News: 2027 Set Tunes
The Piobaireachd Society recommends the following for competitions in 2027:
A. SENIOR COMPETITIONS
A new approach to setting tunes for the senior competitions was adopted in 2023 for a trial period of five years. The aim is to give competitors a wider choice of tunes while still ensuring exposure for the appropriate repertoire. If deemed successful, the period may be extended beyond five years.
Competitors will submit six tunes from the list below. Different tunes will be selected for each competitor for the Argyllshire Gathering and the Northern Meeting in the same year. The chosen tunes will be noted and competitors will not be permitted to submit these two tunes again for a period of at least five years.
The list may be expanded from year to year on the recommendation of the Piobaireachd Society. It is unlikely that any of the tunes will be removed from the list.
| The Finger Lock | PS 1, K |
| In Praise of Morag | PS 1, K |
| The Unjust Incarceration | PS 2, K |
| The Bells of Perth | PS 2, K |
| Lament for Donald Ban MacCrimmon | PS 2, K |
| Donald Gruamach’s March | PS 2, K |
| Colin Roy MacKenzie’s Lament | PS 3, K |
| Lament for the Duke of Hamilton | PS 3, K |
| Lament for the Earl of Antrim | PS 3, K |
| Lament for the Children | PS 3, K |
| Patrick Og MacCrimmon’s Lament | PS 3, K |
| Scarce of Fishing | PS 3, K |
| The Red Speckled Bull | PS 4, K |
| Beinn a Ghriain | PS 4 |
| John Garve MacLeod of Raasay’s Lament | PS 5, K |
| Mary’s Praise | PS 5, K |
| Lament for the Union | PS 6, K |
| Craigellachie | PS 6, K |
| The Daughter’s Lament | PS 6, K |
| The Sound of the Waves against the Castle of Duntroon | PS 6, K |
| The End of the Little Bridge | PS 8, K |
| Lady MacDonald’s Lament | PS 8, K |
| Nameless Cherede Darievea | PS 8, K |
| The Laird of Anapool’s Lament | PS 9 |
| The Rout of the Lowland Captain | PS 9 |
| MacLeod of Colbeck’s Lament | PS 10 |
| MacKenzie of Gairloch’s Lament | PS 10 |
| The Red Hand in the MacDonald’s Arms | PS 10 |
| The MacLeans’ March | PS 10 |
| The Battle of Waterloo | PS 11 |
| Mrs MacLeod of Talisker’s Salute | PS 11 |
| The MacDonalds’ Salute | PS 11 |
| Abercairney’s Salute | PS 11 |
| My Dearest on Earth, Give me your Kiss | PS 11 |
| Lament for the Harp Tree | PS 12, K |
| Port Urlar | PS 12 |
| Lament for Airds | PS 13 |
| Lament for Hugh | PS 13 |
| Salute to MacDonald of Staffa | PS 13 |
| Good Health to You Donald | PS 13 |
| The Sutherlands’ Gathering | PS 14 |
| Lament for King George III | PS 14 |
| Lament for Cluny MacPherson | PS 14 |
| Sir James MacDonald of the Isles’ Salute | PS 14 |
| MacLeod of MacLeod’s Lament | PS 15, K |
| Farewell to the Queen’s Ferry | PS 20th Century Piob. 2020 edition |
| Lament for John MacDonald, Inverness | PS 20th Century Piob. 2020 edition |
| Lament for Pipe Major Robert Reid | PS 20th Century Piob. 2020 edition |
| Salute to James Campbell | PS 20th Century Piob. 2020 edition |
| Salute to the MacCrimmon Cairn at Borreraig | PS 20th Century Piob. 2020 edition |
| The Phantom Piper of Corrieyairack | PS 20th Century Piob. 2020 edition |
| Roderick MacDonald’s Salute | Donald MacLeod Piob. 2019 edition |
| A Son’s Salute to his Parents | Donald MacLeod Piob. 2019 edition |
| The Edinburgh Piobaireachd | John MacLellan Ceol Mor |
PS = Piobaireachd Society Collection K = Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor
The Donald MacLeod and PS 20th Century Piobaireachd collections have been corrected and re-printed recently in A4 format and it is recommended that these be used as the sources for these tunes.
