Drumnadrochit Piping Society

DRUMNADROCHIT PIPING SOCIETY: PIPING IN GLENURQUHART

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Drumnadrochit-Piping-Society-169961279821932/about/?ref=page_internal APRIL 2018

Table of Contents

Music: Piping from 1763 to 1811 by Duncan MacDonald (Glenurquhart Bulletin 1999)......3 Music: "Leaving Glen Urquhart" and A Glen Urquhart Piping Family by Tavish MacMillan (Glenurquhart Bulletin August 2011)..................................................................................3 The Glenurquhart Pipe Band by Peter Grant (First published in Glenurquhart Bulletin).......6 Drumnadrochit Piping Society https://www.facebook.com/Highlandness/........................9 Photos.............................................................................................................................10

Music: Piping from 1763 to 1811 by Duncan MacDonald (Glenurquhart Bulletin 1999) Reporting in 1763, Lorimer tells us: 'There has always been a piper in Urquhart. The commons are much pleased with this Musick, and the use of it will be a means of popularity amongst some.” The tradition of having a community salaried piper in the Glen was maintained until about 1808. Since then, pipers have been employed, but in a more selective role.

During the period 1744 to 1746, Angus Cumming was the piper in Urquhart. He was most likely a descendant of William Cumming, c. 1687 - c. 1723, one of a family of Strathspey musicians who served the Lairds of Grant for about 170 years. He obviously obeyed Sir Ludovic's injunction to stay peaceably at home during the time of Culloden, as we find that he was paid his salary of £15 Scots in 1745 and 1746. He continued in his post until at least 1760 as “musichian in this country.”

After Angus Cumming, Donald MacDonald in Wester St. Ninians took over until about 1776, when William MacDonald from Easter Clunebeg was appointed. William carried on until 1799 when, in failing health, he was given a charity payment of five shillings, by Sir James. His son, Donald MacDonald, picked up the pipes where his father left off and continued until about 1808, or perhaps until 1810, when the old order changed with the death of Sir James.

Music: "Leaving Glen Urquhart" and A Glen Urquhart Piping Family by Tavish MacMillan (Glenurquhart Bulletin August 2011) In the 1967 Bulletin, there was a short article about William MacDonald the composer of the pipe march "Leaving Glen Urquhart." This, at the time, was a very welcome piece of information, as for a number of years I had been trying to find out about both tune and composer, and had come up with very little, other than that he had been piper to Edward 7th during the period he was Prince of Wales, and that, although a native of the Glen, he had had to leave when evictions were taking place at the time Balmacaan Deer Forest was being formed. The article as it appeared is reproduced below.

In music books, the pipe tune "Leaving Glen Urquhart" is said to be traditional, but that is not correct. It was composed by William MacDonald, born in Escard, Balmacaan, in early 1880, son of a carpenter. There were three sons and one daughter. These boys made their own music by blowing through barley reeds. Then came the evictions to make way for a deer forest. William went south learning to play the bagpipes, and gained employment as a piper valet, during which time he composed "Leaving Glen Urquhart." He was one of Queen Victoria's pipers and travelled to the Isle of Wight as the Prince of Wales' piper, later King Edward. While at Marlborough House, London, he saw an oil painting of his sister with a child in her arms, entitled: "The Cradle", painted by PhiIips, the artist, who at one time rented Dhivach Lodge. The picture was bought by Queen Victoria

for £600.

It was apparent that although the article gave much needed information, William's date of birth was bound to be wrong for the following reasons. From the few enquiries I made, I found that there was absolutely no folk memory of the family, yet in the 1940s and early 1950s there was a considerable number of people in the Glen who would have been contemporaries of William or his siblings had he been born about 1880. Also, I was aware that the formation of Balmacaan Deer Forest had occurred between1857 and 1867. It was apparent that William had been born prior to 1857. Furthermore, if he had been in royal service as piper to Edward, Prince of Wales, he must have been in his teens, as Edward became king in 1901. As I suspected, William belonged to an earlier era.

Assuming that Eskard (I am using William MacKay's spelling) was the home of the family, I looked at the census returns for 1841 and 1861. Duncan MacDonald, Balmacaan, advised me that the 1851 census for Eskard was unreliable. The 1841 return showed one family living there that fitted the description of the family I was looking for. However, although there were three brothers and a sister, Peggy, there was no William. If this were the family, it must be assumed that William was born after the census, and that therefore he was the youngest.

The mother was 44 at the time and the father was absent. This was not unusual at that time as tradesmen often worked away from home for lengthy periods. In 1861 the same family is resident in house 4, Eskard, but although the father and mother, Alexander and Mary MacDonald, are present along with their son, Alexander, and their grandson, Duncan, William and brother Duncan are both absent. However, from another source, we know that, in 1863, Duncan was piper to the Earl of Seafield at Castle Grant, as in that year he composed " The Braes of Castle Grant," with the date of composition being clearly stated. I surmise that William had started on his travels which were to lead him into Royal Service.

