had a listen to a recording I made back in 1982. The tempo is more or less the same as Hugh MacInnes‘s. The tunes are Highland Wedding and Jeannie Carruthers: I then had a listen to a selection of marches from the PP archive and they all confirmed that…

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Readers’ Memories of P/M Hugh MacInnes

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Yesterday’s story and recordings about former light music champion piper Hugh MacInnes brought considerable response from readers. Many had fond memories of the man and his piping. The recordings we featured are now in the PP Audio archive and can be enjoyed again here. The first message was from Tom Johnstone: Hughie and I were both founder members of the Glasgow Skye Assoc. band back in 1967/8 and soon became…

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Recordings of P/M Hugh MacInnes from the 1980s

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We are very grateful to Jack Taylor for forwarding these two recordings of the late Hugh MacInnes. Hugh was an outstanding player of light music and winner of the Former Winners’ MSR at the Argyllshire Gathering. The recordings were found on a tape of a BBC programme that featured Hugh on ceòl beag and Andrew Wright on ceòl mòr, probably from the early 1980s. Hugh had an outstanding record in…

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