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FRED MORRISON The real life of... Taking it to a new level Iain Speirs Grey’s Notes by Michael Grey Balagan The gift that keeps giving Ready to stir things up Theory top-up Canadians savour the Glenfiddich by Tim Cummings The Glenfiddich Championship 2015 Tunes in G-Major Pipe Major James Murray A new life with WAPOL The London Competition 2015 The Scottish Piping Society of London free feature sample • from Dec 15/Jan 16 • Issue Number 78 • NYPBoS newsletter No.75 Price - UK £3.30 • EUROPE 5 • canada and usa $6.50

contents Editorial 5 Roddy MacLeod

News 6

Fred Morrison 8 Taking it to a new level

Balagan Pipe Band 14

FRONT COVER PICTURE: Ready to stir things up Fred Morrison in concert at 2012 by John Slavin. See feature on pages 8-13. Theory Top-Up by Tim Cummings 21 Tunes in G-Major

Brothers on the bagpipes 22 Sons of the Most Holy Reedemer

Youngstars Newsletter No.75 23 Q&A with Calum Craib

Canadians savour the Glenfiddich 28 Glenfiddich Piping Championship 2015

New life and opportunities at WAPOL 34 Pipe Major James Murray

Iain Speirs 36 The real life of...

The London Competition 2015 40 The Scottish Piping Society of London

Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers 43 10 questions with Sean Moloney

Product Reviews 44 New CD reviews

Grey’s Notes by Michael Grey 46 The gift that keeps giving www.thepipingcentre.co.uk

EDITOR: Roddy MacLeod MBE, BSc • FEATURES MANAGER: John Slavin • PUBLISHER: © The National Piping Centre 2015 CORRESPONDENCE: The National Piping Centre, 30-34 McPhater Street, , . G4 0HW. Tel. +44 (0)141 353 0220 EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES: [email protected] • ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: [email protected] DESIGN & ADVERT ARTWORK: John Slavin/DesignFolk - email: [email protected] • www.designfolk.com For the best in Pipe Band Supplies

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Providing a full range of tuition options Roddy MacLeod MBE Finlay MacDonald Principal Head of Piping Studies BA (Scottish Music - Piping)

Alisdair McLaren Finlay Johnstone Clare Lynas Stuart Samson MBE David Wilton Margaret Dunn John Mulhearn Director of The National Youth Pipe Band Gold Medallist Piping Tutor Ex-director of Army Bagpipe music Piping Tutor Silver Medallist Piping Tutor

BA (Scottish Music - Piping) Highland Bagpipe Tutor Book Full Time Ordinary Degree (3 Years) Step-by-step guide as taught by The National Piping Centre and 4th (Honours) Year. A collaborative Subscribe to our programme with the Royal Conservatoire bi-monthly magazine Piping Today Scotland. For particulars and RCS prospectus including information on how to apply contact Shop, Mail Order & Museum Finlay MacDonald at The National Piping Centre. Shop online at www.thepipingcentre.co.uk The National Piping Centre, 30-34 McPhater Street, Cowcaddens, Glasgow G4 0HW. Tel. +44 (0)141 353 0220 • Fax: +44 (0)141 353 1570 • www.thepipingcentre.co.uk NEWS

Final frontier for bagpipes Print your own pipes A SCOTS smallpipe player has embraced 3D ANY pipemakers claim that their if it was feasible to play bagpipes. They’re made of printing technology to create his own range instruments are out of this world — but plastic — they’re easier to keep clean and to make of instruments. Mnow one firm has proof after a set of sure they’re not contaminated. They’re also lighter. Donald Lindsay, from Glasgow, used a McCallum Bagpipes were played by an astronaut “Bagpipes are very difficult to play at high altitude Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign online to get on the International Space Station. because the air is that bit thinner. They’re quite hard support to buy two 3D printers. American Kjell Lindgren played Amazing Grace to blow so he’s done well.” The small pipes he has designed and printed as a tribute after the death of his colleague Victor The video of Kjell playing the pipes was released have a greater range than traditional instruments Hurst, a research scientist who had been involved in by US space agency NASA in November. and he has also created Highland drones and a astronaut training. It’s the first time the bagpipes have It has been viewed more than 40,000 times on penny whistle. been played in space. YouTube and also featured on the BBC, news websites Customers can pay to print off the kit sets Kjell approached the Kilmarnock firm in 2013 be- and in the press. on their own 3D printers but the bag, reeds and cause he wanted to play the pipes on his International One viewer commented: “No matter how cool chanter are not included. Space Station mission and bought a set of acetyl pipes. you think you are, you’ll never be astronaut-playing- Find out more about Donald’s innovations at Director Kenny MacLeod said: “He wondered bagpipes-in-space cool.” lindstruments.com.