Competitors are not restricted to settings in the Piobaireachd Society Collection and Kilberry Book. Those who wish to play alternative settings should submit legible scores, indicating the origins of the settings, to competition organisers along with their tune selections.
Altogether different tunes known by the same or similar names will not be accepted as alternatives.
B. GOLD MEDAL COMPETITIONS
Competitors will submit eight tunes of their own choice, one of which they will be required to play.
C. SILVER MEDAL COMPETITIONS
Competitors will submit six tunes of their own choice, one of which they will be required to play.
This announcement is without prejudice to any arrangements made by the Argyllshire Gathering or the Northern Meeting. For the Music Committee, Ronald McShannon, 2 Ascot Avenue, Glasgow, G12 0AX
PS CONFERENCE 2026
Well what a wonderful weekend that proved to be. The Piobaireachd Society Annual Conference is always an enjoyable mix of history, research and camaraderie, but this year at the Golden Lion Hotel in Stirling has to be rated right up there with the best.
By The President
Maybe delegates were determined to make it a roaring success following the last minute decamp from the fire-stricken Royal George in Perth. Whatever the reason, we all left on Sunday with a host of good tunes and thought provoking ideas swirling in the head, all bound together in a spirit of bonhomie. Friday afternoon saw the hard-working Music and General Committees coming together for important decision making (2027 set tunes imminent). That evening we had a meal in the hotel and then the pipes came out. Five tunes were heard: Lament for Glengarry (RW), Wee Spree (Allan Hamilton), Red Speckled Bull (Peter McCalister), Unjust Incarceration (Mike Cusack), Carles wi the Breeks (Jack Taylor), King’s Taxes (Keith Bowes). Not too late a night – busy day in the morning.
Saturday, and day visitors started arriving early on and I welcomed them to the appropriately named (some thought) Wallace Suite where the walls were adorned with huge blow ups of tunes from PS Book 1 (great touch Peter).
We had just under 50 in the room and it was encouraging to see more competing pipers than hitherto: Iain Speirs, Darach Urquhart, Keith Bowes, Peter McCalister, Angus MacPhee, Bill Geddes, Dan Nevans, and not forgetting our Hon. Treasurer, Karen McCrindle Warren.
The first paper was on the origins of piobaireachd and Professor Hugh Cheape talked of the geographical requirement to consider the Gaeltacht east to west and not the other way around as we usually do.
The musical influences that honed ceol mor probably came by sea – one misguided presbyterian describing the folk of the islands and north west as barbarous with a culture more in tune with Paris, Rome and Madrid. Something of an oxymoron if you ask me. Peter McCalister demonstrated with considerable force the theme and variation principle alive and thriving in Europe at the time our great MacCrimmon compositions were made.
Next up we had Michael Grey all the way from Toronto. Mike’s talk was on his teacher, the late Bill Livingstone. This was a heartfelt and perfectly pitched paean of appreciation for a man who set new standards of professionalism in competitive piping. A long way to come Mike, but I hope you thought it worthwhile. Your audience was touched.
Soup and sandwiches then on with the lectures. John Mulhearn from the Piping Centre talked of his new book, ‘Let Piping Flourish’, and proposed the establishment of a ‘piobaireachd composer in residence’ post to look at new ways of developing and encouraging interest in the music. There was concern from the floor that the traditions had to be taught properly before pipers started branching off into what might be termed ‘new music’.
Following John we had Jack Taylor and John Frater celebrating 100 years of the Society’s remarkable collection of tunes. Jack led us through the various books and settings, highlighted the astonishing work of Sheriff Grant of Rothiemurchus and Archibald Campbell of Kilberry, and concluded with more on the revision 2020-25.
John Frater then took the stand. A self-confessed piobaireachd nerd, John focussed on one tune from Book 16, the Nameless from the John MacDougall Gillies MS. This is a sparkling piece of music which deserves to be set for competition, Gold Medal I would suggest. Now the ’Nameless’ title was all we had until John’s nerdiness took him to the MS of Robert Meldrum, born when Angus MacKay was still Queen’s piper. There in black and white, and recognised immediately by John, was the ‘Nameless’ tune – but with a name!
