Category: Solo Piping

Irish Pipers and the Spanish Civil War/ Ross’s Xmas Song

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Reader Alastair MacGregor on ‘Irish Pipers and the Spanish Civil War’: ‘I nearly choked on my cornflakes last week when l saw the request for information on the Irish pipers who fought for Franco’s fascists in the Spanish Civil War. ‘There can be many reasons for historical research – lets hope it’s not based on ambivalence or indifference. I’m not surprised there is difficult in tracking down relatives. I’d be…

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Rare Picture, Campbells of Kilberry and the Founding of the Piobaireachd Society

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Together the two individuals in the above image helped change the course of piping history. Can you guess who they are? The handsome woman on the left is Lady Elspeth Campbell, and on the right John Campbell, Kilberry. I am indebted to his great-grandson, also John, and now the Piping Steward at the Argyllshire Gathering, for forwarding the photograph from his family collection. By Robert Wallace ‘It shows Lady Elspeth…

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Editor’s Notebook: Peter MacFarquhar/ Joint Committee/ J MacDonald Chanter/ Solo Drumming

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Reader Lawrence Macduff has forwarded this fine picture of Peter MacFarquhar, subject of our earlier story, and well known to pipers as the composer of the popular jig, Kenny Gillies of Portnalong. Lawrence writes: ‘Here’s the image of Peter and his second wife Jean, taken as I recall near Kensaleyre on July 4th, 1970, when I was visiting them at their home. ‘Peter, having retired from seafaring around 1969 (I…

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Balmoral Winter Workshop Announced/ Drumming Post at Highlands & Islands Schools

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Balmoral’s upcoming Winter Workshop will be a three-day remote-learning session held via Zoom, writes Elaine Lee. The cost is $275 USD. Students who refer new students to us will receive $50 off the price of the workshop for every new student referred. Instruction will be provided in small classes, as well as one-to-one sessions with instructors. Our exciting line up includes Robert Mathieson, Derek Midgley, and Andrew Carlisle Robert, from…

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South African Brothers to Publish ‘Binneas is Boreraig’ Using Conventional Stave

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Piobaireachd or Ceòl Mòr, often thought of as the classical music of the Scots Highland Bagpipe, was for centuries passed from master to pupil by chanting the tunes to one another, writes Pat Terry. From about the year 1800, attempts were made to find suitable variations on conventional staff notation to record the music for posterity. One of the more highly regarded of these attempts was published in the 1960s…

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