A whirlwind of a summer
Ok, so I think the Keydet Piper may now have returned to blogging, after taking it easy for a few months. The reason for my absence is one of simple distraction (see point #4 below). I’m not promising to return to as full a blogging schedule as I’ve maintained at some points in the past, but I hope to be able to get some posts up on a somewhat more regular basis. There’s a few things that have occurred during my absence that I’d like to address.
1. The Piobaireachd Wednesday feature was proving to be pretty popular, and I’d like to resume work on that. I don’t foresee it being a regular weekly thing, but whenever I come across a good recording or manage to record some myself I’ll be sure to post it.
Speaking of that, here’s one to hold you over. I’ve been holding on to a stack of recordings I made at the USPF Amateur Piping Championship back in June, and this was the winning piobaireachd. The player is Kirk Brunson from Derry, New Hampshire, and the tune is Lament for Donald of Lagaan; he gives a very good account of this tune.
Kirk also won the MSR at this contest, making him the overall winner of the championship. Well done to him, certainly.
2. The Worlds happened a few weeks back, and Field Marshal Montgomery once again emerged on top, winning both the medley and the MSR. I wasn’t able to watch as much of the coverage as I would have liked, but I’ve listened to a lot of the recordings that are posted at the above link, and as usual Field Marshal put on a top-notch performance. The medley contest was actually really great, and commentator Bob Worrall kept commenting about the number of bands that played well.
In my mind the big story was ScottishPower, who put in a dynamite medley performance and ended the day in a solid second place. Their medley started with The Battle of Waterloo, which is one of those tunes that pretty much everyone plays, and showing (again) that a flashy medley opener is not required to contend as a top-tier grade 1 band.
Also check out a great medley performance from Boghall and Bathgate, and just to stir up some controversy here’s the medley entry from Toronto Police.
3. We’ve also seen the Argyllshire Gathering happen, with the Gold Medal there going to Finlay Johnston from Glasgow. The other top prizes at this contest went to Peter McCalister (Silver Medal), Stuart Liddell (Senior Piobaireachd), and Gordon Walker (Silver Star Former Winners’ MSR, the seventh time he’s won it). I haven’t heard any of these performances, but keep an eye on Pipeline over the next few weeks, and hopefully they’ll have some recordings. Also keep an eye out for the Northern Meeting, which takes place later this week.
4. Holy crap I’ve moved. In my last post of any substance, I announced that I was moving west, and I’ve now had a little time to get my feet under me here in Oregon. I missed the end of the local piping season, but I’m looking forward to next year to see what it’s all about. I’ve heard the level of play here is very high, brought up significantly by the proximity to the grade 1 powers Simon Fraser University and Triumph Street. I don’t know about solo competitions in 2013, but I’ll do my best to join up with the Portland Metro Pipe Band.
So stay tuned (in all senses of the word), and hopefully you’ll see some more bagpipe-related content coming at you from the Keydet Piper blog.
Special Piobaireachd Friday: Caber Feidh Gu Brath
Consider yourselves lucky, piobaireachd fans: this is your second tune this week, and it comes from an undisputed master of the genre: Roddy MacLeod. Roddy’s instructing this week at a piping school in Virginia, and in an informal recital on Tuesday evening played the Donald MacLeod tune Caber Feidh Gu Brath. You can always count on him to have a great bagpipe, and the playing was fantastic.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what bagpipes are supposed to sound like.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Special Piobaireachd Tuesday: Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon
I’m away at piping school this week, and able to record some really good stuff. Piobaireachd Wednesday will be replaced this week by Piobaireachd Tuesday and Piobaireachd Friday, so check back Friday morning for another tune.
The first bonus tune this week is Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon, played by Glenn Brown in an informal instructor’s recital on Monday evening. Glenn is an instructor at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, though he’s originally from Ontario. As you can tell he’s a great player, and it was a very enjoyable tune to hear in person.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: The MacGregor’s Salute
Our tune this week once again comes from The Captain’s Corner, and was recorded at the 2010 George Sherriff Memorial Competition in Hamilton, Ontario. The winning piobaireachd was The MacGregor’s Salute, played by Andrew Laird.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Salute to the Great Pipe
Our tune this week was picked off of The Captain’s Corner blog, where I’ve found some great piobaireachd recordings. This was recorded at the Captain John MacLellan Recital in Edinburgh on October 15, 2011. Salute to the Great Pipe is the tune, a composition by the event’s namesake, and the player needs little introduction: Roddy MacLeod, MBE.
