From L-R: Pipers
Andrea Boyd, Adam Gillis, Ian Juurlink,
Tiber Falzett,
James Goldie,
Mary Chisholm, and Scott Williams
Piobaireachd
Society of Antigonish
Presents
The
Fifth Annual
Pipers�
Memorial
2:00
PM
Sunday,
September 26th, 2004
St. Ninian�s Parish Cemetery
Antigonish, NS
Program
Welcome
Brenda
Riley, President
Opening
Prayer
Father
Ray Huntley
Introduction
of Pipers
Being
Remembered Today:
Jocelyn
Gillis, Brenda Riley
Allan
Beaton
John
Angus Boyd
Alexander
(Sandy Mor) MacDonald
John
Hugh (Jack The Piper) MacDonald
William
Joseph (Willie Hector) MacDonald
Charles
MacDougall
John
MacKinnon
Charlie
Joe MacGillivray
Introduction of Performers
and
their Tunes
Scott
Williams
Playing
Ground and 1st Variations:
Mary
Chisholm (Lament for Donald of Laggan)
Carolyn
Curry (MacLeod�s Controversy)
James
Goldie (Catherine�s Lament)
Adam
Gillis (Lament for Donald of Laggan)
Playing
Full Piobaireachds:
Tiber
Falzett (Melbank�s Salute)
Ian
Juurlink (Corrienessan�s Salute)
Andrea
Boyd (Massacre of Glencoe)
Presentations
of Music Books to Performers
Closing
Remarks
Refreshments
at St. Ninian's Place
Followed
by
Piobaireachd
Society�s Annual General Meeting
The Piobaireachd Society of
Antigonish was formed in November 1996 to encourage the
learning and performance of piobaireachd (pronounced PEEP-air-och,
or in the English equivalent, just PEE-brock), which is the
ancient and classical music of the Highland Scots who settled in
Eastern Nova Scotia in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Piobaireachd is a unique form of
music that is best performed on the Great Highland Bagpipes,
Scotland�s national instrument. It has often be described as a
theme or Ground followed by a series of variations on the theme,
each increasing in complexity until the tune reaches its final
glory in the Crunluath or Crunluath a mach variations. The
ancient Celtic symbol for infinity is a snake with its tail in
its mouth. In keeping with this never-ending circle motif,
pipers usually end a piobaireachd performance with a restatement
of at least part of the Ground.
The first pipers to come to
Antigonish County were undoubtedly piobaireachd players, but
there was little opportunity to rehearse this music in pioneers
days, and even fewer opportunities to perform it, or pass it on
to succeeding generations. The performance of piobaireachd
became a lost art in Nova Scotia. Attempts to keep it alive met
with only modest success, and today piobaireachd must be learned
from masters who are brought in from Scotland or other centres
where the music has survived.
The Piobaireachd Society of
Antigonish has become a major force in the preservation and
promotion of piobaireachd playing in Atlantic Canada. Since 1996
the Society has hosted weekend workshops, which offer
world-class instruction to pipers from across the Maritimes and
beyond. Participants in these workshops have gone on to gain
recognition as outstanding piobaireachd players, winning major
prizes in the region, the country, and internationally. The
Society supports instruction at the local level and has provided
instructional materials and study and travel grants to learners
and performers of piobaireachd from the town and county of
Antigonish. It has also been hosting Pipers� Memorials such as
the one today (earlier memorials took place at South River,
Arisaig, Maryvale and Giant�s Lake).
The work of the Piobaireachd
Society of Antigonish depends upon the generosity of its many
supporters. Donations are always welcome. They are tax
deductible and may be mailed to The Piobaireachd Society of
Antigonish, 43 Hillcrest Street, Antigonish, NS B2G 1Z2.
Pipers
Being Remembered
Allan Bernard Beaton
Allan Beaton was born in 1955,
the son of Kaye and Morrison Beaton of Brierly Brook. A nephew
of pipers Herman and Archie Beaton, he began his own study of
the bagpipes with his brother Francis in 1965 under the expert
tuition of Sandy Boyd. In a very short time, Allan became an
excellent piper, winning many awards in solo competition across
the Maritimes, in Ontario and in New England. He was a founding
member of the Antigonish Legion Junior Pipe Band and served as
its pipe major for several years. Allan composed his first piece
of music, which he named in honour of his younger sister just a
few short months before his death at the age of 16 as the result
of an accident at school in 1971.
