Comments on: 5 Tunes I Wish I Had Written

By: mike

mike — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:23:55 +0000

Excellent update, Roddy! Very interesting. Great to hear from you! Oz was/is the beneficiary of so many great players, pipes and artifacts!

And how does this pipe sound?

Enjoy the holidays!!

By: R S MacDonald

R S MacDonald — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 20:11:30 +0000

A very Merry Christmas to you Michael. It’s a long time since our paths crossed.

I was very interested in your choice of tunes and in particular ” Pipe Major George Ross”. This is also one of my favourite marches. My post however is not about the tune, it’s about the man himself. P/M Ross moved to Australia after UK Army service and spent his final years here. One of the guys in my band was very fortunate to buy the bagpipe he was presented by the officers of the Black Watch upon his retirement. The instrument is in pristine condition and complete with a beautifully inscribed shield on the bass drone.

Regards

Roddy MacDonald

By: mike

mike — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:12:11 +0000

Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Chris. I think Geo Ross is (a) just too hard for pipe corps to deliver (at least without all the technique stripped out) and (b) due to the multitude of 16th notes and scarcity of quarters just not attractive to percussionists. You make a good point regarding interpretative bias and early exposure to a particular style … pibroch, especially, is rife with predispositions of that kind! M.

By: ChrisZ

ChrisZ — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:34:06 +0000

Thank you for the interesting article.

I went back and listened to “P/M George Ross’s Farewell” (Colin MacLellan’s performance of it on your “Real to Reel” album). It’s a serious tune. Wonder why more bands don’t air it out for their sets? (I’ve heard a couple “Captain Carswell”s before, but never this one.)

I first heard “The Little Cascade” on an old Edinburgh Police album – the pointed, MSR version – and, perhaps because I first heard it this way, I enjoy the pointed more than the round. Of round versions, the one I heard Scottish Power play on YouTube (Scottish Championships, Dumbarton 2008, medley at 4:54) is my favourite because their arrangement preserves the cool, clever syncopation (or whatever you’d call it) of that fourth part you cited, giving it the same effect it has in the pointed version (whereas the 78th F.H. version does not so much, IMHO).

Your comment on “Susan MacLeod” is fascinating. I’ve never heard anyone pronounce upon the melodic sophistication of a tune. It’s interesting to hear someone talk about actual melodies of pipe music, rather than just their “tone, phrasing, technique, and execution”.

“The Mist Covered Mountains” is a tune that I’ve found myself humming to myself many times — courtesy of the 78th F.H. concert albums.

Thanks. I’m anxiously awaiting your 5 tunes you’re glad you didn’t write!