Meldrum, from the whisky country (Tomintoul), had settled on the Rout of Glenlivet, a bloody encounter dated 1591. Cue loud applause from the audience for John’s eureka moment. All of this is well detailed in the revised Book 16.
The talks over it was on to the afternoon piobaireachd ceilidh where the tunes were Farewell to the Laird of Islay (Karen McCrindle Warren), Old Men of the Shells (Peter Candy), the Earl of Seaforth’s Salute (Keith Bowes), Hail to My Country (Walter Grey), Ronald MacDonald of Morar – John MacDonald setting (Duncan MacGillivray), Earl of Antrim (Mike Cusack) and One of the Cragich (Jack Taylor).
After this it was on with the glad rags and a sumptuous meal, the loyal toast to our Patron HM The King, then great music from three young pipers Andrew Pattison, Ealla Niamh McIlhiney, and Arran Brown (below), and on into the small hours with fiddle, harmonica, small pipes and whistle…..
Lament for the Castle of Dunyveg
Music Editor Jack Taylor: Lament for the Castle of Dunvveg is set for the 2026 Silver Medal competitions. The Campbell Canntaireachd setting has a ground and an additional ground variation, but ends there. In response to an enquiry, the Music Committee has devised variations based on the Campbell groundwork. These differ from PS Bk1 (Angus MacKay) only in the middle bars of line 2.
The Music Committee recommends that players choosing to play the Campbell Canntaireachd setting should play the setting (below), rather than a mix of the CC groundwork and Angus Mackay’s variations.
Changes Made to Society Collection Books 1-16
A complete five-year revision of the books has now been completed. Edits are as follows:
Archie Kenneth Quaich 2026
This much-loved amateur piobaireachd contest was held on 28th February. This was our 34th contest and for most of those years we have been the fortunate guests of the Royal Scottish Pipers Society (RSPS) in Edinburgh. Their acoustics, vintage piping photos, bar, and tuning rooms are second to none. We are deeply indebted to the Jolly Boys for all their years of hospitality.
At the last minute there were several call-offs, so 21 pipers played. This was a pity as 32 had applied and a draw was done to see who could play. Those unsuccessful in this draw will get a “bye” for next year, if numbers are once again too great. In recent years we have opted to choose a senior judge and a senior Competing Piper to judge the contest. For the second time the judges were Derek Fraser and Darach Urquhart (it is always a two-year stint). The friendly ambience was palpable, with players travelling from various parts of Scotland, Ireland (Anthony Kelly) and our regular visitor from the USA (Andrea Jones).
I did not hear all the performances but did hear nearly everyone in the final tuning room where Colin MacNeill (son of Dugald) helped with some final set-up of the chanters and/or drones. Stewarding was done by Tom Lewin and Leslie Barrett – the latter had played earlier in the draw, and then nobly put on the steward’s badge in the afternoon. A previous winner – Gill Cairns – turned up to have a listen and got drafted in to help with various wee jobs on the day … thanks, Gill.
Results were as follows:
1. Andrew Robertson (Lament for Donald of Laggan)
2. Tom Peterkin (Lament for MacSwan of Roaig)
3. Anthony Kelly (Tulloch Ard)
4. Stewart Allan (Melbank’s Salute)
5. Andrea Jones (The Marquis of Argyll’s Salute)
Andrea was not happy with her tune so got changed into civvies – and then was surprised and delighted with the prize when it came. This time she came from the USA alone, without her support team. I missed Stewart Allan’s tune but he brought his support team from Ayrshire; I note that he was 5th a few years ago so he is working his way up. Anthony Kelly from Ireland had possibly the best bagpipe of the day, certainly a big sound from the big guy, and his Tulloch Ard was a strong contender. Edinburgh-based Eagle Piper Tom Peterkin gave one of his signature musical performances. A couple of tiny technical slips, and a questionable high G, may have stopped last year’s champ getting his 7th win.