News in brief Organisers are promising there will be “thought In Grade 2, Colin McClelland, the PM of the provoking ideas, instrument stalls and curious sounds Pipes and Drums of The Police Service of Northern The International Bagpipe Conference will from all around the world”. Tickets are available by Ireland, has stepped down to be replaced by Robert bring together bagpipe musicians, academics searching for International Bagpipe Conference on Cupples. and enthusiasts from all around the world at www.eventbrite.com. l Entries are now being accepted for The the National Piping Centre next year. National Piping Centre’s annual Junior Piping The biennial event, which takes place from On the move Championship, which will be held in Glasgow February 26 to 28, is being organised in collabora- on Saturday, Februrary 20. tion with the National Piping Centre, the Royal FOLLOWING the end of the pipe band com- The Junior Championship is open to all pipers aged Conservatoire of Scotland and Glasgow University petition season, some leading outfits have 15-17, with three events — Piobaireachd; March, with the support of the Bagpipe Society. announced key changes to their personnel. & and . The Novice Championship The RCS will host an opening concert featuring At Grade 1 World Champions Shotts and Dyke- is open to all pipers aged under 15, with four events the Scott Wood Trio on the Friday night. head Caledonia, Jim Kilpatrick is no longer leading — Piobaireachd; Piobaireachd (ground only); March; The conference itself runs on the Saturday and drummer. Andrew Lawson will take over the role. Strathspey & Reel. There is also a chanter contest. Sunday, when bagpipe specialists from all over Also in Grade 1, piper and reedmaker Rory To enter or for more infomation about the event, Europe will exchange knowledge about their instru- Grossart has left Scottish Power to be joint pipe visit www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/about/junior-piping- ments, music and culture. sergeant with Duncan Nicholson at Greater competition/. A social evening with a ceilidh and an organised Glasgow Police Scotland Pipe Band, under pipe major The closing date for entries is Friday, February open mic will be held on the Saturday evening. Iain MacPherson. 5, 2016.

