Introduction The music you will hear today is something quite different from the majority of bagpipe music that you most people have heard before. Pipe band music, military tunes, slow airs and dance music, are referred to by pipers as light music or (in Gaelic) Ceòl Beag the Little Music. The music today is the Big Music - Ceòl Mòr sometimes simply called piobaireachd (pronounced pee-broch ). When the Highlands and Islands of Scotland adopted the bagpipe, perhaps some six hundred years ago, they began to develop the instrument and its music to suit their needs and tastes. What emerged was the instrument we know today as the Great Highland Bagpipe, and a form of music, piobaireachd, which is unique to that instrument. Some understanding of the make-up of the instrument is important to help the listener follow the music. The chanter only has 9 notes, with three drones tuned in octaves below the note pipers call low A - this is the A above middle C on the piano. The scale is thus roughly equivalent to A major, with a flattened 7 th (High G), and there is a note below low A which is called low G. When listening to tunes in the pentatonic key of A major the match between notes and drones will sound harmonious such as The Desperate Battle described below. When the tune is in another key such as G (e.g. MacLeod s Controversy ), the harmonics caused by the clash between the recurring notes, against the A of the drones, provides much drama. A third key is possible, namely D major, and this is rarer in the repertoire: The Lament for the Children is one example. The music consists of a theme (called the Ground ) and variations on this theme. The theme can express joy, sadness, or sometimes in the gathering tunes, a peremptory warning or call to arms. The theme is developed in a series of variations, which usually progress to the crunluath variation, where the piper s fingers give a dazzling technical display of embellishment using demi-semiquaver gracenotes. The peak of piobaireachd composition and teaching was arguably in the 16 th and 17 th centuries when the MacCrimmon family were hereditary pipers to the MacLeods of Dunvegan in Skye. The MacCrimmons and MacLeods are therefore frequently referred to in these notes, as the music charts important moments in the lives of both families. Composition however started long before then, and continues to the present day. The Piobaireachd Society was founded in 1901 to encourage the playing teaching and study of this music. This document explains what the listener may hear in today s tunes, and some of the legends that are told about each piece. Note that the legends surrounding tunes, and even the names themselves, may or may not have any basis in fact. Having said that many tunes have lovely, or inspiring, names. Pipers sometimes find it useful to consider the name when playing, or to allow the name of the tune to inspire an emotion, which they can then express in the music. However, Archibald
Campbell of Kilberry the most prolific editor of piobaireachd music in the 20 th century - expressed the view that the true guide is the music itself. Caber Feidh Caber Feidh is Gaelic for the deer s horns and describes the emblem of the Queen s Own Highlanders. The regiment was formed in 1961, with the amalgamation of 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders and 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. It is no longer in existence as a regiment during the Options for Change defence review (1994) the battalion was amalgamated with 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders to form the 1st Battalion, Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons), now referred to as the 4 th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regimental toast is, in full: Drink to the health of the Cabar Feidh and the first Regiment of Mackenzie! The land of hills, glens and heroes Where the ptarmigan thrives And where the red deer finds shelter; As long as mist hangs o er the mountains and water runs in the glens; May the deed of the brave be remembered And Health and Victory for ever be With the lads of the Caber Feidh! The Caber Feidh for ever! The name Caber Feidh has also been attached to a traditional tune which is in the modal key of G and has been transcribed as a march, strathspey, reel, and jig - this is an entirely different piece of music from that which you will hear today. The composer was Pipe Major Donald MacLeod, MBE (1917 1982) who served with the Queen s Own Highlanders. He joined the British Army in 1937, and went to France in 1940 with the 2nd Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders in the British Expeditionary Force. Captured as a prisoner of war during the surrender at St. Valery-en-Caux, he escaped during the march to Germany and returned to France in 1944 as Pipe-Major of the 7th Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders. His own piobaireachd compositions are being played more often nowadays for example being included in lists of tunes that can be submitted to the top piping competitions, and this one has even been played by a full pipe band in concert. Many of his tunes are full of simple melody, and this is a good example. It has a regular rhythm and two separate themes the second one mainly on the top hand of the chanter.
