Top 10 Piobaireachds' pipers -
And here are the tunes I gleaned from your great collective Piobaireachd conversation (and added here too -
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aoyqEX0axA47tesdABfthYGKj_xzljddyR5FN1fisxc/edit?usp=sharing) -
Top 10 Piobaireachds -
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.music.makers.bagpipe/c/tHZPS2mbZMg
gleanings -
Donald MacKenzie, His Father’s Lament for
Beloved Scotland, I Leave Thee Gloomy
I got a Kiss of the King's Hand
Lament for MacSwan of Roaig
Lament for the Children
Struan Robertson’s Salute
The Earl of Seaforth’s Salute
The Desperate Battle (of the Birds)
The Lament for Mary Macleod
Lament for the Old Sword
The Big Spree
MacDougall's Gathering
Macdonald of Kinlochmoidart's Lament no.1
Lament for Queen Anne
Battle of Auldearn no.1
Lament for Donald Doughal MacKay
Rory MacLoude's Lament
Lady Annapool's Lament
The Desperate Battle
The Old Woman's Lullaby
'Lady Margaret MacDonald's Salute' as played by Stuart Shedden &
'Lament for the Earl of Antrim' as played by Mike Cusack.
Bells of Perth
The King's Taxes Crunluath Breabach or Crunluath Fogsailte (Robert Brown playing)
Battle of Auldearn (as played by Gavin Stoddart on Lismor's Piobaireachd complilation) and MacKintosh's Lament seem very musical to my tin ear.
Seamus MacNeill doesn't rate The Glen is Mine very highly, but I like it.
1. Lament for Mary Macleod. GREAT TUNE. Wonderful first variation. The
Breabach are first rate, actually the taor and crun are not quite a breabach but close. Melodic to the core
2. The massacre of Glencoe.
Monster feeling tune. no dithis. only taorluath singling and dubling ans the same for crun. It has an easy crun amach.
3. Lament for the only son. A Patrick Mor MacCrimmon tune, ( he is the champ. wrote Mary MacLeod and lament for the children). A vary regular tune and
easily played. Vary full of feeling though.
4. MacIntoshes Lament. although it is irregular it isn't really hard. the
urlar and first two variations are quite beautiful and lyrical. a must play tune.
5. The old woman' lullaby. The Bob Brown version will tear your heart out. The Capt Jack MacLellan version is top notch. Easy to play and point.
6. Too Long in this condition. another MacCrimmon tune. each variation is
quite distinct and it is easy to memorize. it is lusty and easy to play.
7. MacCrimmon's Sweetheart. Al though the Gaelic title is about a lost cow,
it gets lonely in the highlands, the tune is moderately difficult but is in the lovely key of D. Non Piobaireachd fans, how many can there be?, love this
tune.
1. The Company's Lament.
2. The Battle of Glenshiel.
3. Duncan MacRae of Kintail's Lament.
4. Lament for Donald of Laggan.
As for some of my top tuneful favourites.....
Corrienessan's Salute,
Salute on the Birth of Rory Mor
The Earl of Seaforth, Salute
The Young Laird of Dungallon's Salute
Rory MacLoude's Lament
Cave of Gold
Unjust Incarceration
1. MacCrimmon's Sweetheart - It can be tremendously moving. I've heard
several stories about it. I wish I knew the true one, but whatever the
story, it sounds like true love to me.
2. Lament for the Children - What an urlar!
3. Beloved Scotland - I can't get this tune out of my head.
4. Desperate Battle - Very nice urlar. The variations are what makes
it.
5. The Bells of Perth - You can actually hear the bells. Each variation
gives a different impression, but they are all bell-like.
6. Corrienessan's Salute - Very beautiful and salute-like. Peaceful
and grand.
7. MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart's Lament 1 - The high G in the second
and the third lines is the clincher. It is a very easy tune to
memorize.
8. The Old Woman's Lullaby - Peaceful at first. Then you can feel the
old woman getting her clutches on you.
9. Earl of Seaforth's Salute - Very nice mellody. I especially like
the Camerson style of playing this.
10. Lament for the Viscount of Dundee - Bill Livingstone does a
wonderful job of this.
