The first Mudlark session of the year on 9th February heard Duncan
Grant begin his recital with a strident 6/8 March the McNeils of
Ugadale. Duncan meant business as he took us through his sets. My
feeling that his pipes were splendidly resonant was confirmed by Norman
McKenzie as he caught my eye and said “good pipes”. Two words indeed
but not said lightly by anyone who knows and well deserved praise as
the sound filled every corner of the room. Upstairs at the
Mudlark has large windows that look onto the stone ediface of Southwark
Cathedral. Regular attenders of the old venue for the London
Competition at Glaziers Hall over the years will recognise the
location. With such a floodlit backdrop later in the evening Duncan
presented a sensitive and well crafted McCrimmon’s Sweetheart, much
appreciated by those in the room with whom the tune is a firm
favourite.
The Mudlark Sessions were started by the society’s previous pipe major
Roger Huth in spring 2007. An excellent idea to re-instigate a club
night feel and have pipers perform in front of each other and an
appreciative and encouraging crowd. I have carried on organising those
night since September 2007 and many members have performed
often commenting how good the opportunity is to
perform in front of a knowledgable crowd and yet not in a competition.
Although Duncan was our first dedicated recitalist for some time he
made the very same point to me. What does one do, practice all winter
in your bedroom only to play at competitions in the summer. This is a
real opportunity to work on different tunes especially those that
wouldn’t be played in competition. The congregation has grown steadily
over the months and it was encouraging to see old society members, I
use the term old advisedly, turn out excited to hear Duncan play and
others who hadn’t been before.
One of the strongest memories I have from the Mudlark sessions was at
the October night when, following a few rousing tunes delivered with a
fabulously confident and noble gait, Peter Candy spoke of his first
contact with the Scottish Piping society of London in the 1970s. Peter
was a well known South African piper who competed widely in the 70s and
80s. He said that when he came to London he knew there was only one
place to go to hear good piping on the first Friday of the month in
London. He would regularly go to SPSL recitals not knowing who was
going to play but sure to hear and enjoy good playing. Well hopefully
the second Saturday of the month will now become such a touchstone for
pipers and those interested and appreciative of the art in London
forthwith.
Duncan Grant is a successful solo piper. I have regularly met him at
the Highland Games in the Uists in the summer. He was the champion
piper at North Uist in 2007 beating some notable names to that title.
He finished off his recital at the Mudlark with some cracking reels. I
was once told a way to tell a good reel is that you can hear everyone
in the room tapping their feet, almost involuntarily people are drawn
to beat out a well expressed rhythm. On carpet it is a dull hush of a
sound but it is there – you can’t help but move your feet to such well
presented music. If this was the measure of Duncan’s performance then
he was certainly well appreciated on that cold night in February.
The Mudlark sessions are to continue on the second Saturday of the
month except for: April when we have the members competition and Gordon
walker recital; August when we have a summer break; and November when
we have the London competition. Steve Watterston is to be the guest
recitalist in May. We hope to have other guest recitalists as well as
society pipers playing. Watch the website for further details. See you
there.
Alasdair Smith – Piping Coordinator
Click on the links below to hear sound samples of Duncan Grant playing.
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