All About Scotland

The pipes were once to be found right across Europe, and pockets remain, across the English border in Northumbria, all over Ireland, in Spain and Italy, and in eastern Europe, where bagpipe festivals are still held in rural areas. In Scotland, bagpipes seem to have made their appearance around the 15th century, and over the next 100 years or so they took on several forms, including quieter varieties (small pipes), both bellows and mouth blown, which allowed a diversity of playing styles.

The Highland bagpipe form known as pibroch (piobaireachd in Gaelic) evolved around this time, created by clan pipers for military, gathering, lamenting and marching purposes. Legendary among the clan pipers of this era were the MacCrimmons (they of the famous MacCrimmon’s Lament, composed during the Jacobite rebellion), although they were but one of several important piping clans, among which were the MacArthurs, MacKays and MacDonalds, and others. In the 17th and 18th centuries, through the influence of the British army, reels and strathspeys joined the repertoire and a tradition of military pipe bands emerged. After World War II they were joined by civilian bands, alongside whom developed a network of piping competitions.

The bagpipe tradition has continued uninterrupted, although for much of the last century under the domination of the military and the folklorists Piobaireachd Society. Recently, however, a number of Scottish musicians have revived the pipes in new and innovative forms. Following the lead of The Clutha, Boys of the Lough and Whistlebinkies, a new wave of young bands began to feature pipers, notably Alba with the then-teenage Alan McLeod, Ossian with Iain MacDonald, and Duncan McGillivray with the Battlefield Band. Battlefield have subsequently used a selection of high-quality pipers, most recently the American Mike Katz. These players redefined the boundaries of pipe music using notes and finger movements outside the traditional range. They also showed the influence of Irish Uillean pipe players (particularly Paddy Keenan of the Bothy Band) and Cape Breton styles which many claim is the original, pre-military Scottish style.

In 1983 Robin Morton released A Controversy of Pipers on his Temple Records label, an album featuring six pipers from folk bands who were also top competitive players in the piping world. Up until this point, pipers in a folk band could be considered second-class by some in the piping establishment. This recording made a statement and soon the walls began to crumble.

Alongside all this came a revived interest in traditional piping, and in particular the strathspeys, slow airs and reels, which had tended to get submerged beneath the familiar military territory of marches and laments. The 20th century’s great bagpipe players, notably John Burgess, received a belated wider exposure. His legacy includes a masterful album and a renowned teaching career to ensure that the old piping tradition marches proudly into the 21st century.