All three brothers - Duncan, Alexander and William - had excellent tuition in piping, being pupils of Donald Cameron at Brahan Castle. Donald was one of the two foremost pipers of his generation - the other being John Ban MacKenzie at Taymouth Castle. I suspect that the boys' father was a good musician himself and that he obviously recognised latent talent, otherwise he wouId not have sent his sons to such a prestigious teacher. After the 1861 census and before 1863, the family left Eskard.

The Earl of Seafield had expressed a desire to get rid of the townships at the back of Balmacaan House - he thought they were an eyesore - so the deer forest project was the chance to do so. The threat of removal had been hanging over the inhabitants since 1857 when the first phase of the forest was instigated, and pressure was being put on them until 1880. As we have seen, both Duncan and William were both absent at the time of the census and, in 1863, Alexander also left to take up the post of piper to MacPherson of Glentruim in Badenoch.

The following year, Alexander became the sixth winner of the Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting, Inverness.

This premier award had been instituted in 1859 and the first winner was the brothers' old tutor, Donald Cameron, who was described as “Piper to Seaforth.”

In January 1869, William Ross published his collection of pipe music. Ross, born in the parish of Knockbain in

1823, was a pipe-major in the Black Watch from 1849 to 1854, when he was appointed piper to Queen Victoria, succeeding Angus MacKay the first holder of the office. Ross was Queen Victoria's piper until his death in 1891.

Obviously, since both were in royal service, he knew William MacDonald. In this collection was the first appearance in print of the tune "Leaving Glen Urquhart." Ross was not guilty of attributing composers to tunes in his comprehensive collection, but, in this case, he did and the tune is clearly attributed to William MacDonald, piper to the Prince of Wales. In September of the same year (1869), the latter was awarded a Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting, Inverness.

The tune in the 1989 Ross collection is sub-titled “Tulloch McCarrick." This curious sub-title caused me considerable confusion, but I have established that this was the name of a holding in Glen Gairn, Aberdeenshire, near the Bridge of Gairn. This place is now derelict, but it was obviously known to both Ross and MacDonald from their time with their respective royal employers. Nowadays, the tune is seldom referred to by its sub-title. (Note from an article of January 1997 in the "Piping Times”: Ross was guilty of renaming tunes, but, in the case of the Glen Urquhart tune, he does acknowledge the composer.

William's subsequent career is shrouded in mystery. One source that I checked informs the reader that he had taken to religion and had given up his professional career as a frivolous pursuit. However, his nephew, John MacDonald, M.B.E., states in a short memoir that he received his early tuition from his father and his uncles, William and Duncan. John was the son of Alexander of Glen Truim, born at Glen Truim in 1866. This would infer that William had given up the position of piper to the Prince of Wales and was in Badenoch by the mid 1870s.

Of Duncan at Castle Grant, little is known other than his composition "The Braes of Castle Grant." It appears that he may have remained with MacPherson of Glentruim for a number of years. It is known that he was with him in Paris about 1871 or 1872, or short time after the Prussian War. However, he accepted the position of piper to the Earl of Fife shortly after that.

John, Alexander's son, outshone his father and his two uncles as a piper. He won a Gold Medal in Inverness in 1890 and became the preeminent player of the first half of this century. For over fifty years, to go to John MacDonald was the aim of' every proficient player aspiring to reach the top of his profession. His competitive record was unsurpassed in his generation and his teaching influence is still with us today. In recognition of his services to piping, he was made M.B.E. and honorary piper to George 5 th, Edward 8th and George 6th. In his later years, his home in Inverness was a rendezvous for pipers from all over the world and he died there in 1953.

Although William is said to have composed other tunes (mainly marches), I know of none that has survived other than "Leaving Glen Urquhart". This tune outshone his father and his two uncles’ ones.

The Glenurquhart Pipe Band by Peter Grant (First published in Glenurquhart Bulletin) It was in the later 1920s that the 3 Gollan brothers returned to the Glen, having spent their working lives in the Assam tea plantations of India. Bob, who had a wife and a daughter, settled at Dalgregaig House, Lower Milton. Dan, a bachelor, settled at Enrick Cottage, Drumnadrochit, with his brother Angus, while John, also a bachelor, chose to live in hotel.