The Desperate Battle There is no certainty about the historical events associated with this tune, and many battles in Scottish history could be described at the time (or afterwards) as desperate. One legend refers to the battle of the North Inch of Perth in 1396. This was a judicial combat, where King Robert III had ordered 30 men from Clan Chattan to fight a pitched battle with 30 men from Clan Kay, to settle a long-running feud. A large crowd gathered to watch. The victors, Clan Chattan, killed all but one of their opponents, while losing 19 of their own men. An entirely different tune with the same title refers to the Battle of Cuillin in 1601 when many hundreds died in a bloody conflict between the MacDonalds and MacLeods. Others have looked to nature for the inspiration of the tune, and the most popular legend suggests the composer witnessed a desperate battle between two birds. He arranged the music to represent the order of battle, the stately Ground being the "challenge to fight." Thereafter fast and slower variations could refer to the triumphant and losing birds, alternately. Musically the tune is easy to follow, being in the pentatonic key of A major. The listener may be able to hear pecking or strutting noises in some of the variations. Alternate variations are meant to be played very briskly, so listeners should soon be able to perceive the structure of the tune. The last variation is very fast the crunluath-a-mach variation, where the listener will at times hear 17 demi-semiquavers played in a row, a feat which takes the piper approximately one second to achieve. The crunluath movement is discussed elsewhere in these notes, and the simple addition a-mach means going out. Like all piobaireachd, it is then traditional to return to the much slower Ground while the piper completes the piece. The Princes Salute This tune has long been popular with pipers who compete for the top prizes records show that it was offered by a player in the first of the Edinburgh competitions in 1784 and submitted very frequently thereafter. The tune was composed by John MacIntyre of Rannoch on the landing of James, Prince of Wales, in Britain in 1715. This the only tune of which we have a written record of a MacCrimmon playing. Alexander Campbell, the author of Albyn's Anthology visited Donald Ruadh MacCrimmon in Glenelg in 1813: "After a few glasses of his own good tody [sic], MacCrummin seized the pipe, put on his hat (his usual custom), breathed into the bag, tuned the drones to the chanter, gave a prelude in a style of brilliancy that flashed like lightening, and commenced "Failte Phrionnsah" in tones that spoke to the ear and affected the heart.
The tune has a Ground like every piobaireachd, then a Variation 1 which has a pendulum swing to it, and then progresses through a Taorluath Variation to the Crunluath. The meanings of the words Taorluath and Crunluath are uncertain, but may mean round fast and crowning fast. Variation 1 has in the past been the source of controversy. In the first publication of the Piobaireachd Society Collection (1905), the pendulum movement was written in the score as pointed down i.e. had the emphasis on low A, with the theme notes popping into the melody as short quavers. This is demonstrated in the handwritten book Binneas is Borreraig below note the book saved ink by discarding the lowest of the five lines on the stave meaning for example the first crotchet is low A. However, at the most important contest of that year, Pipe-Major George Allan played this variation up, where the low A notes were short and the theme notes long. As a result of his not playing by the book his prize was later withdrawn (though he was still given the prize money!) Luckily, the importance of playing by the book has long since faded, and pipers are now allowed more musical expression by judging teams, and ability to compete using any recognised version of the music. Beloved Scotland Nothing is known with any certainty about the historical background or date of composition of this lovely tune. In his notes to David Glen s Ancient Piobaireachd, the notes state Beloved Scotland, thee I am leaving This fine Pibroch is said to have been the favourite March of Sir Donald MacDonald of Slate (sic) when marching to the Battle of Sheriffmuir (1715). However, the above tale refers to a completely different tune, later published as Cheerful Scotland and later still as The Battle of Sheriffmuir. The tune you will hear today does not date from 1715 but is a relatively recent composition possibly 19 th century. The tune starts with a simple 2-bar theme which is then repeated in a different key. Looking at the tune as it appears in an early manuscript written by Duncan Campbell of Foss (1839-1924) it starts as follows:
This short extract neatly demonstrates that piobaireachd cannot easily be learned from the written score, but requires a teacher. It is very unlikely that you will hear the tune played like this today. Instead, most players have interpreted the theme as starting with two approximately crochet-length beats (A and E) and the next three quavers having a dotted rhythm, with a pause on the last note, as follows (adapted from David Glen's "Ancient Piobaireachd" published in 1880): There is no agreement however about how long any of these notes should be, and this variation in interpretation is one of the facets of piobaireachd playing. Each piper is taught by a teacher who himself (or herself) has been taught to play the repertoire in a certain manner. This aural tradition carried on with no reference to music on the stave for some centuries, until the music began to be written down in the 1800 s. The tune goes on to use all the nine notes of the bagpipe chanter in a lovely melody which rises slowly to the top note (an octave above the starting note, low A). The use of all the notes is an unusual occurrence, as most tunes have a pentatonic key that they stay in throughout for example using ACEFA only (such as the Desperate Battle ). C and F are sharps on the stave as shown in the excerpt above, though few examples of pipe music show them in the key signature. Thus when pipers talk about the note C the true note on the stave is really C sharp. MacLeod s Controversy This tune is one of a suite of pieces composed by Donald Mor MacCrimmon at the time of a reconciliation between the MacLeod and MacDonald clans (1602), when Donald Gorm was invited by Ruairidh Mór MacLeod to banquet in Dunvegan Castle. A powerful lower hand tune, it contains several instances of the Donald Mor run-down. This musical device was not exclusive to the composer, but was a favourite of his. There are various ways of playing it, one of which is as shown at a) below (from Angus MacKay s Collection of Ancient Piobaireachd published 1838). In this interpretation, the initial E note is held, and all others are short as the melody plunges down to low G in a dramatic flourish: a) b) c)
Version a) is perhaps the most popular way to play this, but there is no agreement on that - and pipers have free rein to do what they wish. Version b) is from the same tune, this time as described in David Glen s manuscript (1907) and suggests that the note B could be held. It is possible you will hear this, today, or even a short pause on the note low A. Version c) is not from this tune and is a timing you are unlikely to hear in this tune today. This strong emphasis on the note low A is the same notes, found in the tune called A Flame of Wrath for Squinting Patrick, described elsewhere in these notes. In that piece, there is more general agreement amongst pipers that the E and low A are the key points for the piper to aim for. The events referred to in the Controversy are many and varied, and it would be hard to pin down one bad turn against another, as the clans battled, raided, and disagreed over several centuries. Two events have been suggested as being of major importance to this tune: In 1577 the MacLeods murdered almost the entire MacDonald population of Eigg, who had taken refuge in cave. The method of murder, by lighting a fire in the cave mouth and suffocating them 400 men, women and children has made this true story an enduring tale told for centuries thereafter. The macabre cave then remained untouched for some centuries until, during Victorian times, the bones were collected and buried in the island graveyard. In 1600 Margaret, sister of the chief of the MacLeods, married Donald Gorm Mor MacDonald the son of the MacDonald chief. However, a male heir was not produced during the first year of marriage. Following the ancient custom of hand fasting Margaret could now be returned unwanted to the MacLeod clan. During this year Margaret had lost the sight in one eye, so the MacDonalds decided to send her home sitting backwards on a one-eyed horse, accompanied by a one-eyed servant and a one-eyed dog. After this insult a series of bloody battles ensued and the islanders became almost destitute and starving as a result of the conflict, until the dreadful Battle of Cuillin led to a reconciliation. Musically it is a short powerful piece with only a Ground followed by Taorluath and Crunluath variations. A Flame of Wrath for Squinting Patrick The defect in the eye of Patrick may have not have been a squint but this is the name that has come down to us over the centuries. Patrick was the brother of Donald Mòr MacCrimmon, and following a quarrel with another family member Patrick was murdered while in the act of washing his face in a burn.