Sheet music for the tune can also be found through The Captain’s Corner site.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Sir James MacDonald of Isles’ Lament
Delving back into the results from the spring 2012 BagpipeLessons.com Online Piping Competition, our tune this week is one of my favorite wee tunes: Sir James MacDonald of the Isles’ Lament. It’s not very long, but it’s very melodic and very enjoyable to play. The player is Soren Larson, and this performance earned him 3rd place in the grade 3 piobaireachd event.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: I Got A Kiss of the King’s Hand
For our tune this week, I’m again using a video recorded at a reglar match meeting of The Eagle Pipers’ Society. The player is Iain Spiers, the tune is I Got A Kiss of the King’s Hand, and the recording was made on October 25, 2011.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Macintosh of Borlum’s Salute
For our tune this week, I’ve selected one of 2012′s Gold Medal tunes: Macintosh of Borlum’s Salute. The player is Canadian Andy Rogers, playing at a regular meeting of the Eagle Pipers’ Society in Edinburgh in January of this year.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Massacre of Glencoe
In crawling the web this week looking for a tune, I once again found myself at Ken “The Captain” Eller’s page: The Captain’s Corner. Ken has been piping for more years than I’ve been living, and is well-known as a teacher and judge in Ontario. He manages to make great recordings of some of the high-profile amateur contests in eastern Canada, and it was one of these that he posted that I’ve decided to share this week.
The tune is the Massacre of Glencoe, recorded at the George Sherriff Memorial Competition in 2010. The piper is Glenn Walpole, at the time one of the top amateurs in the region; he now plays in the professional ranks. I think you’ll agree that he does a pretty nice job with this tune. This performance earned him second place in the piobaireachd contest, and was the overall runner-up.
This tune is one that has some sentimental value to me, for two reasons. First, I played this tune for most contests in my final year in grade 2, and I think it was pretty important in helping me move up from there. The second reason goes back to the years between 2003 and 2006, when I played with the Macdonald Pipe Band in Pittsburgh, PA. Members of the MacDonald clan were on the receiving end of the massacre, and the slow air version of the tune was part of our show repertoire. It was in that band that I got my start as a solo competitor, and I owe a lot of my piping obsession to the time I spent in that band and the friends I still have there.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Pibroch (Cap in Hand)
We’re taking a step away from the usual format of Piobaireachd Wednesday this week with an installment from great English rock band Jethro Tull. This track is entitled Pibroch (Cap in Hand), and is from their 1977 album Songs from the Wood. It’s interesting, I’ll grant you that, and I think is worth listening to at least once.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: The Stewarts White Banner
For our tune this week, I’ve chosen to present another recording made by my friend John Daggett at the Metro Cup in February. The piper is one of my favorites, and no doubt one of the best on the solo competition scene over the past few years: Stuart Liddell. His tune is The Stewarts White Banner.
To see more of why Stuart is one of my favorite pipers, check out this, this, and this.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: The Unjust Incarceration
I apologize for the late update this week; I’ve switched back to night shift at work and it’s interfered with my sense of time.
Last week I shared an entry from the most recent incarnation of Jori Chisholm’s online competition, and this week I present the next tune in the prize list in that same event. This was the second place performance in the grade 1 piobaireachd. The piper is Bill Peters, and he’s playing The Unjust Incarceration. I don’t know Bill, but he clearly knows his way around piobaireachd. The tune starts around 2:00 into the video if you’d like to skip the tuning.
This tune has one of those most excellent piobaireachd titles, and I did a little poking around to find out the background of the tune. A quick internet search turned up an article (in pdf format) written by Brett Tidswell at the School of Piping in Australia.
This was composed by the famous blind piper of Gairloch, Iain Dall MacKay, who we know lived from 1656 to 1754. The tune tells the story of Neil, the eldest son of the seventh chief of the MacKays of Strathnaver who was incarcerated on Bass Rock a tiny island off East Lothian for nine years from 1427, by King James I. In his efforts to control the Highland Clans, James had called a parliament in Inverness and when they arrived James had many of the Clan Chiefs executed or placed in “safe keeping” in various jails or strongholds throughout Scotland. Neil escaped after James was executed in 1436.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: McIntosh’s Lament
Our tune this week was sent in by Australian piper Stephen Ross. I featured one of Stephen’s tunes before, from Jori Chisholm’s online competition a few months ago, and he sent me his entry in thee most recent online competition. He’s chosen to play McIntosh’s Lament, which he does quite a nice job with. Except, as he says, for “one big boob at the end of a part,” I think you’ll agree this is quite a nice tune.
