BAGPIPER VANCOUVER

Blair Castle, Scotland

Bruce Murray is opening up his digs to the world – literally.

For the first time ever, the 2012 Glenfiddich Invitational Solo Piping Championships will be streamed live from the chief of the Clan Murray’s traditional residence on October 27. Following the success of the live-streaming of the world pipe band championships, the National Piping Centre in Glasgow is using funding provided by an independent charity to bring the competition to a much wider audience who cannot attend the prestigious affair held in the great hall at Blair Castle.

Ten of the best pipers in the world, including BC’s Jack Lee, will be on hand to challenge in the march, strathspey, reel and pìobaireachd. All have qualified by winning a UK competition during the year.

Other pipers include Murray Henderson,  Callum Beaumont, Finlay Johnston, Stuart Liddell, 2011 winner Roddy MacLeod,  Euan MacCrimmon, Iain Speirs , eight time winner Willie McCallum and Gordon Walker. Judges of the MSR will be Ian Duncan, Iain MacLellan and Iain Morrison while pìobaireachd will be Jim McGillivray from Canada, Willie Morrison and Iain MacFadyen.

A list of previous winners and qualification rules can be found here.

For information on the event and to listen live, go the National Piping Centre’s website. You can register to access the live stream and can also receive update emails from the National Piping Centre.

Now for something else. Cape Breton infused highland bagpipes that takes piping to a new place. Well worth a listen.

Angus, Kenneth and Calum MacKenzie from Mabou in Cape Breton playing at the  Ceolas concert at Celtic Connections 2012.

A CD from the band Seudan featuring Calum MacCrimmon, Angus MacKenzie, Fin Moore, and Angus Nicolson with Allan MacDonald (Pibroch Song and small pipes), Mac Morin (piano and steps), Donald Hay (percussion), Ross Martin (guitar) and Kathleen MacInnes (Gaelic Song) is available from Cranford Music, in Cape Breton. Paul Cranford can be reached toll free at 1-866-929-2391

This composition by Janette Montague, for bagpipe and string quartet is in Primary Piobaireachd Form, and was inspired by a discussion with Bob Rogers (Bob Dunsire Discussion Forums) of South Carolina. The Yellow Jessamine is one of the emblems of that State. Piobaireachd is traditionally played on a solo bagpipe. It is essentially a Theme and Variations often with a return to the Theme at the end. The variations increase in complexity. The piece describes the beautiful Yellow Jessamine, in itself a delicate looking flower, yet poisonous to some animals, and where allowed to grow unabated, can even swamp the countryside and grow up trees, and round tree trunks. In the music, both the delicacy of the individual petals of a single flower, and the rampant, almost strangulatory effect of the plant taking over vast areas, is represented.

  “I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.”

The words of Prince Edward Island author Lucy Maud Montgomery rang true this past weekend in British Columbia. While it may not be June, May in the Lower Mainland of BC has many comparisons to June in PEI. L.M. Montgomery’s “Anne of Green Gables” recounted life in the Cavendish area of PEI, where “the beauties of nature unfold by the sea”. Here in BC, the past weekend was worth writing about: the azaleas and lilacs were blooming, the sun was shining, children playing and lawn-mowers humming. And with the dregs of winter and spring finally shaken off, it’s time to start the outdoor bagpiping season. Continue reading →

My former news colleague Ian Bailey, who I’m sure has an ear for traditional music from his reporting days in St. John’s, Newfoundland, has written an interesting story with the discovery that the City of Vancouver engineering department intends to ban the playing of bagpipes (and bongos, drums and tambourines) from the streets of Vancouver. (Ian’s story can be found here.) As you can suspect from the name of this blog, I don’t think very much of this plan.

I am not a busking bagpiper. In fact, I have never played for money on the streets of any of the Canadian cities I have lived in during the past 20+ years. I have certainly played for downtown pub crawls and parties in Halifax, St. John’s, Edmonton, Calgary, Surrey and Vancouver. I have had people walk up to me and hand me beer or whiskey, and most of my performances are either with a band or for individuals who have asked me to play for a private wedding, funeral, birthday party or head table. However I completely disagree with the idea of banning the pipes from the streets. For many young pipers, (and most busking pipers are younger players) playing on the street brings the sound of the marches, strathspey’s, reels, jigs and airs of our Celtic music to a wider population. It also provides a bit of income and practice time for the piper. A well tuned and played bagpipe can be a moving experience for many people of Scottish or Irish descent and for many who are not. The vast number of responses to Ian’s story in the Globe & Mail makes it clear that the  majority of readers disagree with the ban. Continue reading →