Donald s vengeance was delayed by the order of the MacLeod chief, but a year later he set off to Kintail to seek the murderer of his brother; who apparently had taken refuge in a in a village there. The villagers would not give him up, so in a rage Donald set fire to 18 houses causing the loss of several lives. The tune is angry, and at times hard to listen to probably intentionally so. The opening phrase is shown at c) above, and is repeated often, with minor variations in speed and complexity, but the overall impression of the tune is brisk. As in MacLeod s Contraversy, it is a very short piece just the Ground, a Variation 1 and Crunluath variations. Variation 1 has a rhythm where the tune is always played down as described elsewhere this has the effect of a lot of long low A notes with the short theme notes bleeping out in a staccato manner. The aggressive nature is further emphasised by using the modal key of G and frequent low G notes. This is the same key as MacLeod s Controversy and the composer of both tunes (Donald Mor) had an obvious fondness for the sound produced when these notes predominate. Lament for the Children This tune could claim to be the greatest of all the MacCrimmon compositions, and certainly it is held in high esteem by all players of piobaireachd. Often played at funerals or memorials, it is a clever, intricate and moving piece. One story behind the tune is well established. The MacCrimmon family in the early 1650 s was at the time led by Patrick Mor, who had eight children. The arrival of a ship in the port at Skye led to a rapid spread of infection, possibly smallpox, and tragically seven of his children died in a single year. The surviving son was Patrick Og, who went on to be a noted teacher and head of the piping college on the island. Patrick Mor s outpouring of grief led to the beautiful repetitive themes throughout the tune. A second explanation refers to Patrick Mor s role when he fought in King Charles II's army against Cromwell's Roundheads at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. More than 800 of the MacLeod clan were slaughtered and over 2000 Scots taken prisoner. Patrick was one of the prisoners - many of whom were sold as slaves to sugar plantations in the Caribbean and the Carolinas. Patrick himself was released and returned to Dunvegan to continue as piper to MacLeod for another twenty years. He could have written the tune for the lost clansmen in the battle and its aftermath. The people of the clan felt themselves to be the children of the Chieftain. At Worcester, the MacLeod Chieftain had lost hundreds of his children, a loss most grievous in its enormity for a relatively small island clan.
The tune is in the pentatonic key of D, and has a very large number of notes and phrases which emphasise the note F (i.e. F sharp) in an intense repetitive manner suggesting to many listeners over the centuries that is a true heart-felt lament for the dead. The Phantom Piper of Corrieyairack This is a relatively modern tune, composed by Captain John MacLellan MBE who was appointed principal teacher at the Army School of Piping in Edinburgh in 1959. The Corrieyairack Pass is in the Great Glen close to Fort Augustus where Captain John grew up. The local legend for years was that if bad weather strikes the Corrieyairack Pass, it means that Montrose s Army is about to march. The Montrose referred to was James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose in 1612 arguably Scotland s greatest battlefield commander and one of the finest generals in Europe. His march to Inverlochy Castle with his Royalist army, to face the Covenanter army of the Earl of Argyll in 1645, is still used as a training march for soldiers to this day. In 1958 Colonel David Murray (a past president of the Piobaireachd Society) led a squad of recruits on a routine training march through the pass, to be met at the end at base camp with a traditional warm meal to revive them. Pipers went with them, but the weather was appalling - and Col. Murray decided they could be excused being called upon to play for the march down to the camp. To their surprise when they struggled down to the camp, they found the soup and other rations piping hot and ready. Col. Murray congratulated the cooks on their uncanny timing. The reply was Well, we heard the pipes coming down the glen, so we started cooking. Feeling the cold ghostly hand of fate upon him, the wind howling and the river roaring, Col. Murray ordered that the whole camp be packed up and everyone should get away from the area as fast as possible. Later that day another famous piper, Col. J.P Grant of Rothiemurchus inspected the same recruits, heard the story, and was in no doubt the cooks had heard the playing of the Phantom Piper. The tune ranks amongst the most popular of modern piobaireachds partly due to the circumstances surrounding its composition, and the fact that it has been chosen by judges and competitors frequently at the top competitions. Hard to memorise, it perhaps has the mood of a lament. Here is the Ground (Urlar) and first line of Variation 1. in the composer s own handwriting. He has saved ink and time by writing the numbers 3, 5, and 6 instead of rewriting those bars in full.