By the way, a few more Eagles turned up to hear the afternoon performances including Iain Dewar, Allan Harper, Douglas Gardiner, Euan Anderson and Iain Speirs. The venerable James Burnett ascended the (many) stairs unaided aged 95, to add his gravitas to the occasion. Alan Forbes (Chairman of the Music Committee) was there for most of the day. I have probably missed out other audience members that deserve a mention, and by the end of the day the audience was considerable.
Andrew Robertson has just joined the CLASP and had not competed at a Piobaireachd contest before, but played a very musical and measured Donald of Laggan. The whole effect was a of a complete piece of music, and a tiny drift of the drones was not a distraction. Well done, Andrew.
After the contest Derek Fraser made a short speech, telling the competitors that they had put on a very enjoyable day for him and Darach. As last year, he advised pipers to look carefully at the tuning of the chanter scale – at times this led to an out-of-tune instrument which let a few pipers down. A second bit of advice was to keep plugging away at the practice chanter for the piobaireachd technique.
The Piobaireachd Society plans to hold this contest next year as usual – probably on the last Saturday in February 2027 – and welcomes amateur players and their supporters to come along once again.
Peter McCalister
Annual Recital and Silver Chanter
These two events have become an important part of the PS summer. There was some superb piping at both, with the very best in ceòl mòr in evidence. The Silver Chanter, on August 6 at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Skye, was was won by Sandy Cameron. His tune was the Lament for MacLeod of Colbeck. Members can enjoy Sandy’s playing here, as well as the performances of MacLeod of Macleod’s Lament (Cameron Drummond), Battle of Waternish (Derek Midgely), Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon (Nick Hudson), Earl of Ross’s March (Angus MacPhee) and I got a Kiss of the King’s Hand (Alasdair Henderson).
The event is sponsored and promoted by the Society and Torabhaig Malt Whisky.
Recital
A crowd of over 80 attended our St Cecilia’s Hall Recital in Edinburgh on August 10. They were treated to exceptional playing from Brodie Watson-Massey, John McDonald and Alasdair Henderson. Again, members will be able to enjoy these in due course. Keep checking the website for information
Summer School 2025
The Piobaireachd Society Summer School ended last weekend (June 6). It was the fourth time we had travelled to Skye for the week-long class. We had 25 students.
They came from the Phillipines, Thailand, USA, Canada, Liverpool, the isles of Bute and Mull, the Borders, Bellshill, Norwich, Glasgow, London, Aberdeen, Caithness, Austria, Germany and Brittany. They all appreciated the accommodation and food at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic College on the Sleat (pronounced Slate) Peninsula.
By Robert Wallace, President
We split into four classes. If it didn’t suit, students were given the option of switching. None did. They had one-to-one lessons at which they could dictate what they wanted to learn or revise.
The school tune this year was Chisholm’s Salute. Once we had mastered the rhythms of the dre and dare we were able to play the ground and thumb variations as a group on the pipes. We did so on our off-campus visit to the nearby Torabhaig Distillery:
The tourists were pleasantly surprised at this kilted, musical, bonus attraction. We enjoyed a dram and a coffee. Torabhaig are the sponsors of the Society-run Silver Chanter and it was a pleasure to cement our relationship further. In other trips students headed for the MacCrimmon Cairn at Borreraig and braved ferocious winds for a tune. It was bit more clement for those who went off to the mystical Fairy Pools one morning. A couple stayed on to visit John MacKay’s ruined croft on nearby Raasay. As you can see, the Skye school has much to offer aside from expert tuition.
No one can deny the link between Gaelic language, song and piobaireachd. Sabhal Mòr’s Dr Decker Forrest and Professor Hugh Cheape kindly took time out from their other duties to tell us stories of tunes, their nomenclature and how to pronounce it. Decker took us to the SMO library where the Silver Chanter trophy was on display and where he was able to elucidate the remarkable story of the Ardvasar Blacksmith, John MacDonald, the teacher of P/M Evan Macrae. (See Evan’s book ‘Over the Chindwin to Lochaber’.)
