ID:AB_LL_BRIDGET_MACKENZIE_01DESCRIPTION:This audio extract is from Bridget Mackenzie's 'Piping Traditions of the North of Scotland', first published in 1998. The extract is read by Elizabeth Parker.
'Strathpeffer and Fodderty are in the strath of the river Peffery, west of Dingwall.
John Mackenzie was a piper in the 18th century at Auchterneed, [Achterneed] near Strathpeffer. In 1745 he was too old to join the Jacobite army, but he sent his son, George, who was born in Fodderty. George was a piper throughout the campaign of 1745-1746 and escaped after Culloden, although he lived in hiding for some time. He was said to be a very good player.
'Tulloch Ard' ('high hill') is the name of two unrelated piobaireachd works. Both are associated with the MacKenzies, and are believed to have been named after a hill near Castle Leod, the seat of the MacKenzie chief. One of these works has the alternative title 'The MacKenzies' Gathering', the other probably the more frequently played today, is 'The MacKenzie's March'. The latter is found in the manuscript made around 1820 by the amateur piper, Peter Reid, who was a respected judge of piping. Angus MacKay's manuscript gives the same tune with the title 'Tulloch Ard' from Mr Reid'.
In Strathpeffer there is a small burial ground called Kinettas, which was one of the earliest Free Church graveyards in the Highlands. To find it, go to the square in the middle of the village, and take the road which leads northwest up the hill towards the golf course. Halfway up the hill is the Free Church. There, turn left and take the road opposite to the church. The burial ground lies behind the houses on the right, about a quarter of a mile from the church. It may also be reached by going right up the hill to the golf course, and taking the footpath through a little gate opposite the clubhouse. This footpath leads down to the burial ground of Kinettas.
Here lie John Ban MacKenzie and three of his four sons. Their graves are marked by two headstones. One is in memory of his two little boys who died in infancy in 1847, one as a very small baby, the other as a toddler. The family was at Taymouth in 1847, and it is not clear whether the children died there or when their parents were visiting the north.'
Bridget Mackenzie (nee Gordon) is of Scots-Canadian extraction. Born in England in 1933, she was educated at the universities of Oxford and Glasgow. Before her marriage to engineer (and piper) Alex Mackenzie, she was a lecturer in Old Norse at Glasgow University, but retired to bring up their two sons.
Now grandmother of five, she has lived in Sutherland for 25 years, writing books and articles on topics such as piping history and Highland place-names. After the publication of 'Piping Traditions of the North of Scotland' (1998), the Saltire Society presented her with an award for her contribution to Highland culture. A second volume, dealing with Argyll, appeared in 2004 and she is currently working on the piping traditions of the Western Isles.PLACENAME:StrathpefferDISTRICT:DingwallOLD COUNTY/PARISH:ROSS: FoddertyCREATOR (AV):Bridget MackenzieDATE OF RECORDING:2008PERIOD:2000sSOURCE:Am BaileCOLLECTION:Literary Landscapes: Bridget MackenzieAsset ID:40969KEYWORDS:
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