PAGE 6 PIPING TODAY • FREE FEATURE SAMPLE • ISSUE 78 • 2015/16 Subscribe online at www.thepipingcentre.co.uk SUBSCRIBE Piping Today magazine is published NEWS every two months. Subscribing is the best way to make sure that you get a regular copy of this magazine with the advantage Celtic Connections is a of getting it “hot off the press”. cause for piping celebration UK 1 Year - £20 THE programme for Celtic Connections in January in Glasgow packs in plenty to whet even Europe - £23 the most discerning piping fan’s appetite. One of the most ambitious concerts in the 18-day Rest of the World - £26 festival is the celebration of the famous Live in Ireland 87 performance by Canada’s 78th Fraser Highlanders Name:______Pipe Band, just a few days before they became the first non-Scottish band to win the Grade 1 title at the World Pipe Band Championship. Surname:______Fast-forward almost 30 years and a dozen members of the legendary line-up are joined by Address: ______other household names of the piping world, includ- ing Ryan Canning, Ian Duncan, Stuart Liddell, Steven ______McWhirter, Duncan Nicholson, Richard Parkes, Terry Tully and Ross Walker. The piping extravaganza at Glasgow Royal Concert ______Hall on January 30 is co-hosted by John Wilson and Bob Worrall. ______Another cause for celebration is the 50th an- niversary of Armagh Pipers Club and the group’s John Mulhearn (right) and Calum MacCrimmon achievement in ensuring uilleann piping and other of The Big Music Society Post Code:______traditional instruments continue to thrive is marked with a concert on January 20 at the Old Fruitmarket. into different musical dimensions. Catch them at the Tel No:______Founders Brian and Eithne Vallely host a lavish line- O2 ABC Glasgow on January 23. up of illustrious alumni and associated acts, including The Big Music Society present something different Email:______their sons Cillian, Niall and Caoimhin’s bands, Lúnasa at the Drygate Brewery on January 22. and Buille, together with Flook, and award-winning The project is masterminded by pipers John pipers Jarlath Henderson and Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn. Mulhearn and Calum MacCrimmon and this gig show- Is this a: New Subscription q The legacy of Gordon Duncan’s music is honoured cases Fraser Fifield, acclaimed for his experimentation Re-Subscription q Gift Subscription q with a concert titled Just for Gordon – Celebrating a across Celtic, east European, jazz and electronic To give a subscription to a friend as a gift, music, and New Yorker Matthew Welch and his National Treasure. fill the recipients name and address above The bill for the gig at Glasgow Royal Concert band Blarvuster, who combine bagpipe tradition with Hall on January 24, includes The Tannahill Weavers Indonesian gamelan music, rock and jazz. and enter the givers name here. while Galicia’s Susana Seivane reflects his pioneering RURA, with their thrilling bagpipes and fiddle-led Gift From______embrace of wider Celtic traditions. instrumentals and exquisite ballads from singer Adam I enclose a cheque for ______Other featured keepers of the flame include Ross Holmes, play the Old Fruitmarket on January 29. or please debit my Visa/Mastercard/Maestro. Ainslie, Ali Hutton, Jarlath Henderson, Angus McColl, Having won Live Act of the Year at the 2014 Scots Credit Card Allan MacDonald, Stuart Liddell, , Trad Music Awards, you would expect Skipinnish to |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| Julie Fowlis and The National Youth Pipe Band of put on a good show. Scotland. Their line-up includes piper Andrew Stevenson and Maestro The programme also features a variety of bands Kyle Orr on pipes and whistles. and for their gig at |_|_|_|_|_|_| showcasing the power of the pipes. the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on January 30, piper These include Dàimh, who will host a grand Gaelic Duncan Nicholson will be a guest. |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| And looking to the future, emerging talent from the ceilidh at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on January 15 Start Date |_|_|_|_| Expiry Date |_|_|_|_| and folk rockers Skerryvore, who perform the same Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s BMus Traditional night at the Old Fruitmarket. Music and BA Scottish Music degree courses get a Maestro Issue Number |_| Scott Wood’s fiery piping sets the pace in his five well-deserved showcase at the Glasgow Royal Con- CVV No. (last 3 digits on back of card) |_|_|_| piece band, who bring whistles, , bass and drums cert Hall’s Strathclyde Suite on January 16. to the mix. They play Òran Mór on January 16. For more information about these concerts, other Name on card ______It wouldn’t be a festival without the Peatbog gigs in the progamme or to book, visit www.celticco- We can accept Switch, Visa, Mastercard. Faeries, who have almost 20 years experience of nnections.com. Tickets can also be booked by calling Also sterling cheques, postal orders, taking the traditional bagpipes and fiddle front line the box office on 0141 353 8000. or IMOs payable to The National Piping Centre World-class workshops at Florida festival Send your application to: THE National Piping Centre are offering world- Dunedin Highland Games, which includes solo and pipe The National Piping Centre class piping and drumming tuition at the Dunedin band competitions. 30-34 McPhater Street Tide Festival of Piping in the US state of Florida More piping and drumming workshops will be held Glasgow, Scotland. G4 0HW. in April. on the Sunday, when amateur piping competitions will The festival kicks off on Friday, April 1, in the city also take place. Tel. +44 (0)141 353 0220 The National Piping Centre is collecting your personal data to administer your subscription of Dunedin with piping and drumming workshops, a For more information and how to book, visit www. to Piping Today. This data will be held securely and will not be transferred to any third party pipe band parade, instructors’ piping recital and ceilidh. thepipingcentre.co.uk/bagpipe-drumming-schools/ except where required by law. The NPC may wish to contact you by email with information The action on Saturday, April 2, centres around dunedin-tide-festival-of-piping/. about its activities. If you wish to receive this information, please tick here. ❑✓ 78

PIPING TODAY • FREE FEATURE SAMPLE • ISSUE 78 • 2015/16 PAGE 7 All photos: John [email protected] PROFILE PAGE 8 FRED T adcapn, y-opn ae ln wt the with along awe eye-popping hand-clapping, Forfoot-tapping, in resttheysit the concert the of why people had told them to see him perform live. exactly understand they throttle, full Fredat with gers are doing. As the transfixed at the stage to see what on earth Fred’s fin- gaping mouths,they aren’t breathing, asthey stare their Despite it. in anvil an put has Jerry after just seen him before hit the ground like Tom’slike ground the hit before him seen whereconcert the jaws of those who haven’t here is a moment in every Fred Morrison Hard Drive goes into overdrive PIPING TODAY •FREE FEATURE SAMPLE•ISSUE 78•2015/16 his approach tomusic. Live! HallConcert during Piping CD.Itooktheopportunity guitar —have released theLive at The Glasgow Royal Martin O’Neill onbodhranandMattheu Watson on a tasteofit,astheFredTrio Morrison —Fred plus experience can relive it and those that haven’t can get is intown. know they will be back for more the next they time Fred else everyone like and audience, the of rest morrison by Chris MacKenzie Now forthefirsttime,thosewhohave hadthatlive to catchupwith Fred andtalkaboutthe CD and PROFILE