Each evening we had our piobaireachd ceilidh at which the students were encouraged to play. Most did. We heard the Marquis of Argyll’s Salute, the Desperate Battle from 86 year old wonder woman Catriona Hill, Munro’s Salute, Beloved Scotland, Too Long in this Condition, and about half a dozen others. Each instructor played too but never hogged the show. This was about the class. We had workshops on reed making from Brian and Campbell Canntaireachd from Peter.
On the last night we danced the evening away, and thanks to Breton Yann for the An Dro instruction and to Bill Geddes for his fourteen jigs in a row for Strip the Willow. In my closing remarks I reiterated that the greatest reward in the art of teaching, and it is an art, is seeing and hearing the progress of your pupils. This was manifest among the class of ’25. They each earned their school certificate, be in no doubt.
My thanks to tutors Peter McCalister, Brian Lamond and Bill Geddes for their hard work and support, and of course to the staff at SMO. My thanks too to the students similarly. Next year’s school is May 31 to June 5. Registration on the PS web shop in due course.
‘Life, Times and Music of John Macdonald, Inverness’, by John H Shone – A Review
John Shone has put that right in his new book by pulling together what was already known of his life, along with hitherto unpublished material from documents in his possession, to produce the first really comprehensive account of his life and his contribution to piping. As well as information about his private life, his success as a competitor and influence as a teacher are covered, with reproductions of the scores of a number of piobaireachds in his own meticulous hand writing from his manuscript book.
John Macdonald appears to have been a modest and fairly private individual, but blessed with a prodigious musical talent and a life-long desire to pass on his knowledge and playing style to as many as possible.
His main interest was in piobaireachd, having been brought up in a piping family and having received tuition from the very few pipers at the time who could trace their playing styles back to the MacCrimmons. These included Malcolm MacPherson, widely known as Calum Piobaire, as well as his own father, Alexander MacDonald, and his uncle.
The book contains a most interesting listing of prize-winners, compiled by Bessie Brown, sister to RU Brown of Balmoral, across a wide range of competitions from 1928 to 1938, then for 1946 & 1947. Macdonald’s name appears prominently over the whole pre-war period as an outstanding competitor, despite the famous names against whom he was competing – William Ross, RU Brown, John Wilson, Malcolm MacPherson, JB Robertson, RB Nicol, Robert Reid among others.
His main contribution, however, would almost certainly be considered to be his influence in keeping alive the traditional ways of playing piobaireachd, which were thought by many at the time to be in grave danger of disappearing. This came partly through his association with the emerging Piobaireachd Society around the turn of the 20th century. He was highly regarded as a teacher and passed on his knowledge freely to those he thought had the talent and integrity to carry on the tradition.
He was appointed to carry out the first piping classes for the Army, his own salary being paid for by the Piobaireachd Society. The book contains examples of his correspondence with Sherriff JP Grant of Rothiemurchus, President of the Piobaireachd Society at the time, and others. These well written letters give a clear insight into not only his teaching approach, but also to the personal interest he took in the progress of his pupils. There can be no doubt that he had a significant and long-lasting beneficial effect on Army piping.
He also, of course, had many civilian pupils, including RB Nicol, RU Brown and Pipe Major Donald MacLeod, all of whom held him in the highest regard. Through them his influence has been carried on down the generations.
John Shone’s book will be of interest to everyone with a serious interest in piobaireachd. It is beautifully produced in A4 size, logically arranged and easily readable. It contains lots of interesting snippets of information as well as an array of photographs of John Macdonald and his contemporaries. His manuscripts, written out in full with no abbreviations, are clearly reproduced and show how methodical and meticulous a person he was.
Alan Forbes, May 2025
- The book is available from the PS webshop here.
Set Tunes 2026
The Piobaireachd Society recommends the following for competitions in 2026:
A. SENIOR COMPETITIONS
A new approach to setting tunes for the senior competitions was adopted in 2023 for a trial period of five years. The aim is to give competitors a wider choice of tunes while still ensuring exposure for the appropriate repertoire. If deemed successful, the period may be extended beyond five years.
Competitors will submit six tunes from the list below. Different tunes will be selected for each competitor for the Argyllshire Gathering and the Northern Meeting in the same year. The chosen tunes will be noted and competitors will not be permitted to submit these two tunes again for a period of at least five years.
