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Music in the Army,
In clan warfare the piper had been a key figure. He played on the actual
field of battle, In 1760 In defence of Quebec, General James Murrays
Highlanders were being beaten back, The pipers on being ordered to play,
the Highlanders returned and formed with great determination. we have
lots of stories of Pipers on the field of battle. There was George
Clark, at Vimeira in 1808 playing on the ground long after he had been
wounded in the groin. John MacLauchlan, the first man to reach the top
of the walls at Badajoz in 1812. He was killed in the following year,
while playing at Vittoria. Kenneth MacKay who played the old pibroch
Cogadh no Sith around the outside of the British Square at Waterloo, and
many many more.
Some writers seem to have assumed that
the piper playing on the field chose a particular tune that would be
know to the men: even a prescribed signal tune for the charge. In later
times, regiments did in fact specify tunes for this purpose, but whether
anyone remembered them in the heat of the moment is another matter.
After the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir in 1882. The Piper was asked what tune
he had played as they charged forward. He said, "I just played
"the Braies of Mar", and then anything that came into ma heid"
On manoevres, or in camp, however, tunes were laid down for the various
standing orders. The earliest know list of such tunes, dated 1778,
contains five pieces, all of which can be identified as pibrochs.
Gathering. was Coagive na Shea "War or Peace". Revellee was
Glais Vair. "The Finger Look". The Troop was Boadach na
brigishin "The carles with the breeks". Retreat was Gilly
Christie. "The raid of Kilchrist". and the Tatoo was Molly
defshit Mahary, "Mary's Praise".
They all knew that "The paramount
duty of the piper was indeed to play the men into battle and to keep
playing as long as he was able. Not until well into the First World War
did the authorities finally decide that pipers were too valuable in
their supporting role to be risked in the front line. As late as 1918 an
officer wrote that not only were pipers too difficult to replace,
but that also, "When the men heard the pipes they would lose
control of themselves, and in their eagerness to get forward would be
apt to rush into their own barrage.
When Highland soldiers began to be recruited into the army, whether
Scottish or English, pro-Government or rebel, pipers came with them.
This seems to be quite certain, and if the records of the fact are
patchy, it is most likely because the pipers existed on a semi-honorary
footing, paid by individual officers, and not on the official payrol.
The Scots Guards wrote in 1671. "With us any Captain may keep a
piper in his Company, and maintain him too, for no pay is allowed him -
perhaps just as much as he deserveth"
What is clear in all the early references
is that the pipers were posted as individuals, to different companies,
and this being so, it seems likely that for most of their duties they
would have played solo. It is equally clear that the authorities,
whether they liked them or not, accepted the pipers as essential, if
Highland soldiers were to be brought under military discipline. A
Captain was ordered to add a piper and a drummer to his corps, "as
the men could scarcely be brought to march without them.
it is interesting to find some degree of
uniformaiity between regiments, at least as regards the most - used
tunes. 'Reveille' is always 'Johnny Cope', the call to a meal,
especially breakfast, is 'brose and Butter', the March Past is often,
'Highland Laddie', marching out of the Barracks, 'MacDonal's awa' tae
the Wars', Lights Out, 'Soldier Lie doon'
DID YOU KNOW?
At one time, gunpowder was used to
determine the strength of Whisky,
Q. What's Black & Brown and looks
good on a piper?
A. A Doberman Pincher.
The Highland Dress and How to Wear it.
Kilt. If a
member of a clan possessing one or more tartans, such as
"clan," "hunting," or "dress," the person
should wear his own tartan either "clan," "hunting,"
or "dress," or a combination of the first two. Of course on
"dress occasions" the "dress" tartan is generally
worn. If belonging to a sept of any clan, he should wear the tartan of
the clan of which he is a sept, if the sept has no special tartan of its
own. If the sept has a special tartan, he should wear it. When the
wearer is entitled to both a "clan" and a "district"
tartan it is admissible to wear kilt and hose of the latter and doublet
or plaid of the former. It is not considered proper to combine either
"clan" or "hunting" tartan with "dress"
tartan. If one is to wear "dress" tartan, the kilt, plaid, and
hose must be uniform.
