A Collection of the Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia
by Macdonald, Donald

Full title: A Collection of the Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia, called Piobaireachd As performed on the Great Highland Bagpipe. Now also Adapted to the Piano Forte Violin and Violoncello. With a Few Old Highland Lilts Prposely Set for the above Modern Instruments. To which is prefixed A Complete Tutor for attaining a thorough knowledge of the pipe music Respectfully Dedicated to the Highland Society of Scotland By Donald Macdonald Pipe Maker Edinburgh. ... NB. D. Macdonald begs leave to intimate that he teaches the Great Highland, Northumberland & Irish Bagpipes.

Publisher: Edinburgh: Donald Macdonald

Printer: Engraved and printed by Walker and Anderson for the Publisher Donald Macdonald

Date: [1820]

Description:

Macdonald was commissioned by the Highland Society of London to notate piobaireachd in staff notation.
In the preface of this collection he explains that the accommodation of the music to almost all other instruments arose from 'patriotic feeling'.
Cannon and Sanger note that there are seven extant copies which can be dated to before 1822, but only two of these are alike, and changes continued to be made to the plates after 1822.
Baptie dated the Collection 1831, Gore suggested c.1822-33.

Notes:

Accompaniment styles include chords, Murkys, broken chords, making the end result extremely metrical.
J. Murdoch Henderson noted on the GB-En copy that the watermark dates from 1814.
The National Museum of Scotland holds the original printing plate of page 98, and dates the publication 1821-22.
Some facsimiles online omit the accompaniments.
This and the subsequent Macdonald MS collection were edited by Roderick Cannon & Keith Sanger and published by the Piobaireachd Society in 2006 and 2011.

Gore: MC1

Link: Google Books

Biographical info: Edinburgh pipemaker Donald MacDonald was born about 1767 in Glenhinisdale, Skye and died in Edinburgh on 11 October 1840 with his age given as 73. He was buried beside his father in the Canongate Kirkyard. (Keith Sanger, correspondence) He is described as the publisher of the Collection, although unlisted in SBTI as a publisher.

Location(s):

GB-DUcl 8486
GB-En Glen 298
GB-P Bf5

Digitised items

This source has not been digitised.