Although he has been around the piping scene for more than 30 years, the live ‘It took us is only is Fred’s fifth recording — The Broken Chanter, Up South, The Sound of the Sun and to another Outlands. He puts the sparse discography down to the level. It era he grew up in. Fred said: “CDs were such a major thing opened an and I’ve always viewed it as an artistic deci- sion and never as a business decision — and I awful lot should. I have been meaning to start releasing CDs more regularly. of doors “I’ve got loads of new material for a new studio CD and I’d like to start recording that all over in the winter, but I’m inundated with things to do and time is a problem. If I could record the place’ it between winter and spring for release a year from now I’d be quite happy but right now is insane.” Fans have long wanted Fred to record a live album to capture the great atmosphere and energy of his shows. He said: “So many people have been saying to me. Jimmy Neilson, engineer on Outlands, said ‘I can do that for you, I’ll bring some gear along and record it’. A lot of people do a live album over a tour but we did it on one night. We were all gigged-in — Martin, Mattheu and I — we knew the material inside out”. For many years Fred was piping’s best kept secret. Very well known in piping environs but not so well known beyond that. The bluegrass- infused Outlands changed all that. He said: “It took us to another level. It opened an awful lot of doors all over the place. “I’ve always loved bluegrass and I find it very similar to our own rhythms. Of course, it came from our rhythms and I love the high tempos they play. “I decided to make something that was a bit more universally appealing. I wanted to choose material that everyone can enjoy and share and also something the guys in the States who were going to be recording on it could lock into. “The kind of music I grew up with in Uist was pushing notes here and stretching notes there, so I had to really pull it all in. I was researching the tempos they use and they were playing from 138 beats per minute and upwards, really high tempos especially with the improvisation and ornamentation.

PIPING TODAY • FREE FEATURE SAMPLE • ISSUE 78 • 2015/16 PAGE 9 PROFILE

Ron Block Tim O’Brien or trio tour before Christmas. Now every concert is sold out — Eden Court sold out, Stor- noway sold out, Stirling sold out — these are 250 or 300 seat concerts. There are pipers there in the audiences but the vast bulk is the general public who have seen The Trans- atlantic Sessions or they’ve heard Outlands, or they like The Kansas City and the Hard Drive. There are a lot of favourites they’ll ask for at every gig. So in all honesty the “It was a great recording process. I remember audience did change.” sitting down and saying: ‘Right I have to write ‘There were big bearded That we have reached the a really kicking bluegrass piece.’ So I started place where piping is in the from scratch and wrote the Hard Drive in one guys up on chairs air-piping mainstream is undoubtedly afternoon. due in major part to the ef- “I sent it over to Tim O’Brien who recorded — that is the truth’ forts of the trio of Fred, and it in the Butcher Shoppe studio in Nashville, the sadly late Gordon Duncan where Johnny Cash had recorded. ‘This is what I’ve been looking for on this and Martyn Bennett. I asked how comfortable “I was packing up in the studio with Jimmy album’.” he is with his part in the transition. Neilson, who is now a legend, when he came The other musicians involved in the record- Fred feels that the tradition keeps on moving through with a wee memory stick to me and ing had a massive influence on the project. Fred and says that there’s a theory that perhaps the he said: ‘That’s it straight back from Nashville, explained: best of the tradition is yet to come. And cer- I’ve just downloaded it’. “They were so tight with timing. We would tainly the scene has changed since he was taken “Tim had layered three instruments on send it to Ron Block, the five-string by his father to watch the Tannahill Weavers it. He’d put down guitar, bluegrass fiddle player who plays with Allison Krauss’s Union on his 14th birthday in 1978. and and I think that has to be the Station. He’d work on it in his home studio He said: “Alan MacLe- high point when I heard it in the studio — I in Nashville and he would learn every single od was playing pipes was just so chuffed. It improvised note, even the tiniest note, and he with them and that was exactly what I’d had it nailed on the five string. guy was a mav- been looking for. It “I don’t know how, he must have stopped erick, a one-off. had exactly the right and started a million times. It was just immacu- It was the first tempo, excitement late, absolutely mind-blowing. Their standard time we had and chordal back- of precision and delivery, yet keeping the mu- ing and I thought: sicality, really impressed me. Of course, I also had Matthew and Martin who are two of Scotland’s finest.” The album was, of course, a big hit and opened up a whole new au- dience and not just the traditional piping crowd. Fred said: “It’s just completely different. In the winter I always do a huge solo, duo