John Angus Boyd
Johnny Boyd was born in 1921 to
Annabell and John A. Boyd. In the 1940s, he joined the
Antigonish Highland Society Pipe Band as a drummer under the
leadership of Pipe Major Herman Beaton. When Major C.I.N.
MacLeod moved to Antigonish in 1958, he began to take
instruction on the bagpipes and by 1960 was listed as a piper in
the band.
In 1953 Johnny married Iona
Shaffner of Lynn, Massachusetts and they raised three children.
He was, for many years, a shoemaker and later a printer with the
Credit Union League and at St. Francis Xavier University.
Johnny�s love of Highland music was passed on to his sons
Iain, who became a drummer, and Doug who became a piper. His
grandchildren have since taken up the musical challenge and one
of them, Andrea Boyd, is performing here today.
Alexander (Sandy Mor)
MacDonald
Sandy �Mor� MacDonald was
born about 1829, one of fourteen children of Donald �The
Ridge� MacDonald of Mabou. Sandy moved to Antigonish at the
age of eighteen and later married Sarah MacDonald of South Side
Harbour. Together they raised a family of nine children. He was
a composer of bagpipe music in an age when tunes were not
written down. Sadly, his pipe music did not survive to the
present generation. He was also an excellent singer, however,
and Helen Creighton recorded some of his songs.
Sandy worked as a blacksmith for
several years and then as a stonemason for twelve years. He
spent two of those latter years in Halifax and it was there that
he had the opportunity to play his pipes for the Prince of
Wales, later King Edward VII. The Prince was quite taken with
the tall, powerfully built Nova Scotia Highlander, and offered
to hire him as his personal piper. This would have resulted in a
move to London England and Sara was loath to leave her native
Antigonish County so he had to turn down the offer. Sandy Mor
died in 1910. Of his many descendants, several are pipers in the
present generation.
John Hugh (Jack The Piper)
MacDonald
Jack the Piper was born in
Springfield, Antigonish County in 1885.He and at least one of
his brothers learned to play the pipes from a neighbour in
Springfield. He went to Montreal where he joined the Black Watch
(HRH) of Canada and studied piping there. Returning to Nova
Scotia, he began to work as a carpenter in Sydney. His boss
loved the pipes and used to take him on day trips, stopping
along the way to hear a tune or two. Jack enjoyed telling the
story of one such experience, as follows: As they were driving
along, the boss found that he was out of cigars and stopped at a
roadside shop to make a purchase. While they were inside the
shop, another man came in to buy some groceries, Once his items
had been tallied up, the man went out to his truck and returned
with three big, beautiful salmon which he flopped down on the
counter. As the clerk weighed the salmon, the man gathered up
his groceries and was heading for the door when the clerk
stopped him. "Wait," the clerk called. "You
forgot your change," and promptly slapped three herrings
and two smelts down where the salmon had been just moments
before.
In 1935 Jack became the Official
Piper of the Antigonish Highland Society, a position he retained
until the second world war was well under way. As instruments
were in very short supply, he had been asked to loan his pipes
to a young Nova Scotian piper who was being sent overseas. Jack
agreed, stating that if the pipes returned, he would pick them
up again. The pipes did not return, and Jack never played again.
He died on November 29th, 1971.
William Joseph (Willie
Hector) MacDonald
"Willie Hector" was
born to Hector and Flora (MacEachern) MacDonald of Maryvale. His
father was a piper before him and two of his sons became pipers
after him. Willie Hector used to play for dances and was a
popular entertainer. He married Elizabeth (Bessie) Siddle and
raised a large family. In 1950, he piped his eight children onto
the stage to perform in the Concert Under The Stars at the
Antigonish Highland Games.