Bob and Dan were pipers, who had practised their art all thought their years abroad, so it was, that a year or so after returning to the Glen, they set up piping classes in their respective homes. I joined with my young brother Will, late of Drumbuie Farm, who still enjoyed a blow of the pipes after a lapse of 40 years. The standard equipment for a piping lesson was a chanter and a copy of Logan’s Pipe Music for Learners. Most of the classes consisted of young lads, with 2 or 3 girls to give colour to the scene. Names that come to mind are Donnie Fraser, Lower Milton, Ian Gordon, Balchraggan, Jack MacDonald, Tychat, Tommy Drysdale, Angus MacDonald, and Betty and Cathy MacDonell from Balnain. There was also support from local mature pipers, as I recall: Duncan MacDonald, Willie MacDonell, Willie Sutherland and Mr. Morrison, farmer, Clunemore.

Bob and Dan initiated us into the mysteries of pipe scales and the necessity for reading music in the staff notation, as distinct from the solf-fa method, which was used in school for singing. The pipe scale is relatively simple, but it is the grace notes which give body to a tune. These consist of demi-semi quavers which have to be negotiated at high speed, requiring nimble fingers and a good deal of manual dexterity. As time went on, we learnt simple tunes in 2/4 time, progressing onwards to tunes in 6/8 time. Success in these stages led to the more complicated and exciting rhythm of the reel and strathspey, with jigs to liven things up even more.

While all this was going on, pupils and masters were thinking about the next step towards actually playing the Great Highland Bagpipe. It was a gradual approach for some time during the lesson, Bob or Dan would play a tune or two on their own pipes, and when a pupil was seen to be making good progress with his fingering and possessing adequate wind power, they would allow him a a “shottie” on their pipes. Pipe practice at this stage was made as easy as possible by “stopping” the drones, which means that the piper would play with only

the big drone and one small drone functioning. However, the possession of one’s own set of pipes was the ultimate ambition of all.

In the Glen, when the need is seen, the wherewithal is soon provided. Pipes began to appear and so did kilts and other Highland Dress accoutrements. Some had their own gear, while at the same time a central store was established in Bog Gollan’s upstairs box-room. The skirl of the pipes was soon to be heard in different parts of the Glen. In due course, the headmaster of the school gave permission for the chanter class to practise in the science room on Thursdays after school, and when, at 5 o’clock, he came to see the class off the premises, the players would be called to attention, as a mark of respect. By dint of practice and hard application, the pipe band was duly formed. The dress, of course, was the kilt, each to his or her choice of tartan, sporran, Fair Isle pullover, bonnet, hose and black shoes. As playing proficiency improved, Dan Gollan came more into the picture. He was a Piobroch enthusiast and, when players showed ability and interest, they were led, not always gently, into the mysteries of the “ground” and variations, the Leumluatch, the Crunluath, the Crunluath a Mach, the Crunluath Fosgailte or the Crunluath Breabach. Soon the plaintive strains of famous Piobaireachd lie the “Lament of for the Children” or the “Desperate Battle of the Birds” were mingling with the calls of the seagull, the corncrake, or the cuckoo to the braes of the Glen. Dan did not teach by using musical scores alone. He also used the ancient method of the “Canntaireachd”, which is really a verbal use of musical forms, such as “Hindarid” and “Hiodarid”, to describe certain groupings of grace notes with the pipe scale.

On occasion, the band would play on Drum Green, at Balnain or in the public hall. There were piping competitions to which the public were invited and where the young Donnie Fraser of Lower Milton was declared, the Piobaireachd champion. On one memorable occasion, the whole pipe band was taken to Fort William to compete at the Mod, where my brother, Will, won the march, Strathspey and reel classes.

However, the most prestigious event for the band was the Silver Jubilee of King George V’s reign, celebrated with a fete in 1935. A full band turn out marched from the school to the playing field, led by Donald Grant, with Willie Fraser carrying the flag. A programme of music was provided throughout the afternoon and the 2 masters, Bob and Dan, were proud men indeed. Bob and various members of the band competed at Highland Games throughout the North.

For my part, I was never a good piper, but was fortunate, at the outbreak of World War II, to be commissioned in the Cameron Highlanders, our local regiment. The sound of the pipes was heard every day, and whenever we went into battle, the skirl of Highland music was ever there, to raise our spirits and dash those of our enemy. Our pipe major in those days was Evan MacRae, the youngest to fill that role in the army. On retiring from the army, Evan became piping instructor to Lochaber schools and was honoured on his retirement with the B.E.M. for his valuable contribution to the training of young pipers. It would be nice if a similar service were established for schools in Inverness and Glenurquhart, so that once again the magical sound of the pipes could be heard on Drum Green, with well-loved tunes like the “Brown Haired Maiden” or “The 9th’s Farewell to Gibraltar”.

Drumnadrochit Piping Society https://www.facebook.com/Highlandness/ Burgess’ Wedding Don and Bob Gollan were the pipers.

World Record Tune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1olol8Ns678