This performance earned him third place in the grade 1 piobaireachd. Stephen kindly offered to share his comment sheet, which can be found here. He offered these comments by email:
I would agree with the comments. And I was getting tired by the end – 16 minutes of Piob playing after tune up is actually quite a challenge for blowing and concentration – new found admiration for the Professional – makes light music a breeze
The length of the tune is indeed one of the challenge of playing piobaireachd, but it’s also one of the things that make it great. Thanks again for sharing Stephen, and well played.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Beloved Scotland
Our tune this week again comes from the amateur competition at the Metro Cup, held in Newark, NJ on February 18. The piper is a friend of mine, Avens Ridgeway, who hails from Union, Maine and currently studies at Lyon College in Batesville, AR. Here is her bio from the Metro Cup program:
Avens Ridgeway is from Union, Maine and is a sophomore majoring in Psychology and Music at Lyon College. She played with the Grade 2 Stuart Highlanders Pipe Band from Massachusetts during 2010. Avens is currently a Grade 1 solo competitor in the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association. She competes throughout the U.S. and in Canada as well. Some of her accomplishments include winning the Grade 1 Piobaireachd at the Glengarry Highland Games in Ontario, Canada and winning the Piobaireachd at the United States Piping Foundation in 2009. She also has been invited to the Nicol-Brown Challenge where she placed 4th overall. Avens has had Piobaireachd instruction from Jimmy McIntosh and primarily studied with Nancy Tunnicliffe before coming to Lyon, where she now studies with Jimmy Bell.
Avens’ tune for the competition was Beloved Scotland, which has one of the most distinctive opening lines of any tune I’ve ever heard. A further interesting note is that the judge for the contest is Glenn Brown, who played Beloved Scotland to win his Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting in Inverness in 2009.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon
This tune was sent to me by Sean Regan, who is a friend of mine and rather a piobaireachd fan. He recently represented the Ohio Valley branch of the EUSPBA in the Pipe Major George M. Bell amateur competition at The Metro Cup, and placed third in the piobaireachd event with this tune. Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon is a classic, and I think you’ll agree that Sean does a fine job with it.
If you’d like to submit a tune for Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Desperate Battle of the Birds
Last weekend was the Metro Cup, one of the premier piping events in North America. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend, but from all reports there was some fantastic piping to be had.
Our Piobaireachd Wednesday tune for today was recorded at that event. The player is Bobby Durning, a young piper from New Jersey, who has competed at the Metro Cup several times as an amateur and this year made his debut in the professional competition. His tune was Desperate Battle of the Birds, one of my favorite tunes, and I think you’ll agree he had a pretty good run at it.
This performance earned Bobby sixth place, which is not too shabby if you consider the rest of the prize list, who you may be hearing from a bit later: Angus MacColl, Stuart Liddell, Alex Gandy, Chris Armstrong, and Bruce Gandy. Well done, Bobby, for rounding out such a distinguished prize list, and congratulations on a great performance in your first Metro Cup as a professional.
Thanks to my friend John Daggett for recording the video. He sends his apologies for the poor video quality, but the sound is what matters here on Piobaireachd Wednesday, and that came out pretty well.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: My Dearest On Earth Give Me Your Kiss
This is the final tune from the Gold Medal competition at Winter Storm 2012, and it was the tune that won the contest. Alex Gandy is the player, and he’s a pretty well-known player in the North American piping scene. He is the son of Bruce Gandy, an excellent piper himself, and Alex has established himself as a top-flight soloist. He’s also recently taken over as the pipe major of the 78th Highlanders Halifax Citadel Pipe Band, making him one of the youngest ever to hold that position in a grade 1 band.