The list may be expanded from year to year on the recommendation of the Piobaireachd Society. It is unlikely that any of the tunes will be removed from the list.
B. GOLD MEDAL COMPETITIONS
| The Finger Lock (#) | PS 1, K |
| The Pride of Barra (#) | PS 5, K |
| Lady MacDonald’s Lament | PS 8, K |
| The MacDonalds are Simple (#) | PS 9 |
| Port Urlar | PS 12 |
| Lament for Airds (#) | PS 13 |
| Fare Thee Well Donald | PS 14 |
| Lament for Captain Donald MacKenzie | PS 15 |
Competitors will submit four of the above tunes, one of which they will be required to play.
For the purposes of the Gold Medal competitions, tunes marked (#) require crunluaths a mach.
C. SILVER MEDAL COMPETITIONS
| Lament for the Castle of Dunyveg | PS 1 |
| Nameless Hiharin dro o dro | PS 4, K |
| The Earl of Seaforth’s Salute | PS 5, K |
| The King’s Taxes | PS 5, K |
| Beloved Scotland | PS 6, K |
| The Rout of Glenfruin (#) | PS 8, K |
| The Battle of Bealach nam Brog | PS 9 |
| Farewell to the Laird of Islay (#) | PS 9 |
| Lament for the Iolaire | Donald MacLeod Piob. 2019 edition |
| Lament for John Morrison of Assynt House | Donald MacLeod Piob. 2019 edition |
Competitors will submit four of the above tunes, one of which they will be required to play.
For the purposes of the Silver Medal competitions, tunes marked (#) require crunluaths a mach.
PS = Piobaireachd Society Collection K = Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor
The Donald MacLeod and PS 20th Century Piobaireachd collections have been corrected and re-printed recently in A4 format and it is recommended that these be used as the sources for these tunes.
Competitors are not restricted to settings in the Piobaireachd Society Collection and Kilberry Book. Those who wish to play alternative settings should submit legible scores, indicating the origins of the settings, to competition organisers along with their tune selections.
Altogether different tunes known by the same or similar names will not be accepted as alternatives.
This announcement is without prejudice to any arrangements made by the Argyllshire Gathering or the Northern Meeting.
For the Music Committee, Ronald McShannon, 2 Ascot Avenue, Glasgow,
Piobaireachd Society Conference 2025
This annual event has returned to its former stable position in the piping calendar after the covid hiatus, with a third very successful trip to the Royal George Hotel in Perth. Central Scotland is convenient for many travellers, and the train station nearby is another bonus. We had many folk from abroad including South Africa, America, Germany, Poland and England. All age-groups were represented including CPA members, and pipers on the Junior competing scene (see below).
The conference traditionally starts in an informal manner on the Friday night with a meal and then a casual few tunes in the bar. There was a Rotary Club dinner next door so we did not over-extend this part of the weekend.
On the Saturday morning there was a well-planned session in a room set out in café style – round tables – which encouraged chat (the backbone of any conference, let’s face it). The first talk was entitled “Gems from the Piobaireachd Society Archive” and given by a seasoned speaker, Dr Jack Taylor, who is also now in charge of updating the PS website. Jack took us through some fascinating excerpts from the proceedings of conferences of the past, starting with the first in 1972.
He illustrated his talk with recordings, all again from our website, and in an interactive session the audience were asked to see where they agreed with past speakers. For example, was the tune “The Battle of Bealach nam Brog” a rousing battle tune, or a lament? Hearing Tom Speirs’ lyrical performance from the website made it clear that the tune was written by the losing side. Jack pointed out in a Q&A session afterwards that we are still looking for recordings of some of the rarer tunes, and asked members to send them on to him if they come across any. (One can see at a glance from each tune page of the website, whether there is a recording available.)
Jack was followed by the President, Robert Wallace, explaining the contents of a new book, ‘Life, Times and Music of John Macdonald, Inverness’. This high-quality book is on sale in the Piobaireachd Society website. The writer is John Shone, who was not able to come to the conference, but he’s been at almost every previous meeting. John Macdonald’s manuscript is a major focus for the book, plus annotations he made in his own hand, to other tunes. We were then treated to recordings of John playing the ground and first variation of “Patrick Og MacCrimmon’s Lament”.