Favourite Champion pipers
WILLIAM McCALLUM, from Campbeltown, Argyllshire, he is
one of the most successful and versatile competitive pipers of his
generation. He was taught by his uncles Ronald and Hugh.
Willie McCallum’s competitive record is noted for its consistent
heights. Having won the gold medals at the Northern Meeting and
Argyllshire Gathering, he has gone on to win a string of prestigious
senior-level events, many of them several times over. He holds the
record of seven Glenfiddich Championship title wins.
He is one of the regular instructors at the Ontario School of Piping in
Aurora, Canada.
In addition to his five solo recordings, he is featured on 14 albums of
competition prize-winners.
RODDY MACLEOD is the
Principal of the National Piping Centre. He has won every solo piping
award including the Glenfiddich Piping Championships on three occasions,
Gold Medals at Oban and Inverness, Former Winners MSR at Oban and
Inverness, the Clasp at Inverness on two occasions and Bi-centenary
medal, the Silver Chanter on three occasions and the London Bratach Gorm
four times.
In 2003 he was awarded the MBE for services to piping and in 2004 he won
the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Music Award. He was Pipe Major of the
Scottish Power pipe band for 10 years from 1995 until 2005 during which
time the band appeared in the prize list of virtually every major Grade
1 championship.
Q. How many competition
Judges does it take to change a light Bulb?
A. None. But rest
assured they'll find something wrong with the way YOU do it.
Q. How many Scotsmen
does it take to change a Light Bulb?
A. Och! It's no
that Dark!
ALASDAIR GILLIES.
The
return of Alasdair Gillies to the top competition platforms at the
Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting this year represented an
about-
face in an apparent decision to quit top flight piping competition in
Scotland. Based in Pittsburgh, America since 1997 the competition
presence of the former pipe major of the Highlanders has been sorely
missed. And with three Glenfiddich championships and a record six MSR
wins under his belt already the incredibly consistent university piping
teacher is most certain to present a major challenge again this October
in what has been a long awaited return.
Alasdair Gillies takes his place at Glenfiddich 2007 courtesy of a win
in the Former Winners MSR at the Argyllshire Gathering but he proved
that he is in outstanding form at the top two meetings with a third in
the Senior Piobaireachd at Oban as well as a fourth in the Former
Winners event at Aviemore also. The fact that he has won a staggering 17
piping grand slam events (itself a record amongst today’s pipers) in
his career will ensure that his appearance is seen by all of the other
competing pipers as the man they have to beat.
Gillies started his piping as a boy under the guidance of his father,
Norman, a former pipe major of the 52nd Lowland Regiment and a top
competing piper in his own day. Born in Glasgow in 1963, he grew up in
Ullapool where his father was a schools piping teacher. His father’s
tuition proved to be his major influence although he did play under Andy
Venters in the Queens Own Highlanders Cadet Pipe Band and then when he
joined the army as a boy piper began an association with Iain Morrison
(both men were former pipe majors of the Queens Own Highlanders). In
1989 he started studying under Andrew Pitkeathly with whom he stayed
until Captain Pitkeathly’s death in 1994, In fact, Alasdair was to
learn about the great man’s death in tragic circumstances, turning up
at his house for a lesson only to be told the news.
Yet the biggest influence on a young Alasdair Gillies was more than
likely to be just the piping room of the Queens Own Highlanders which,
when he joined them from boy soldiers, was brim full of excellent pipers
including Pipe Major Nicky Gordon, Ally Reese, Bruce Hitchings and Peter
Fraser. There was a strong ethos of solo competition in what was known
to the other regiments of the time as the ‘Highland Mafia’ and there
is little doubt that service with the Queens Own Highlanders was the
best career path an army piper of that time could have.