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heard the pipes with that kind of folk group, “Then with the firstPiping Live! In 2004 and “I really enjoy it and I feel good and I like I know people had dabbled before — but this the launch of BBC Alba in 2008, everybody sharing it with the audience, I like the craic. I was new. began to share more. That was a real growing always like a good feel with the gigs even if you “The City Halls were packed and when Alan time. Now in Piping Live!, you hear guys in pipe are playing the slow stuff. I really enjoy that. came in on the pipes, there were big bearded bands saying, ‘Did you hear this folk band?’ and “There was a real turning point in my musi- guys up on chairs air-piping — that is the the guys in the folk band saying, ‘Did you hear cal career when I went over to Brittany with truth. Alan was playing high tempos and he was Field Marshal Montgomery or did you hear Allan and Gordon in 1983. I’d been busking in expressing tremendous music and I remember the Shotts?’ And you get the guys on the Royal Amsterdam and I met Billy Kelly and Miriam thinking that’s absolutely brilliant. But at the Conservatoire of Scotland degree course who Kelly, great musicians, and they introduced time, the frowns and the harsh criticism he got are totally clued up about the pipes. They’ll have me to the playing of Paddy Keenan, the Bothy — a lot of people looked down on it. a go on the reel pipes or the or Band and all that. They said: ‘Never mind all “In 1983, myself, Allan MacDonald and the low whistle, that’s where it’s all happening. that rigid playing, these guys improvise all the Gordon Duncan went over to the Lorient Fes- If I had any part to play in it, it’s an honour time’. tival in Brittany and that was the start of a bit and I really hope I did.” “At that time I met Paddy Keenan in of a revolution. All of us had done well in junior “As a tradition, we are living and breathing. Quimper in Brittany playing in a pub. I heard and professional competitions and we were win- I think we are in a much healthier position but him again in 1986 just playing in a bar and it ning prizes and knocking on the doors of the I’m interested to see where it’s going to go to. I was one of the best things ever. It was mind- medals. When you do that people have to listen. think there is a lot less knocking and negativ- blowing with the subtlety of the improvisation They could knock Alan MacLeod and say: ‘It’s ity around.” never repeating a phrase. Something went ding all very well but how would he do at Oban?’. Audiences who have had the pleasure of in my head. But I would say to them ‘Let me hear you do listening to Fred play live over the years will be “With our Highland pipes we have amazing what he does with that flair, that expression’. familiar with how he likes to ring the changes ornamentation, grips, torluaths, doublings, “Because we were in the scene, people weren’t at each concert. Subtle changes are made to birls, things that rattle, things that pop, things as harsh, but there was still a lot of frowning familiar tunes, he may play the tune on a dif- that bubble — and it got me thinking it would and people saying things like ‘That’s a shame ferent instrument, or Martin and Mattheu may be great if you could actually choose and repeat he could have be a great player.’ do something different. It means the concerts a few of them and use them to effect — and “After that, Gordon was playing with the have a fresh feel as tunes are never played the that was when I really left solo piping, at the Tannahill Weavers and I was playing with same way twice. age of maybe 23. Capercaillie and for the first time really using Fred said: “They “At the age of 22 I’d won the Gold Medal the key of A reel or and that was are great players and won a lot of major prizes but at 23 I sat a bit of a door opener. and they are very back and decided to teach myself how to im- “We did the Rob Roy theme tune and we quick and that’s provise. I could hear what I wanted to do but were gigging everywhere. People realised you what makes it I wanted to get to a level where it sounded can in play in A with the same acoustic fun. If I do some- more than just a hiccup. Learning to compatibility as fiddles and other instru- thing they are on improvise was almost a kind of ments. So people began to use them it straight away. meditation and relaxation until in pubs and sessions and that really Sometimes Martin I got it, then it’s just like a grew a lot. and I might do something language. Just as we speak, “The original Celtic Con- or Mattheu and I or they the words come to you nections piping concerts were might do something behind as you go. That’s the brilliant — Paddy Keenan, me. That’s when it’s really way I view it. Liam O’Flynn, Kathryn Tick- happening. ell, myself, Gordon, Dr Angus, I remember all those. Celtic Connections had a massive role to play.”

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“Piping predates staff notation by a long Fred has been inspired by the approach of some touches of improvisation in their playing. The way. How could a piece in the Outer Hebrides of the biggest names in traditional music. tiniest wee thing that’s so lovely on the spur be the same as it was in Glencoe? It couldn’t be, Fred admitted: “It’s taste. Jazz players rely of the moment and it just sounds wonderful. there was no accessibility. I was thinking about on that all the time. “I wonder what Donald MacLeod would this and how it has an authenticity and I was “Keep the heid and start simply. Choose a have been like with his genius and creativity looking at the old manuscripts like Glen’s and really nice slow air and even if you just change if he had improvised? It would have been Queen Victoria’s Willie Ross. I was looking at one gracenote in a part, develop it slowly. For unbelievable.” the different settings and ornamentation and some people it will develop very quickly, for “I learned a really strong South Uist you could see it was an older and wilder style others it will take longer but they are thinking . That’s the way my dad taught of playing. It’s dead easy too. You do hear peo- and if they do that they are developing their me. Everything was Uisteach canntaireachd. ple go over the top and it sounds flash, with style — what they are thinking or how they When I meet people like Rona Lightfoot, too many bendy notes — it’s the subtlety, the are feeling — and it’s giving identity to their Seonaidh Roidean, Calum Campbell, we choosing that’s important.” playing. would all have the same canntaireachd. I’d Once a player has the confidence to im- “The people that have influenced me are be surprised if singing a tune with Rona provise, it can be tempting to add too much Paddy Keenan, Tommy Peoples and Kevin in canntaireachd we wouldn’t be gracenote ornamentation. It’s a tricky balancing act but Burke and you just hear some beautiful wee perfect.

