Gesto Canntaireachd Transliterated by P/M William MacLean

£8.00

This is a dowloadable copy of the 1910 work transliterated from the Gesto Canntaireachd by P/M William MacLean, Kilcreggan. He has taken the canntaireachd and interpreted it in such a way as to provide us with tunes in settings that are eminently playable by today’s pipers. There is a fulsome introduction and you can read more about the pipe major here. This volume is taken from a copy of the original work in the possession of PS President Robert Wallace. Former Society Music Editor Roderick Cannon wrote: ‘Niel MacLeod was the laird of Gesto, which is about six miles from Dunvegan in the Isle of Skye. He was born about 1766/8, and succeeded to the land and title in 1787. He served in the Army from 1793, becoming a Lieutenant in the 42nd Regiment, and finally a Captain when he left the Regiment in 1797. lain Dubh MacCrimmon is thought to have been born in the early 1730s and lived until 1822. In 1828, Niel Macleod published this book containing 20 tunes in canntaireachd ‘as verbally taught by the McCrummen pipers … to their apprentices’, taken, as he says, from John McCrummon. A recent discovery is a short manuscript written by Macleod of Gesto, of historical notes on the 20 tunes in the present work, now in the National Library, M.us.D.s.138.’

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William MacLean was born in 1878 at Tobermory, Mull, from a Raasay family. He was related to the famous MacKay piping family (John and Angus etc) of that island. He was taught by his father and Malcolm Macpherson, ‘Calum Piobair’. He won the Inverness Gold medal in 1901 (Lament for Donald Duaghal MacKay), the Oban in 1912 (MacCrimmon’s Sweetheart) and the Clasp in 1913 (Unjust Incarceration). When aged 77 he made a number of recordings for the School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh University, which provide an important link with piping in the 19th century. He composed a number of tunes among which were the Braes of Badenoch, Bessie McIntyre, and a piobaireachd, Salute to the Children.

MacLean died at Kilcreggan in 1957. His obituary in the Piping Times contained the following comments from David Ross, Rosehall, a MacLean student: ‘About 1923 we spent a holiday together at Oban staying at the old Queen’s Hotel. John MacDonald, Inverness, was also there and after the evening meal I was practising one of my tunes, MacIntosh’s Lament. When I had finished John MacDonald found fault with the third last bar in the ground (Angus MacKay’s setting) which differs from the Piobaireachd Society setting. Willie MacLean disagreed being a great Angus MacKay man and a heated argument developed. Neither of these piobaireachd experts would give way. It ended by them agreeing to differ, but this made no difference to their friendship or the respect they had for each other.

‘Some years again later they clashed over the way the modern pipers were being taught to play the crunluath breabach, Willie claiming that John MacDonald was responsible for this new method creeping in. Willie said it was inconsistent and not in keeping with the taorluath and was incorrect and it had not been handed down to him that way. All this rather surprised me as these two men represented the same school and were both taught by the celebrated Malcolm Macpherson [Calum Piobair].

‘Another incident took place at a piping ceilidh after the Northern Meeting. Several of the pipers had given selections. George McLennan was there reading a book and taking no apparent notice of the playing. When Willie struck up and played The Pretty Dirk. George McLennan immediately dropped the book and started to listen, which I thought was a great compliment.

‘He [MacLean] was a beautiful piper – strong fingers which he lifted well off the chanter and kept a well tuned instrument. His tuning up notes were a delight to listen to. His timing and expression in the ground and suibhal were lovely and I regret such timing is not heard today.’