North of the border

Press, 9 May 1984, Page 14

North of the border

ALLAN FRANCIS

By

MALCOLM McRAE. Art of the Solo Piper. KIWI PACIFIC TRL 031. MacLeay Duff Distillery Pipe Band. MUSIC WORLD MALPS 651. In this small country, separated geographically as far as it is possible to get, the spirit of Scotland runs high, so with each succeeding generation of Kiwis the banner continues to be held aloft. There are no signs of any thinning of the porridge. This conviction is endorsed by the presence of Malcolm Mcßae, himself a New South Wales-born grandson of one who left Scotland in 1852 and brought the passion with him. It is much the same story elsewhere “in the colonies.” Malcolm Mcßae went back to Scotland and scored handsomely in 1967 and again in 1974, at which time he took up permanent residence in Inverness. His dedication to his art has never been in question. What might have been inherited in Australia as a slim thread of interest has broadened and deepened into one of authority in the Mecca of pipe bands. Malcolm Mcßae teaches and plays extensively and on the review disc is a fair sample of his solo piping. Pipe tunes (piobaireachd), slow airs, quicksteps, marches and reels are all well covered in such numbers as “Braemar Gathering,” “Glencoe,” “Lament for Children,” “Battle of the Strome,” and many more. On the Music World label, an equally comprehensive selection of full band marches are played with flair. Added to the group are a vocalist, Donald MacKintosh, and accordionist, Stewart Horsburgh. Also featured among a wide selection of marches in varying tempos are jigs, hornpipes, Strathspeys,

Gaelic Airs, reels, and rounding off with the rousing “Wi a Hundred Pipers.” NEW ZEALAND BRASS QUINTET. Plays compositions by Lilburn, Ritchie and Young. KIWI PACIFIC. SLD 72. These expressive pieces have been long overdue for recording so it is good to have them safely tucked away in this form. All are brief works, the “Partita For Brass Quintet” by John Ritchie being possibly the most attractive of the programme. Kenneth Young’s “Brass Quintet” is longer and bolder, however, and takes up all of side 2 (19min 38sec), but side 1 is a miserable 15 minutes odd! Surely another filler could have been found to add some much-needed quantity to this quality programme. SOLDIERS. N.Z. ARMY BAND. Marches and Wartime Medley of songs and themes. N.Z. Army Band conducted by Captain Paul C. Milner. KIWI PACIFIC RECORDS SLC 177. In a glorious attempt to cover as much ground as humanly possible, the New

Zealand Army Bandsmen have elected to race through seven marches and some 23 tunes under the blanket titles of “Soldiers” and "Conflict.” I am delighted that at last there are no minor discrepancies in their harmony, so that the immaculate performances which should mark a band of this high repute have nothing whatever to mar the high standards. As an added bonus there is a great air of elation here, with most of the numbers reflecting high good spirits. Those on the other side of the coin — “Amazing Grace” and so on — are done with good taste and feeling. The marches have the dual purpose of being readily geared for use by marching teams, the seven excellent marches including “Ravenswood,” “Invercargill,” and “Old Comrades.” Once again, Vic Griffiths is in the forefront of arrangers as he was with Cathy Harrop in “Something Else” (SLC 173), and the nice, firm vocal line comes from Judy Barnes. This is undoubtedly the best I have heard of the Army Band.