Well here is a new tune for the "other" category. Which now runs 16 pages and is one of the most incredible list of tunes I've ever seen -- really. Do you suppose there is anyone in the world who can play all of them? But I digress... Here is a Scottish popular bagpipe tune written by John McLellan called Glen Caladh Castle (played here in D) on the mandolin. I hope the John Flynn posts his beautiful version of this tune on the octave as well. John lives near the site of the original Castle -- so he has an "edge"! BTW in this video I am playing along with jam filmed somewhere in the southeast of Scotland and led by the Glen and Heather Anderson part of a family of musicians from that area.
Interesting rendering of the tune, Bernie. Difficult to play along with the backing of another group and you hold it very well. Here is a link to my Soundcloud version - I do indeed live about 25 miles away from the site of the original building, now a ruin, and live in the home town of the composer, PM John MacLellan! http://snd.sc/NzLfOk
Thanks John I really like your version and I'm using it as a template to iron out my version. I looked up Glen Caladh castle on the web and zoomed into the area on the Google world view. I'm not sure of what I saw -- it did not look like a "whole castle"? I had read that the most of the castle was gone and it was kind of a historical site/recreational area now? When I first heard about the tune more than a year ago I was searching for a midi or sheet music with no luck. In the search I triggered an email back from someone who lives in at the castle and claimed that they had never heard the tune? Seems strange! Anyway, it took me a whole year to get around to finding a copy of the melody that I converted into tab so I could learn the tune. BTW I first heard about Glen Caladh Castle from the fiddling of Buddy MacMaster in Cape Breton. He uses it as the middle piece in a set with Da Slockit Light and ending with a ridiculously fast version of Lasses of Stewarton reel that I still cannot match - - I'm up to about 95% now. Gasp! Thanks for the tune -- I downloaded it if you don't mind -- excellent playing.
Bernie, thanks for that and I am delighted that you wanted to download the tune! I have the book of John McLellan's tunes known as "The Collected works of PM John McLellan, DCM, of Dunoon", edited by PM Bruce Campbell. It is available from Duntroon Publishing - www.duntroonpublishing.com and the ISBN is 0-9546334-4-X. It has a great collection of Jock's compositions and although written as pipe music is quite useable for transfer to our chosen instruments. Well worth getting a copy and many happy hours of playing can be got from it. Looking forward to your next forays into the tunes. John