Alasdair was to become pipe major of his regiment and also the first
pipe major of the new unit, The Highlanders, formed from the
amalgamation of the Queens Own and the Gordons. Yet the top job in army
piping, that of Director of Army Bagpipe Music, was curiously ruled out
of his future career path by the powers that be and in 1997 he left the
British Army to further his future as piping instructor at Carnegie
Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Alasdair is well known as an all-
round piper although he has set a record of 11 wins in the Northern
Meeting Former Winners MSR which may never be beaten. Key to his success
in this event is his amazing ability to phrase a March, pulling every
ounce of light and shade out. His tempos in March playing are notably
slower than his fellow competitors but in this genre he is the
undisputed king of the world. His amazing technical ability in
Strathspey playing allows him to give the long pulse notes maximum value
yet clip the shorter ones without losing any technical expression and in
Reel playing his driving rhythms are peerless.
Alasdair has also dabbled with serious pipe band playing and has had
spells with Grade 1 bands City of Glasgow and Scottish Power as well as
a cameo world championship appearance with the Queensland Police.
A major health scare just a couple of years back may well have
influenced Alasdair in his current approach to piping, or rather what
goals he sets for himself. That has seen his absence from the
Glenfiddich since 2004 and his admirers everywhere will be hoping that
he is back for good. The big stage has not been quite as grandiose
without him. By Bruce Campbell. www.pipingworld.co.uk
The MacCrimmons. Are
they the great pipers of the past???
Much stress has been
laid on the role of piping dynasties in the creation and dissemination
of the music but a good deal of our information, especially about the
earlier pipers, is at best approximate. The idea of families of
brilliantly endowed teachers and composers following one another in
strict succession back into the misty reaches of time fitted neatly into
the romanticised notion of Highland society which developed during the
nineteenth century: but the evidence is fragmentary and, for
times much earlier than about 1700, largely traditional. The
MacCrimmonds of Sky are nowadays regarded as piping's royal family, but
it was only from about the middle of the nineteenth century that they
began to appear routinely in written sources as pre-eminent players,
composers and teachers. The account was expanded by subsequent writers
step by step until it reached its current position in which they are
considered - on the basis of very little evidence - as the
leading composers of piobaireached and the inventors of the form.
Similarly, the MacCrimmon 'succession' was extended to push the
foundation of their college ever further back in time, and there was
much fanciful speculation about their origins - that they had originally
been Irish, Norse, or even Italian.
In the earliest
accounts of the music, only a handful of tunes are attributed to
MacCrimmon composers: but during the neneteenth and twentieth centuries,
the MacCrimmon 'repertoire' grew as many tunes connected with Skye or
the MacLeods were casually attributed to them. The competition
for the Silver Chanter, a leading invitational event held annually at
Dunvegan Castle, stipulates that contestants must play a 'MacCrimmon'
peobaireachd: but the tunes nowadays recognised as such have seldom any
tangible connection with the family.
Similarly, the 'MacCrimmon
crest' - 'a hand holding a pipe chanter, with a motto "Cogadh no
Sith" - Peace or war. The bearings on a
field argent, a chevron azure, charged with a lion passant or, between
three cross croslets fitchee, gules' - made its first appearance in the
Clans of the Scottish Highlands in 1847, and probably sprang from the
fertile brain of the book's compiler, Aberdonian journalist James Logan.
Yet there are references to MacCrimmon pipers in historical documents
from various parts of Scotland from the sixteenth century onwards. While
the succession in the important Skye familily is largely conjectural, we
know a good deal about at least one of its later member, namely Donald
Roy MacCrimmon who emigrated to Carolina and fought gallantly in the
American Wars of Independence, were he
cut his way through Parties of the Rebels, & eluded their pursuit
when 500 Dollars were offered for his Head. In the course of his Service
he personally wrested in single Combat their Swords from three Commanding
officers of the Enemy, laying their owners prostrate on the Earth, and
sized three Stand of Colours. He also at the head of six men compelled
the Surrender of a Privateer fully armed.