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“The interesting thing is if you can hear that while you are playing, you can improvise in the canntaireachd so you’re not thinking of a written representation. Instead you can use the language of canntaireachd to repeat phrases or leave things out to make it more embellished. The canntaireachd is great for that. “It’s great for kids to know the theory of music and they can use it to good effect. But I think they should know how to sing the tune so it gets right through their soul. If they can sing it, it is in their brain, that to me is how you get it from the inside of you out. Rather than being someone who just reproduces what on the page, that’s how you get the personality and the feel.” As he touched on earlier, Fred has an impres- sive competitive piping pedigree — a double Gold Medallist (Argyllshire 1986, Northern of the great 2/4 marches by John MacColl or January I’m probably going to New Zealand, Meeting 1991) who has competed at the Glen- Donald MacLeod, it’s just an honour to play then back, and off to Kansas, then back and fiddich championships. them in those settings. in February I’m off to Seattle. Then I’m off to Although he moved away from the boards for “I’m very open minded and I hate to hear Australia for a month. It’s mental.” many years, recently he has returned to playing it when one faction knocks the others. That’s If the composing, recording, gigging, exam at major competitions. the only thing I don’t like. If somebody is out marking, competitions and travelling weren’t Fred laughed: “Why? I’m asking myself there honestly playing pipes whether it is in enough there is also the matter of the Fred that regularly, I really am — it’s like I don’t solos, bands, groups or whatever, then more Morrison Reel pipes and smallpipes, made by have enough to do with six or seven other power to their elbow and if some people want McCallum Bagpipes. Both are proving a hit instruments. The main reason is the music to to cross over, great.” with Highland pipers as they can use the same be honest. That was my musical upbringing — “I love improvising and writing my own fingering yet the pipes allow them to play along solo piping. I enjoyed it and I really love playing stuff, I love all of that but I love the classic stuff with other instruments. these big piobaireachds. too, just as much. Fred explained: “The pipes are so popular “In the last three years it has been big crack- “I have done examining for the piping de- now. There’s a lot of smallpipes that go world- ing tunes, Donald Gruamach’s March, The Laird gree course and it’s really brilliant. They come wide. We are bringing out our new uilleann of Anapool — and it’s good music. The big up and they give you a good MSR and a good pipes very soon. We’re hoping that Highland tunes are great and it really tests the stamina piobaireachd, but yet they give you something pipers might have a crack at them as they are of your instrument as well. You have to get else as well. In the repertoire for their exams may amazing things to play.” this instrument that is going to be locked in be 19th century tunes or contemporary suites There is no doubt that in the last 30 years, from start to finish and that’s like a revisited they put together themselves. Some might bring Fred has had a profound impact on not just challenge for me. And the big MSRs too. They a guitarist or a percussionist and some might the piping scene in Scotland but also the wider are great tunes and it’s a good scene with lots throw in the odd natural note here and there music scene. He was at the vanguard of the of friends. Once you are brought up with that depending on the mode of the tune — but they move to expand piping from the big set piece it never leaves you.” will give you a good MSR and a right good competitions and he is still right at the front Now that improvisation is such a large part piobaireachd as well on a good instrument and of that, decades on, he just has a lot of people of his performing repertoire, it takes a special to me that’s what piping is all about. for company now. discipline to adapt once more to competition “Know the classic stuff and treat it right Yet he lives and breathes the competitive piping. with a good pipe and then play the other stuff scene and can play a piobaireachd that will reach Fred said: “I guess it’s just respect for — that’s what we have been trying to achieve.” deep into your soul. He composes tunes that everyone really — for the piece itself, for the Given the broad range of his talents and ap- rapidly become standards and has reached an composer and for the scene we are in. I’ve peal which extends beyond the piping scene, audience in all corners of the world that didn’t got no intentions of going in there to rock it’s no surprise that he is in demand around even know it liked pipe music. Influence is an the boat. I know the way the game is played the world. often abused word but in this case it is safe to and sometimes to hear the classic settings has He said: “I’m in the States at least three say, Fred Morrison has and continues to posi- its own musical beauty. If I hear the way GS times a year, sometimes more. I’m out every tively influence the world of piping as we know McLennan wrote Mrs MacPherson of Inveran, October touring all the way up to Cape Breton it. So if you haven’t already, go and see him live. it’s magic and I’m honoured to play it, or some in Canada, then I’ve got a solo tour here. In Just watch out for that anvil! l