Runner's up: The Sprees, MacLeod of Raasay's Salute, Too Long in this Condition, Ronald MacDonald's Lament, Lament for D.D. MacKay, Prince's
Salute, Auldearn, Catherine's Lament, Black Donald's March
'Ceol Na Mara'- John M. MacKenzie
A very melodic urlar, almost like an air. And not too many difficult embelishments so it is easy to execute with some practice.
'Salute to James Campbell"- A. Kenneth
Nice use of grips and echoing strikes in the urlar. The variations have an interesting syncopation.
The Old Men of the Shells
The Unjust Incarceration
Beloved Scotland
The Battle of Auldearn No. 1
Lament for the Children
A Flame of Wrath for Patrick Caogach
The Desperate Battle
Lament for Donald of Laggan
Lament for the Viscount of Dundee
Lament for Red Hector of the Battles
Auldearn No. 1 has shown up a surprising no. of times on this list - didn't realize it was such a popular tune.
The Unjust Incarceration is a tune I became enamoured of after hearing Bob Nicol
sing the urlar and first variation on the Masters of Piobaireachd Vol. I CD. Very beautiful, melodic ground if expressed correctly.
Lament for Red Hector of the Battles - Martyn Bennett plays the urlar beautifully on his CD Bothy Culture. A much more musical tune than I had previously realized, and one of the oldest tunes we have.
I'm surprised that The Old Men of the Shells hasn't appeared on more lists...a big, complicated tune, but very musical.
least favorite (another thread) - Grain in Hides and Corn in
Sacks.
1. Lament for Donald of Laggen-not too long but has been called a masterpiece in mineture. a very satisfying tune to play. but needs good feeling for the music and an ability to transition to the brebach's. Patrick Mors tune. you can hear echos of Lament for the children in the urlar
2. A flame of Wrath for squinting patrick. Also not too long but needs the driving tempo and clear run down hand. A tune much cheezed up by fellow cheezy
piobaireachd players. needs alot of crispness
3. MacLeod's Controversy another Donald MacCrimmon grouchy tune. also not long
but can get you on crossing noises. Lots of high hand and low hand shifts. The shift from the urlar to taorluath is perfection.
4.Earl of Seaforth's Salute. Lots of rolling top hand work in the urlar and first two varriations. it needs a pipe which has the high A and high G in top form. it is lovely and the tune does indeed sparkel
5.the desperate battle or the birds fight. not hard to memorize and quite regular BUT it needs very crisp fingering.
6. Cha Till MacCrimmon: alovely tuen if abit depressed. Not hard to memorize but needs very good slowing down between movments to get the depressed feeling.
there's a really beautiful Piob. written by William
Barrie who lives in Canada. It's a 20th century work and the composer
is alive and well, so I hear. It's called Lament for Pipe Major Robert
Reid and surely must be one of the most beautiful pieces of music
written for the instrument in the last 700 years.
1. Lament for the Children, one of the longest melody lines in all of music. 2.Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon. MacKay got the most out of the instrument with this one. The first varriation and doub. are with out parallel in piping. 3. Lament for Donald Dughal MacKay. yet another urlar which goes on forever.
a haunting melody line
4. Lament for the Harp Tree or Key. one of the oldest tunes and it goes on and on and on. Bill Livingston has been quoted as saying " this isn't a tune it's
a career".
5. The Daugthers Lament. Lots of embari movments. Full of a lot of pathos
6. Lament for Vicount Dundee. What a beautiful urlar so lyrical
7. The little and big sprees. Two tunes full of remorse
8. Lament for the Old Sword. Not a difficult tune but needs a pipe in first rate order as it uses every note but low G and moves throw all of the keys in the pipe
9. Lament for donald Ban MacCrimmon. a tune of brutal beauty.
10.the Bells of Perth. it needs a superb technique
glengarry's lament it needs a little interpretation else it
sounds like a machine. Struan Roberts Salute. the urlar has been set to a 2/4 march so you get two tunes for the price of one
intermediate tunes: His father's Lament for Donald MacKennzie lots of varriations to play with. the second variation uses a neet but odd F grace
note to good effect. This Glen is Mine. it seems like a very simple tune but
it takes some skill to get it right.The Groat--irregular to the bone but like a Mozart melody full of surprizes. I got a kiss of the Kings hand.easy to memorize but needs good timing.
