Stuart Liddel from Inveraray, Scotland, won the Senior Piobaireachd Competition at the Argyllshire Gathering's 2019 solo piping competition. Stuart, who this year played Lament for the Union, is no stranger to coming first in this competition as he has won it four times in the past five years. Stuart is also Pipe Major of Inveraray and District Pipe Band and has won the World Pipe Band Championships twice in the last three years. A remarkable achievement all round!
Other winners:
2nd place: Iain Speirs, Edinburgh, Scotland
3rd place: Stuart Easton, Palmerston North, New Zealand
4th place: Callum Beaumont, Dollar, Scotland
5th place: Alan Bevan, Abbotsford, Canada
Tune notes: Lament for the Union
The tune recalls the Act of Union of 1707 which formed the country called Great Britain. Under Queen Anne, England was a global power but needed a massive army, navy and income. Scottish commercial networks, overseas trade and available military manpower were an obvious solution. The politics surrounding the Act and its ramifications still arouse controversy today. The disparity between the beautiful ground and the very numerous (and seemingly musically disconnected) variations in the lower hand may (or may not?) represent an "imperfect union".