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PIPING TODAY • FREE FEATURE SAMPLE • ISSUE 78 • 2015/16 PAGE 15 NEW PRODUCTS

CD Reviews Ross Ainslie arrival of Ross Ainslie the singer/songwriter, but as While Blackhouse will be too much for traditionalist continued affirmation of Ross Ainslie the traditional pipers still begrudging the popularity of rock and pop Remembering musician. Gordon Duncan did more than any other covers on the bagpipes, if you’re looking for a way GWR003CD piper of his generation to reclaim our place in the to get your clubber friend to take traditional Scottish wider pantheon of traditional music, and thanks to music seriously, then there could be no better start- like this, remembering his achievements has ing point than the Peatbog Faeries. l stuart milne never been more pleasurable. l stuart milne Ross Munro The Peatbog Faeries Twisted Tradition Blackhouse CDTRAX384 CDBOG007

t is not difficult to detect the main inspi- ration behind Ross Ainslie’s latest album. ITen years on from his untimely passing, the presence of Ross’s mentor and friend Gordon Duncan, thanked in the sleeve notes simply “for everything”, is felt throughout the aptly titled Remembering. Since Gordon was renowned for pushing musical boundaries, it is fitting that his prolific pupil should re- veal a new side to his artistry – writing and performing s pipe major of the Royal Scots Dragoon his own songs. The album opens with Change, which n starting up the Peatbog Faeries’ Guards, Ross Munro was a key architect seems to speak of the inner struggle that has sadly latest album, Blackhouse, you could be Aof Spirit of the Glen: Journey, which won blighted many of our most gifted musicians, especially Oforgiven for thinking you’ve accidentally the regiment a Classical Brit Award in 2009. Now the telling lines: “Self destruction is the easy way/But turned on a trance record. The electronic wall retired from the army, he seeks to consolidate the dark shadow carries on”. of sound that hits you at the very beginning his new career as a professional musician with Elsewhere the lyrical qualities of the songs are of the first track Is This Your Son? immediately his first solo album, Twisted Tradition. mixed, ranging from the mysterious Friday night proclaims this as the edgiest work to date of a Many of the tunes are old favourites: Crossing the romance of Dreaming Daisy (“A bird and a bee/Went band already renowned as one of the most head- Minch, The Dark Island, Lexy MacAskill and, slightly out on a spree/Talk of the town they’re together”) to bopping live acts in traditional music. questionably, Itchy Fingers. These familiar melodies are the bizarre and clunky in Nowhere to Go Part B (“Run However, anyone worried they are about to sit accompanied by some of Ross’s own compositions on run I should run/That guy there has got a gun”). Ross’s through a Now! That’s What I Call Music compilation pipes and whistle. The best of these, the very pleas- singing voice is also not particularly striking or clear, can rest assured that the album is still built around the ant whistle tune Celtic Cottage, also featured on the requiring the occasional glance through the sleeve fiddles of Ross Couper and pipes and whistles (five, to Dragoons’ 2002 album Parallel Tracks. Years before notes to check the lyrics. be exact) of prolific composer Peter Morrison. The the term “bagrock” entered common usage, Parallel Predictably, he is on surer ground with the instru- duo have written every tune except for The Dragon’s Tracks was the first recording to successfully integrate mental side. There are a host of supporting musicians, Apprentice, penned by one Archie Maclean from the bagpipes with modern rock band accompaniment including Gordon’s father Jock and son Gordy Jnr, at the ripe old age of nine. across an entire album, arguably making it one of the Ross’s perennial collaborator Ali Hutton on guitar and In keeping with the Peatbogs’ usual style, each most important piping CDs of the last two decades. several additional vocalists. track consists of only one tune played several times, In Twisted Tradition, however, Ross supplies the Across the album, the various string instruments but the support from guitar and Ebow player Tom majority of the backing through his electronic MIDI combine with Ross’s whistles and pipes and the ac- Salter, keyboardist Graeme Stafford, bassist Innes arrangements. Although the musical versatility cordion of John Somerville for an effect delightfully Hutton and percussionist Stu Haikney is so varied and involved is admirable, the effects lack depth and reso- pleasing to the ear, creating many moments of real sophisticated that the effect is rarely if ever repetitive. nance, frequently producing a synth-like sound that beauty. Standout tracks include the appropriately Although a few tracks are at Friday night dance begs to be modern but actually comes over as dated. uplifting song Head High and the sumptuous slow air floor tempo, such as the ceilidh-inspired Spider’s, the However, there are plus points. The most suc- Lullaby for Mel, the centrepiece of the Vale of Atholl majority are surprisingly chilled and gentle despite cessful integration of MIDI backing and melody Pipe Band’s 2014 competition medley. the prevailing electronica vibe, especially the lovely instruments occurs in the slower numbers, especially Perhaps the best gem on the album is Jock Speaks, slow-burner Angus and Joyce Mackay and the tranquil The Piper and the haunting Cuimhneachan. Perhaps a masterfully concise life story narrated in under a fiddle tune The Chatham Lassies. the recording’s greatest strength is Ross’s talent minute by bothy ballad singer Jock Duncan (a hand- The closing track, Strictly Sambuca, is the most ar- as an arranger of pipe music, shown by the artfully written copy is helpfully included in the sleeve notes resting, at once pulsating with rhythm and for the most constructed bridges. for those needing a translation), with tasteful musical part pleasingly calm. It genuinely sounds like a dance Still, the audience for the album remains hard to accompaniment creating an effect reminiscent of number mixed by a global superstar DJ and would gauge. It is not right for the lucrative easy listening another great Scottish game-changer, Martyn Bennett. easily fit into the setlist of a fashionable nightclub (not market the Spirit of the Glen series targeted, but the Remembering should be welcomed not as the that this reviewer has ever been to any). backing style is too tame for the younger audience that