Easier tunes -
1. Lament for Mary MacLeod, a truly beautiful tune with a wonderful love
story attached, VERY suitable for old softies and romantics like me :-)
2. "Too Long in this Condition" something that could be said about me!! A
full weight Macrimmon tune, fit to be played at the Argylleshire Gathering
or the Northern Meeting, I heard it played at Oban in 1996. A lovely melody which grows on you, it does need to be played well on a good pipe to fully appreciate it's haunting beauty.
3. Salute on the Birth of Rory Mor MacLeod, a grand tune that is better for being acquainted with, it took me some time for me to realise that what I
was listening to was wonderful, not a piobaireachd you can hear if you are doing something else, it demands concentration and repays with pleasure.
4. The Company's Lament, this is a tune I am also learning, I have the urlar off but a way to go yet!! I like the melody and it has some lovely triplings
in var.3
Seamus MacNeil quotes Joseph MacDonald as a source for this tune where it is called "March for a beginner"
5. Struan Robertson's Salute, I heard a close friend play this and it has
been lurking at the back of my mind to bring it forward and learn it, it has special memories for me :-) it's a good melody and a full of little
surprises!! Nuff said!!
6. Alastair Dearg, as Zu said, it's a very good tune and well worth the
effort.
7. MacKintosh's Banner, an easy tune but a nice melody, I love playing it.
8. Glengarry's Lament, another easy beginners tune, simple yet evocative
when played well.
9. Cabar Feidh gu Brath, thanks to Maeve, I have run through this tune again and have gained a new respect for it, lovely melodic lines here, definitely
one to snuggle up to on a cold winter's night and composed by that peerless piper Donald MacLeod.
10. MacCrimmons Sweetheart, a pretty melody as befits a pretty ...............................................sweetheart !! A cow, what
was Macrimmon thinking of, maybe it's best not to ask??
Too Long In This Condition- I think this is the tune that made me fall
in love with piobaireachd. I love the eedrees (sp?) coming off high
A. I have to say I like the Kilberry version of this (as played by
Donald MacPherson on the piping center recital series) better than the
version that Jimmy MacIntosh published in the Voice.
I Got A Kiss of The Kings Hand- one of the finest tunes melody wise
that you can find; and the variations are easy, which is a plus in my
book :).
The Groat- A great "dark" tune. Lots of fun.
Lament For Mary MacLeod- Awesome; can't think of anything else to say
Clan Campbell's Gathering- Not usually a tune that makes the favorites
list, but I was playing it the other night and I realized that when
your pipe is set up right and everything is executed correctly, this
tune really compares to the "big" gathering tunes.
Lament For Patrick Og Macrimmon- Heard this on that Masters of
Piobaireachd CD, its technically amazing without sacrificing melody.
Lament for The Children- My favorite of the real classics of
piobaireachd, for some reason I enjoy it more than Lament for Donald
Dughal MacKay, call me a rebel
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.music.makers.bagpipe/c/tHZPS2mbZMg
As Aye, Scott
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aoyqEX0axA47tesdABfthYGKj_xzljddyR5FN1fisxc/edit?usp=sharing
http://scottmacleod.com/piping.htm
https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/search/label/bagpiping
--
Scott MacLeod - World University books
Scottish Small Piping album #2 - Honey Piobaireachd (2022)
-
https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand (Berkeley)
- Poetry! Order Book #5 Light, Float, Sit, Watsu ~ Virtually (2021)
Scottish Small Piping album #1 Honey in the Bag ~ Out of the Air tune (2020)
Order Book #4 To the Dance or the Pools? ~ Virtually! How different it is to soak at Harbin Hot Springs, than to realize it in virtual reality (2019)
Order Book #3 Winding Road Rainbow: Harbin, Wandering & the Poetry of Loving Bliss (2018)
Order Book #2 Haiku-ish and Other Loving Hippie Harbin Poetry (2017)
Order Actual-Virtual Ethnographic Book #1: Naked Harbin Ethnography (2016)
-
https://twitter.com/HarbinBook
- Scott GK MacLeod
Founder, President, CEO & Professor
CC-4 licensed MIT OCW-centric. Wiki,
World University & School (WUaS)
- PO Box 442, Canyon, CA 94516
- 210 East End Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15221
1) non-profit World University and School -
http://worlduniversityandschool.org
-
https://twitter.com/WorldUnivAndSch
2) for profit general stock company WUaS Corporation in CA -
http://worlduniversityandschool.org/AcademicPress.html
-
https://twitter.com/WUaSPress
(o) 415 480 4577 -
[email protected]
(m) 412 478 0116 -
[email protected]
-
https://twitter.com/scottmacleod
-
http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottgkmacleod
-
https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/search/label/global%20university
-
https://twitter.com/sgkmacleod (all 7,168 known living languages at WUaS)
World Univ & Sch Innovation Research - scottmacleod.com
-
https://worlduniversityandschool.blogspot.com/search/label/global%20university
On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 12:35:47 PM UTC-4, Scott MacLeod wrote:
Thanks, John Broadwell, all,
Thanks for this great conversation about people's favorite prettiest (in part) Piobaireachd,
In the Ligonier Highland Games, in western Pennsylvania in September 2022, I began asking friends and pipers their favorite prettiest Piobaireachd, and am developing a spreadsheet for this too - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/
1aoyqEX0axA47tesdABfthYGKj_xzljddyR5FN1fisxc/edit?usp=sharing . In these regards, just created my second Scottish bagpiping album, "Honey Piobaireachd," seeking to find and playing prettiest Piobaireachd too -
https://
scottmacleodpiobaireachdscottishsmallpipesbagpiping.bandcamp.com/.