Part of Robert’s talk was interspersed with live music played by Duncan MacGillivray on John Macdonald’s own bagpipe. This instrument had a glorious deep tone and resonance – in fact it was in danger of stealing the show, judging by the crowd that were examining it at the end of Robert’s talk.
After lunch Dr Peter McCalister spoke on the topic ‘Memorising the Big Music’. This was a wide-ranging discussion on how any musician memorises music, starting with a recording of the violinist Itzhak Perlman playing Bach, from memory. Listeners learned how we move information from the short-term memory to long-term – not rocket science, but hard to do for the more complex tunes. More live music was provided by Dan Nevans who gave us a lovely rendition of “Lament for Ronald MacDonald of Morar” – and that was also on a vintage instrument, namely Bob Brown’s bagpipe, of which he is the custodian.
Delegates finished their lesson in memory, by playing a version of Kim’s Game for pipers, where they had to memorise the contents of Peter’s pipe box laid out on a tray. This was, thankfully, more successful than other challenges they had been given that day, such as trying to memorise his VISA card number.
In total contrast, Dr J Decker Forrest closed proceedings with a poetic and detailed account entitled ‘Skye: Language, Heritage and the Silver Chanter’ in English and Gaelic. The people of Skye have long known the stories behind the tunes, and their link to ceòl mòr is fashioned through centuries of story-telling linked in itself to the geography and mythology of the island. For example, when discussing the tune “The Cave of Gold”, Decker described sea-caves on the island (several have this name) some of which he had (at some risk to himself, one thinks) walked into, playing the pipes.
Stories abound of the piper not returning from the cave, or returning much changed, and the translation of the word “gold” may be incorrect. Another translation might be “The Cave at the Edge” – meaning the edge of divide between our world and that of the fairies. The Silver Chanter contest was then described in detail (Decker helps host this contest in Skye, now run by the Piobaireachd Society) from its early days to the present. Many pipers will know the legend of a fairy who gifted a silver chanter to a MacCrimmon piper, emphasizing the magical power of music and the MacCrimmons’ connection to the supernatural.
How do you follow that? Well, you can’t. Instead pipers had a few cups of coffee and swiftly formed an orderly queue to play whatever tunes they wished in an informal ceilidh. This is a popular and essential part of the conference, when pipers of all abilities can play to an interested and supportive audience. The pipers and tunes were:
- Hector Munro – Blind Piper’s Obstinacy
- Allan Hamilton – Old Men of the Shells
- Bill Wotherspoon – a new tune by Jakez Pincet celebrating the River Couesnon
- Karen McCrindle-Warren – her own composition “Alba, mo dhachaidh gu brath”
- Aaron Bryson – Duke of Athole’s Salute
- Andy Park – Too Long in This Condition (Donald MacDonald setting)
- Jack Taylor – the Fairy Flag
- Mark Girvan – Marquis of Argyll’s Salute
At the end of this, the two pipers playing the vintage pipes on show (Duncan MacGillivray and Dan Nevans) played a piobaireachd ground each, to round off the session.
After which it was time for tea, as they say. The diners were entertained afterwards by three young pipers, each playing an MSR and then a piobaireachd. Many thanks are due to Fraser Hamilton, Kyle Cameron and Liam Nicolson who put a lot of work into this part of the evening and acquitted themselves well. Finally – there’s always something more – various instruments appeared in the bar including a fiddle, whistles, smallpipes – and the human voice (haunting songs being sung in Gaelic and Polish – surely a first?) … and so the midnight hour came and went.
The whole event being open and friendly to all, suggests a return visit by many who were there, in 2026. Special thanks to Charles Finney for recording everything for the Conference Proceedings.
President’s Newsletter
The Newsletter is issued most months with the exception of summer. If you do not receive a copy, generally out at the end of the month, please email president@piobaireachd.co.uk. The Newsletter features information and news on the Society’s activities.