Patrick Molard comes from a long and extremely rich tradition of Breton pipers who have embraced the Highland pipe in their native France and helped to expand both the Breton and Highland piping traditions.
Bruce, I was just having a tune again this morning and wanted to let you know, the reeds just lock in as one sound.
Terrific! My Donald MacDonald drones hardly need any tuning at all , they are rocksteady, and the strike in is perfect.
Great harmonics in both bass and tenors .
I’ve attached a recording for you. It is my Alexander Glen replica by Pierre Blanchet, they are in the pitch of A, and the reeds I play are the extra long reeds purchased from you some time ago. The A chanter was made by Hamish Moore, and the reed of course is a Frater reed with a practice chanter staple .
The tunes come from Angus MacKay’s unpublished manuscript of Ceol beag.
Hi Bruce, received the reeds and the handfree carrier this morning , thank you so much .
I have tried the reeds on my MacDougall set and on my Donald MacDonald replica by Pierre , and the result is fantastic .
So steady , beautiful tone , impossible to guess that it is not cane . I attach 2 recordings , one is with my MacDougall set ( they used to belong to Andrew Frater ) with a Botuha chanter , and the second is my DMcD replica by Pierre with a new Roddy MacLeod chanter which I bought last August .
– Patrick Molard
The chanter reed is a Frater reed , and Bruce made the drone reeds.
The letter was published a few years ago in Piping Today:
https://www.academia.edu/7717581/A_Letter_From_Donald_MacDonald
Hi,
I am writing you simply out of curiosity about your reference to Donald Macdonald. I happened accross this exchange while listening and enjoying some of Patrick Molard’s recordings,
Would he possibly be the same individual who originally hailed from Skye and went on to Cannongate, Edinburgh as Pipemaker and died on Oct 11, 1840 at age 73? His father would have been John who lived with his son Donald in his later years and died at the ripe age of approx. 107 years.
I happen to be a very distant relative of his and have been slowly trying to track down more details about him. I actually have a letter that he sent to his cousin, Allan Macdonald (originally from Kilmuir) and one that Allan had sent his way requesting a chanter for the son of Rev. Robert McGregor, Alex.
Regrettably, my branch of the family has no musical talent whatsoever but my ears do recognize talent and his recording’s are an inspiration!
Au plaisir d’ecoute
Hi
As an answer to your request , I confirm that Donald MacDonald is the pipe – maker who was born in Glenhinisdale , near Kingsburgh ,Isle of Skye , in 1767 , and who later moved to Castlehill in Edinburgh , as pipe-maker , where he died in 1840 . His father John died in 1827 at the age of 107 years .
I had the privilege with my friend Pierre Blanchet , pipe-maker in Brittany , to measure up a set of Highland bagpipes made by Donald circa 1806 which belonged to the National Museum in Edinburgh .
Pierre made a perfect replica of the drones and chanter .
On the recording above ( Struan Robertson ‘s Salute ) you can only hear the drones as I use a modern chanter , but I have recordings with the full set , drones and replica of the original chanter which is in a very low pitch for modern ears .
Meilleures salutations .
Patrick Molard