On his return to
Scotland, Donald Roy was involved in ultimately abortive attempts to
re-establish the MacCrimmon college on an official basis as an Army
School of Piping.
Bagpipes by numbers
1 Bagpipes developed independently in parts of Europe and the Middle
East around the same time. The earliest surviving written reference comes in the
writings of the Athenian poet Aristophanes, who disdainfully mentioned that the
pipers of Thebes played on instruments of dog skin and bone.
2 There are four vital components to modern pipes: a steady supply of
air delivered down the blowpipe; an airtight bag (originally made from animal
skin but now synthetic) which stores and controls the supply of air via
squeezing; the chanter or melody pipe, played by one or two hands; and the drone
a reeded pipe with a sliding joint to alter the pitch.
3 Bagpipes have long been popular as an instrument of war, both
scaring the enemy and boosting the morale of the pipers' own side. During the
Jacobite risings of 1745, possession of the pipes in Britain was punishable by
death.
4 After leaving university, Alastair Campbell later to be Tony Blair's
spinmeister-general busked his way round Europe with his bagpipes even basing an
erotic essay on the experience.
5 There are more bagpipe players and pipe bands in New Zealand than in
Scotland, largely as a result of Scottish migration in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
6 The bagpipes made an unlikely appearance in Friends when Ross,
played by David Scwhimmer, tried to learn to play them for his sister Monica's
wedding.
7 Because of their limited range of just nine notes bagpipers can play
only music specifically composed for the instrument. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
composed 'Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise' for the pipes in 1985 while musical
satirist Peter Schickele featured them as one of his six instruments for the
fictional PDQ Bach's Sinfonia Concertante.
8 The Emperor Nero was known not just for fiddling while Rome burned
but also for his love of bagpipes. According to Suetonius, he once showed
offered to play them in public after losing a poetry competition.
9 The noise of bagpipes can reach 111 decibels louder than a pneumatic
drill.
10 In 2005 army health and safety inspectors called for soldiers to
wear ear protectors while learning the instrument.
11 Bagpipes featured prominently on AC/DC's fist-pumping anthem It's a
Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock 'n' Roll). The track featured on their
three-million selling album High Voltage in 1976.
12 A mysterious bagpipe-wielding figure peers down from the central
panel of Hieronymous Bosch's 15th century triptych The Epiphany, observing,
apparently unseen, the Magi's adoration of the young Christ.
13 One of the earliest written records of the "great pipes" in
Scotland came in 1623 when a man was prosecuted in Perth for playing them on the
Sabbath.
14 The relationship between Cherie Blair and the Royal Family is said
not to have been improved by the famous Balmoral ritual of a bagpiper playing a
6am reveille.
15 King Rama VI of Thailand ordered that the Great Highland Bagpipe
replace the oboe as the official instrument of his elite Wild Tiger Corps.
16 An asthmatic teenager in Glasgow recently reported that his
breathing problems had been radically improved since taking up the instrument.
Scientists are investigating his claims.
17 The Gaida a form of bagpipes remains Bulgaria's national
instrument, and it is common both in orchestras and at weddings.
18 Bagpipe standard Amazing Grace is often hailed as the most covered
song in history, with more than 3,200 different recordings in existence . It was
played at the funerals of Presidents Kennedy and Nixon, Joe DiMaggio and Sonny
Bono.
19 The jazz musician Rufus Harley switched from saxophone to the
bagpipes after watching the Black Watch play at President Kennedy's funeral,
adapting the instrument to play jazz and blues.
20 Paul McCartney's bagpipe-based 'Mull of Kintyre' was his biggest
ever hit. The 1977 single sold over 2 million copies, outstripping anything he
had achieved with the Beatles and created the highest selling bagpipe track of
all time.
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