His winning tune was My Dearest On Earth Give Me Your Kiss, which is presented without further comment.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Lament for Captain Donald MacKenzie
Continuing our trek through the prize list from the Gold Medal at Winter Storm 2012, our tune this week comes from Jori Chisholm. Jori has made quite a name for himself as a player, both as a soloist and with the world champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, and also as a piping teacher. He’s the piper behind BagpipeLessons.com, and I believe I am correct in saying that he was the first piper to offer lessons over the internet. In 2011 he launched a series of online piping competitions that attracted entries from pipers and judges all over the world; he has also announced another one for spring 2012.
His second place tune at Winter Storm was Lament for Captain Donald MacKenzie, which was the same tune you heard in the last installment by Alastair Lee. That’s one of the drawbacks of having limited choices of tunes, but it’s a good chance to compare how it’s played.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Lament for Captain Donald MacKenzie
If you haven’t had your fill of Winter Storm piobaireachd, you’re in luck. After working through the Silver Medal prize list, I’m please to offer you the top three finishers in the Gold Medal. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see all of the performances, but a friend of mine was able to record them and has shared the recordings with me to use for Piobaireachd Wednesday.
Be prepared for a good sit, because the Gold Medal tunes are pretty substantial this year.
We start today with the third place tune, Lament for Captain Donald MacKenzie, played by Alastair Lee. Alastair is, I believe, the son of Terry Lee, pipe major of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band. Alastair plays with that band, and has distinguished himself as a solo competitor as well.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: The Bicker
This is the first of the series of Piobaireachd Wednesdays resulting from my visit to Winter Storm on the weekend of January 13-14, 2012. I was able to watch the U.S. Silver Medal almost in its entirety; I heard and recorded 17 competitors. I won’t post all of the recordings here (as I mentioned before the tune selection was not widely varied), but I will post the prize list. The top five players ended up playing four different tunes, so I figured the repetition would be minimal there.
Our tune this week is the tune that won the Silver Medal: The Bicker. The player is Colin Clansey, who is from Kingston, Ontario. Colin has been a consistent prizewinner in the Ontario piping scene for at least several years, and according to what I was able to turn up with a few minutes on the internet is that he is the pipe major of the grade 2 Glengarry Pipe Band. This was really a great tune, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing it person. I hope you enjoy it as well.
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
Piobaireachd Wednesday Bonus: Catherine’s Lament
This is the next of the series of Piobaireachd Wednesdays resulting from my visit to Winter Storm on the weekend of January 13-14, 2012. I was able to watch the U.S. Silver Medal almost in its entirety; I heard and recorded 17 competitors. I won’t post all of the recordings here (as I mentioned before the tune selection was not widely varied), but I will post the prize list. The top five players ended up playing four different tunes, so I figured the repetition would be minimal there.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Lament for Donald of Laggan
This is the next of the series of Piobaireachd Wednesdays resulting from my visit to Winter Storm on the weekend of January 13-14, 2012. I was able to watch the U.S. Silver Medal almost in its entirety; I heard and recorded 17 competitors. I won’t post all of the recordings here (as I mentioned before the tune selection was not widely varied), but I will post the prize list. The top five players ended up playing four different tunes, so I figured the repetition would be minimal there.
Piobaireachd Wednesday Bonus: You’re Welcome, Ewan Lochiel
This is the next of the series of Piobaireachd Wednesdays resulting from my visit to Winter Storm on the weekend of January 13-14, 2012. I was able to watch the U.S. Silver Medal almost in its entirety; I heard and recorded 17 competitors. I won’t post all of the recordings here (as I mentioned before the tune selection was not widely varied), but I will post the prize list. The top five players ended up playing four different tunes, so I figured the repetition would be minimal there.
Piobaireachd Wednesday: Catherine’s Lament
This is the first of the series of Piobaireachd Wednesdays resulting from my visit to Winter Storm on the weekend of January 13-14, 2012. I was able to watch the U.S. Silver Medal almost in its entirety; I heard and recorded 17 competitors. I won’t post all of the recordings here (as I mentioned before the tune selection was not widely varied), but I will post the prize list. The top five players ended up playing four different tunes, so I figured the repetition would be minimal there.
Working up the prize list, our fist tune is Catherine’s Lament. The player is Jamie Troy from Victoria, British Columbia. Jamie is also an accomplished drummer, having played snare with the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band when they competed at the Worlds in 2008. As you can tell from this recording, he knows a few things about piobaireachd as well; this solid performance earned him fifth place. Enjoy!
If you’d like to submit a tune to be featured on Piobaireachd Wednesday, please email me.