Charles MacDougall
Charlie MacDougall was a native
of Broad Cove, Inverness County. He learned to play the bagpipes
after moving to Antigonish and became a member of the Antigonish
Highland Society Pipe Band by 1960. He married Bernadette Gillis
and they raised a family of eight sons., one of whom became an
accomplished piper in his time. Charlie was instrumental in the
founding of the Antigonish Legion Junior Pipe Band and served as
its band manager for a period of some ten years.
Charlie Joe MacGillivray
Charlie Joe was born in 1936 to
John D. and Margaret (Wilmot) MacGillivray. His first piping
teacher was Angus Braid. He won prizes in solo competitions in
the 1950s and by 1954 was a member of the Antigonish Highland
Society Pipe Band. He played with the band at the Official
Opening of the Canso Causeway in 1955. His brother Angus and his
sister Anna became pipers as well.
John MacKinnon
John MacKinnon of Williams? Point
was born about 1808. His father had emigrated from the Isle of
Eigg. John became a prominent provincial politician, the
standing member for Antigonish County from 1851-1867 and a
member of the Legislative Assembly from 1867 until his death in
1892. John�s younger brother Colin became Bishop of the
Diocese of Antigonish.
Even at an advanced age, John was
able to play reels for the dances in the neighbourhood. These
dances were primarily the Scotch Four with traditional step
dance setting steps that were commonly used in Antigonish County
until well into the 1940s.
The
Players
Mary Chisholm,
Antigonish. Mary started learning to play the bagpipes at the
age of 9. She is a member of the Antigonish Highland Society
Pipe Band and has had a very successful year as a competitor at
the Grade 4 level, taking numerous prizes across the Maritimes
and at Maxville, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. Among her many
accomplishments, she was named Grade 4 Piper of the Day at the
Highland Games in Summerside and Antigonish, and placed 2nd in
Piobaireachd at Maxville. Mary will play the Ground and the
First Variation of "Lament for Donald of Laggan".
Carolyn Curry,
Antigonish. Carolyn started learning to play the bagpipes at the
age of 9. She is a member of the Antigonish Highland Society
Pipe Band, and has a number of competitive piping awards to her
credit. She was the winner of the Pewter Medal Piobaireachd
Challenge for Novice Pipers in 2003. Carolyn will play the
Ground and First Variation of "MacLeod�s
Controversy".
James Goldie,
Antigonish. James started taking piping lessons at St. Andrews
Consolidated Elementary School at the age of 9 years. He was a
member of the Antigonish Highland Society Pipe Band for five
years. He was named the winner of the Pewter Medal Piobaireachd
Challenge in 2002 and advanced to the higher levels in
succeeding years. James will play the Ground and First Variation
of "Catherine�s Lament".
Adam Gillis,
Antigonish. Adam began to learn to play the bagpipes at the age
of 8. He has been a member of the Antigonish Highland Society
Pipe Band for four years, and has had excellent success as a
solo competitor in piping competitions locally, regionally and
nationally. During the past season, he was named the Grade 3
Piper of the Day in both Summerside and Antigonish, and was the
winner of the ACPBA Bronze Medal Piobaireachd Challenge and the
Junior Amateur Piobaireachd at the Antigonish Highland Games.
Adam will play the Ground and First Variation of "Lament
for Donald of Laggan".
Tiber Falzett
recently moved with his family from the United States to Prince
Edward Island. He is now attending St. Francis Xavier
University. Tiber was a member of Nova Scotia�s only Grade 1
band, the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band and
travelled with them to Scotland for the 2004 World Pipe Band
Championships in August. Tiber will play "Melbank�s
Salute".
Ian Juurlink, St.
Andrews began learning to play the bagpipes at St. Andrews
Consolidated School when he was nine years old. He has served as
the Pipe Sergeant of the Antigonish Highland Society Pipe Band
for the past four years. He has been a very successful solo
competitor, winning Champion Supreme awards in Grade 5, Grade 4,
Grade 3 and Grade 2. He is currently competing at the Grade 1
amateur level and was a previous winner of the Allan Beaton
Memorial Trophy at the Antigonish Highland Games. Ian will play
"Corrienessan�s Salute".
