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> A Sad Goodbye, BAGPIPES
capttrk1 
  Posted: 05-Jul-2005, 01:54 AM
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ZodiacHawthorn

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to those of us that play or even listen to the pipes we bow our heads .On Friday I got a phone call that the Great Pipemajor John Burgress had passed on after a short hospital stay. Jonn has won everything the was to win in piping compition,and was the head of the Piping college. We send our love and prayers to his family . sad.gif


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may the sound of the pipes make your blood boil and rise you up
my brothers. 9/11 Never Forget
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stoirmeil 
Posted: 05-Jul-2005, 12:02 PM
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I think this is the man you mean. It is truly sad to hear about the passing of someone who brought this difficult and beautiful tradition to such a level of perfection.

John D. Burgess



John D Burgess is a phenomenon in the world of piping. At the age of four he began to take an interest in playing when his father made a scaled-down practice chanter for him. When he was ten he went for lessons to the legendary Pipe Major William Ross at Edinburgh Castle, and from this his rise was meteoric. From being an infant prodigy he beacame a boy genius, whose playing in juvenile competitions brought professional pipers in large numbers into the audience.

In 1950, at the age of sixteen, he started his professional career - and started at the top. In his first appearance he won the Gold Medals for piobaireachd playing at both the Argyllshire Gathering, Oban, and the Northern Meeting, Inverness, an achievement never before dreamed of and never likely to be equalled. In addition he won the march at Oban, the strathspey and reel at Inverness, and several other prizes, making him easily the most successful competitor at these two premier meetings. Since then he has won all the major awards, many of them several times.

In 1952 he was invited, with Pipe Major William Ross, to visit Canada and the United States, and this tour carried the legend of his brilliance to a wide and appreciative audience. He then spent some time in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders before joining the famous Edinburgh Police Pipe Band, of which he eventually became pipe major. Later he moved to the Invergordon Distillery Band when this amazing "band of talents" was formed. After two years - when this interesting experiment was discontinued - he decided to stay in the North, where the atmosphere seemed more conducive to the maturing of his ability. There he had further help in piobaireachd interpretation from the old master Angus MacPherson, whose piping is two generation straight from the MacCrimmons.

With the years his playing has matured, yet his fingers have lost little of their dexterity which amazed his public a quarter of a century ago. His mastery of ceol mor, the classical music of the bagpipe, is evident in his delicate interpretation of The Salute on the Birth of Rory Mor MacLeod, a sixteenth century MacCrimmon composition. The swing in his march playing, the deft touch in strathspey and reels, the breathtaking expertness of his jigs and hornpipes, all combined to make him one of the best all-round competing pipers of his time.
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CelticRadio 
Posted: 05-Jul-2005, 06:48 PM
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In honor of Mr. Burgess I have added a link in our news section to a news story on him by the Telegraph.


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stoirmeil 
Posted: 06-Jul-2005, 11:49 AM
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Thank you for that, Paul. What an amazing life.

I will put here too a translation of the final verse of the Lament for MacCrimmon, whose tradition of piping Mr. Burgess carried on so faithfully. (Are there recordings of his in the CR archives?)

Cha chluinnear do cheòl
'S an Dùn mu fheasgar,
'S mac-talla nam mùr
Le mùirn 'ga fhreagairt,
Gach fleasgach is òigh
Gun cheòl, gun bheadradh,
O'n thriall thu uainn
'S nach till thu tuille

We will not hear your music
in the fortress around evening,
and the echo from the walls
sweetly returning
Each lad and lass
without music, without embrace
Since you have left us
never more to return.
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