These top my list currently -
Donald MacKenzie, His Father’s Lament for
Beloved Scotland, I Leave Thee Gloomy
I got a Kiss of the King's Hand
Lament for MacSwan of Roaig
Lament for the Children
Struan Robertson’s Salute
The Earl of Seaforth’s Salute
The Desperate Battle (of the Birds)
The Lament for Mary Macleod
Lament for the Old Sword
Happy Piobaireachd playing & listening,
Scott
http://scottmacleod.com/piping.htm
Bagpiping label in daily blog - https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/search/label/bagpiping
PS
Bagpiping wiki subjects for open teaching and learning at MIT OCW-centric wiki World Univ & Sch
https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Great_Highland_Bagpipe
Pibroch, Piobaireachd or Ceòl Mór https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Pibroch,_Piobaireachd_or_Ce%C3%B2l_M%C3%B3r
https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Bagpipe_Tutorials
https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Scottish_smallpipes_and_borderpipes
PPS
5 of my all-time favorite Piobaireachd classical #Scottishbagpiping pieces: The Desperate Battle (of the birds)I got a kiss of the king's handHis father's lament for Donald MacKenzie The Earl of Seaforth's SaluteBeloved Scotland, I Leave Thee Gloomy
https://scottmacleodpiobaireachdscottishsmallpipesbagpiping.bandcamp.com/ ~
https://twitter.com/scottmacleod/status/1664621839736360964?t=BYuGD9NncqKr0VNzsbGtEQ&s=19
https://twitter.com/sgkmacleod/status/1664621910188081154?t=ywAdNTR4LM4R8FBLJVX3CA&s=19
https://twitter.com/WUaSPress/status/1664621984842432513?t=cEdEbjsYo1T78dTcd7LUTw&s=19
https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1664621683401977856?t=qW89R6HEK5BlU7xrjGC_RQ&s=19
*#ScottishSmallPiping album #2 #HoneyPiobaireachd (2022){@TheOpenBand (Berkeley)} @scottmacleod https://scottmacleodpiobaireachdscottishsmallpipesbagpiping.bandcamp.com/ https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Pibroch,_Piobaireachd_or_Ce%C3%B2l_
M%C3%B3r #SSPipes' album #1 "Honey in the Bag" (2020) 'Out of the Air' tune
https://scottmacleodhoneyinthebagscottishsmallpipesbagpiping.bandcamp.com/track/out-of-the-air-j-scott-gk-macleod ~
https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Scottish_
smallpipes_and_borderpipes @WorldUnivAndSch ~
https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1662119965149806596?t=X62UnoQlENxHVn0Z4zRlFw&s=19
https://twitter.com/scottmacleod/status/1662119646923767812 https://twitter.com/WorldUnivAndSch/status/1662119830491676672 https://twitter.com/WUaSPress/status/1662120208310452225 https://twitter.com/sgkmacleod/status/1662120139544731648?t=7-dd1xfHyLPCfL9BcwmESQ&s=19
On Wednesday, May 3, 2000 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, Roger Whitson wrote:
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)