Angus MacKay (10 September 1813 – 21 March 1859) was a Scottish

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

player and the first

Piper to the Sovereign The Piper to the Sovereign ( gd, Piobair an Bhàn Righ, also known as the Queen's Piper or King's Piper) is a position in the British Royal Household in which the holder of the office is responsible for playing the bagpipes at the Sovereign's requ ...

. He wrote collections of

pibroch Pibroch, or is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, has for some f ...

and ceol beag written in

staff notation In Western musical notation, the staff (US and UK)"staff" in the Collin ...

, which became the basis for standardised settings of music which had previously been shared by singing of

canntaireachd Canntaireachd (; ) is the ancient method of teaching, learning and memorizing ''Piobaireachd'' (also spelt '' Pibroch''), a type of music primarily played on the Great Highland bagpipe. In the canntairached method of instruction, the teacher sings o ...

Life

Early life

He was born on 10 September 1813, to Margaret and John MacKay. His three brothers played the pipes, and his father, John MacKay of Raasay, was a leading composer and player. John MacKay had been taught by the MacCrimmons of Skye, and as well as his own sons taught other players including John Bàn Mackenzie, Angus Macpherson, and Donald Cameron. After considering emigrating to America, the family moved to

Drummond Castle Drummond Castle is located in Perthshire, Scotland. The castle is known for its gardens, described by Historic Environment Scotland as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland." It is situated in Muthill parish, south of Crieff. ...

near

Crieff Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has become ...

in 1823, as Angus' father John became piper to

Peter Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby Peter Robert Drummond-Burrell, 2nd Baron Gwydyr, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby PC (19 March 1782 – 22 February 1865), was a British politician and nobleman. Early life Born Peter Robert Burrell, he was the eldest of three sons born to Peter ...

Piper

He became piper first to Sarah, wife of Peter Drummond-Burrell, and then successively to Davidson of Tulloch and Campbell of Islay. From 1843 until 1854 he was the first piper to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, and the first

, a position which still exists.

Publications

Joseph MacDonald published a book on bagpipe music in around 1760, but he died in India and his manuscript did not gain widespread traction. Donald MacDonald's ''Collection of Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia called Piobaireachd'', published around 1820, was the first major collection of bagpipe music in

staff notation In Western musical notation, the staff (US and UK)"staff" in the Collin ...

. After this a number of other collections of

and light music were published. With the backing of the

Highland Society of London The Highland Society of London is a charity registered in England and Wales, with "the view of establishing and supporting schools in the Highlands and in the Northern parts of Great Britain, for relieving distressed Highlanders at a distance from ...

, MacKay published his book ''A Collection of Ancient Piobaireachd or Highland Bagpipe Music'' in 1838. A reworking of a collection of tunes originally published by William MacKay was published around 1843, and shortly after was expanded into ''The Piper's Assistant''. MacKay also collected a set of tunes that has become known as the ''Seaforth Manuscript'', it was not published but tunes from it appeared in works published by other people.

Later life

He married Mary Russell in Edinburgh in 1841, and they had two sons and two daughters. He was admitted to

Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably '' Bedlam'', a 1946 film with ...

in London, first in February 1854 for a stay of eight months, and then in November of that year for fifteen months. After his second stay at the Bethlem, he was transferred to the Crichton Royal Institution in Dumfries. He died on 21 March 1859 after escaping from the Crichton Royal Institution, and is presumed to have drowned in the

River Nith The River Nith ( gd, Abhainn Nid; Common Brittonic: ''Nowios'') is a river in south-west Scotland. The Nith rises in the Carsphairn hills of East Ayrshire, more precisely between Prickeny Hill and Enoch Hill, east of Dalmellington. For the ma ...

. In 2010, a memorial was placed at the site of his disappearance to commemorate his life.

Musical influence

Angus MacKay's published books of pibroch became the basis for standardised settings of tunes in the 20th century. Pibroch had traditionally been shared by means of

, but MacKay's standard settings cemented the way of playing his father had learned and allowed it to be shared more widely. Part of reason for their adoption may be the influence of the teaching of his father John MacKay. He also had considerable influence on the collection of ceol beag or light music, through his publication of ''The Piper's Assistant''. This contained a number of already published tunes, and of the 155 tunes in this collection, only 23 were published for the first time. During his career there was significant development in the range and complexity of

metres The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

played and MacKay composed some of the first competition marches of the kind that are played today, which evolved from the

quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal a ...

marches.

Legacy

Alexander Johnston painted a portrait of MacKay in 1840, which hangs in the

Scottish National Gallery The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

. Several other portraits of him survive, making him one of the most-depicted pipers before the age of photography. MacKay's life was dramatised in a book ''I Piped, That She Might Dance'', written by Iain MacDonald and published in 2020.

Music books

* '' A Collection of Ancient Piobaireachd or Highland Bagpipe Music'' * ''The Piper’s Assistant'' * ''Seaforth Manuscript'' (unpublished)

References

External links

The Piper’s House - Feature on the house where Angus MacKay was born

History of the MacKays of Raasay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angus, MacKay 1813 births 1859 deaths Great Highland bagpipe players Scottish bagpipe players