Chasing the Kaiser

from Best Sets by Mike Katz & Alasdair White

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    A Physical copy of this album, digipak 4 panel with cover art by Anna Colliton www.annacolliton.com

    Includes unlimited streaming of Best Sets via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days

      $20 USD or more 

     

about

Dugald MacColl’s Farewell to France (1914-1918) – John MacColl
The Banks of Drumpeller – Neil Ramsay
Chasing the Kaiser or Willie Cumming’s Rant – D.C. Mather

​John MacColl (1860-1943) is considered one of the greatest ever composers of 2/4 marches. With this in mind, it is no surprise he was also an accomplished fiddle player. As well as this, he excelled at dancing and athletics and amassed a comparative fortune winning all of these events on the Highland games circuit which paid much better then, than it does now. It is said he could make £40 in an afternoon: forty 19th century pounds is a considerable sum (roughly £1,000 in today’s money). This version comes from the Cowal Collection which is contemporary to this tune’s writing. From 1908 until 1936, John MacColl worked as a manager in R. G. Lawrie’s bagpipe shop in Glasgow. During this period some of the most sought-after pipes were produced.

​Drumpeller, or Drumpellier, is a place in Coatbridge, home of the composer. This tune comes from the Cowal Collection.

Willie Cummings Rant appears in John MacFadyn’s Bagpipe Music (1966) as “arranged by Duncan Johnstone” and it is this version that is commonly heard. The setting we play here is slightly different and comes from the Duncan Currie Manuscript: a fairly rare item of which Allan MacDonald luckily has a copy. There are only a couple of slight variations in the first two parts but we find them interesting and this alternative title is superb.

​David Charles (D.C.) Mather (1870-1943) was born in London. Another renaissance man, he won prizes on the games circuit in both piping and athletics. As well as this tune, He also wrote the reel, Lochcarron so his reputation as a composer is pretty much sealed. He emigrated to the United States through Canada in 1901 to prospect for gold. He continued to compete at Scottish games in North America into his 60’s and eventually died in Montana.

credits

from Best Sets, released April 23, 2020

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Mike Katz & Alasdair White image

Mike Katz & Alasdair White New York, New York

Mike Katz and Alasdair White have been playing together for almost 20 years, most notably as part of Scotland’s seminal Battlefield Band. In this time, as a matter of habit, they explored some of the more obscure, exciting and challenging corners of the Highland piping repertoire. Though both prolific composers in their own right, here they present traditional and collected music in its raw state. ... more

contact / help

Contact Mike Katz & Alasdair White

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Mike Katz & Alasdair White, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now