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might be lured by the edgier works of the Peatbog resonates as both a very private grief Fairies or Martyn Bennett. More worryingly, pipers and a very public one. Sean takes the may feel it reminds them too strongly of the synth- lead on vocals using a different tune heavy experiments of the 1990s. (picked up from Fermanagh farmer Ross Munro helped break new ground with the John Maguire) to that usually associated Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and is undeniably a with the song. Christine Primrose adds gifted multi-instrumentalist. It is a shame, therefore, a poignant reworking of the last verse that Twisted Tradition returns to familiar territory we in Gaelic that will raise a hair on all but thought we had left behind years ago. l stuart milne the most waxed necks. She also takes the lead on a Scots Gaelic version of the Irish classic An Gille Mear (despite the song being about the Jacobite Ris- Beg & Borrow ing and the ‘Gille Mear’ himself Prince COMD2107 Charlie). With some local vocal support from Nuala Kennedy, this is a beautiful hey say in rock and pop music that you rendition of a ‘well kent’ song and one have really made it when your name gets of the highlights of the CD. Tshortened and is still instantly recognised Other highlights across the 18 tracks (The Stones, Britney, Madge). In that case the include Aaron Jones taking the lead Batties, like the Tannies and the Binkies, have on Robert Tannahill’s One Night In My truly made it to folk stardom. Youth (to the tune of The Lass who Wears Few would grudge them that, after reaching a the Green), Mike Whellans doing his har- landmark 30th album, which is remarkable in a genre The album kicks off in traditional Battlefield Band monica magic on McCarthy’s Quickstep (better known where artists often only make one. Battlefield Band style with a set of pipe led reels, although both Alasdair in Scotland as Bugle Horn) and the Drunken Piper, and have not only forged the path walked by many folkies White and guest Leo McCann get to shine alongside and Alasdair White’s sweet duet on since, but they have continued to travel it and have Mike Katz’s driving piping. There is absolutely no the Robin Morton tune Ellen’s Dream. made a huge contribution to the burgeoning folk doubt that the Battlefield Band were in the vanguard Sharing music shared by the Scottish and Irish scene, both in Scotland and overseas. of what is now regarded as the Scottish “folk sound” traditions is the tag line of this CD and that is exactly This album sees the band (Mike Katz, Alasdair with the pipes front and centre. As the opening set what it does. It’s well known that many tunes in Scot- White and Sean O’Donnell in this incarnation) invite 12 demonstrates, it is still something they know how to land have what can only be described as a common other musicians to celebrate the musical links between do very well. Leo also helps out on the delightful slow ancestry and many a good natured pub argument Scotland and Ireland. This guest list is impressive with air and jig set The Glasgow Lasses/The Scottish Lovers, has centred on who can claim ownership of a song Christine Primrose, Alison Kinnaird, Jim Kilpatrick, which gently rolls along proving that good tunes don’t or tune. Battlefield Band have been a big factor in John Martin, Mike Whellans, Barry Gray, Nuala Ken- always have to played at Mach two. the breaking of any ‘walls’ between the traditions nedy, Leo McCann, Aaron Jones, Robin Morton, Don The Blantyre Explosion is a classic Battlefield Band and this album is a fitting way to demonstrate that. Meade and Tony DeMarco all adding their special type of song. Bringing the tragedy of the 1877 Blantyre Here’s to the next 30 albums from the Batties. l talents to the mix. mine tragedy down to a very personal level, the song chris mackenzie

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PIPING TODAY • FREE FEATURE SAMPLE • ISSUE 78 • 2015/16 PAGE 17 The Duncan MacRae reproduction bagpipes are exact copies of the original MacRae pipes played by Stuart Liddell.

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