Andrea Boyd,
Antigonish began learning to play the bagpipes at the age of
eight. She progressed rapidly through the amateur grades winning
many awards. She has represented Atlantic Canada at such
prestigious invitational competitions as the Nicol-Brown
competition in New York and the George Sheriff competition in
Hamilton, ON. She won the Targe competition in London England
and placed in the MacGregor Cup in Oban, Scotland before
advancing to the Open Professional class. Andrea has spent the
last three summers in Scotland where she played with the Grade 1
Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band and competing with success on the
professional solo piping circuit. Andrea will play
"Massacre of Glencoe".
The
Music
Lament for Donald of Laggan
Donald of Laggan was born in
1543. He succeeded as chief of the MacDonells of Glengarry in
1574 and died at the age of 102 in 1645. He was called Donald of
Laggan because, during his father�s lifetime, he lived at
Laggan, not far from Glengarry Castle. He was never known as
MacDonell, that spelling appearing after his time. The composer
of the lament was Patrick Og MacCrimmon, piper to Sir Rory Mor
MacLeod of Dunvegan. Donald�s daughter Isabella was married to
Rory Mor and each night for several years before her death
Isabella was lulled to sleep by MacCrimmon, playing this lament
in an adjoining room.
Catherine�s Lament
Little is known about this tune
save that it is otherwise known as "Fraser�s
Gathering" or "The Fraser�s Salute" and that it
was composed by Calum MacRobert Ceard.
MacLeod�s Controversy
Donald Gorm MacDonald of Sleat,
on the Isle of Skye, married the sister of Sir Rory MacLeod of
Harris but soon thereafter he divorced her and married another.
This angered the MacLeod chief who led an invasion of MacDonald
lands on Skye. The MacDonalds countered by raiding Harris. Over
the years, the battles raged back and forth with much hardship
on the people and much despoliation of the lands to the point
that the local people were starving and destitute. With the help
of mediaries, a reconciliation was arranged and to seal the
deal, a banquet was held at Dunvegan Castle. Donald Mor
MacCrimmon composed three great piobaireachds to commemorate the
occasion, and this is one of them.
Melbank�s
Salute
Little is known about MacKenzie
of Millbank, for whom this salute was composed by John MacKay in
1821. He has been referred to as �an influential Highland
gentleman" from Ross-shire. MacKenzie appears to have taken
an interest in piping and pipers. One of these was young Donald
Cameron who, with his intervention and support, was able to
receive tuition for Big Donald MacLennan. The talented young
man�s next tutor was Angus MacKay. This may explain the
dedication of the tune to the patron by its composer, John
MacKay, father of Angus.
Corrienessan�s Salute
This long-lost salute was
composed by Blind Roderick MacKay, father of the celebrated
Piobaire Dall, John MacKay, both of whom were pipers to the
Mackenzies of Gairloch in the mid 1600s. The Gaelic poem, "Corr
an-eassain" is a conversation between a piper and the corry,
or deep valley in the side of the range of mountains, in which
the piper asks the corry to tell of the stirring events it has
witnessed. The poem was sung to the tune of the salute.
Massacre of Glencoe
The valley of Glencoe is one of
the wildest in the Highlands. It extends from Tigh �n druim
northwest to Balachulish on Loch Linnhe, a distance of some
fifteen kilometres. Mountains rise steeply up on either side. It
was in this valley that an unparalleled atrocity took place, a
violation of the honoured code of Highland hospitality, which
has lived in Scotland�s collective memory to the present day.
The policy in Scotland of King
William (II of Scotland and III of England) was to force clan
chieftains to subscribe to an oath of loyalty to the crown.
MacIain of Glencoe (a sept of the MacDonald's) was reluctantly
persuaded to do so but eventually missed the deadline by a
matter of days. Government forces consisting, in part, of the
MacDonald's bitterest enemies, the Campbells, billeted
themselves upon the Glencoe population, in February 1692, and
then turned against the inhabitants, massacring thirty-eight of
their number and forcing countless others into the snow-topped
Scottish mountains where many died.
