A piece of music that is in the back pocket of most experienced players of piobaireachd is the very old tune, Maol Donn. Better known, maybe, as “MacCrimmon’s Sweetheart”. It’s a beautifully assembled composition that sits perfectly in a major key of the Great Highland Bagpipe’s tonal centre. In the context of piobaireachd composition, it’s a very old tune, likely composed in the early part of the 18th century, a golden age of piobaireachd creation. At around 12 minutes in length it’s just-right for an around-the-games sort of tune for competition.
It might seem fanciful to find that one of the stories attributed to the origins of the name, Maol Donn, is connected to a widow’s cow found dead in a bog (which reminds me of Ernest Hemingway’s “world’s shortest novel”: “For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn” … I digress). But, for those who study such things, The Widow’s Lament is another name associated with this piece of music. It’s not hard to imagine how the loss of a cow back in a day of hard times would have been an absolute tragedy to a household, if not a life. What better fodder for music-making?
The Piobaireachd Society’s excellent website notes that John MacDonald and Robert Reid played MacCrimmon's Sweetheart together at the MacCrimmon Memorial Cairn in Boreraig in 1932. If only to be a midge on a stone on the day and hear that.
Bill Livingstone taught me this tune. I also went through it - as pipers say - with Captain John MacLellan (1921-1991). Bill learned the tune from John Wilson (1906-1979).
I was teaching a young senior amateur piper today and as we were talking he was surprised to learn that “I had music books”. So, I was reminded that Hamish Henderson’s “carrying stream" of tradition can at times meander and run low, so here’s a reminder of the source of much of the piping knowledge held by, John Wilson (again, the person who taught Bill Livingstone this tune): www.dunaber.com/2023/03/14/mac...
I don’t know what Bill makes of my rendition but here it is. The Campbell canntaireachd included in this video may be of interest to students. I can tell you editing the overlay of text was pure joyless fun, unlike this sweet tune which is always satisfying to play.
M.