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Re: Chanters. May 19th.



HI John:
Yes, Petrus Bruno is the speculative  name and his father is said to be Giuseppe Bruno and indeed, the family may well have existed.   What is not in any way proven is that this family emigrated to Northern Ireland and from thence to Scotland.  The Giordanno Bruno you mention is documented all right but he is not the uncle nor does he "bear any known relationship to the allegeded Cremona family of Bruno mentioned above [Petrus and Giuseppe]; neither is he known to have been interested in music.   The Encyclopedia Britannica describes Giordano  as an atheistical writer --- he was expelled from Geneva as such by the Calvinists.  He was obviously a stormy petrel in the 16th century politico-religious scene. He was condemned to death for heresy and burned at the stake in rome in 1600."     The foregoing is from Tommy Pearston, founder with Seumas MacNeill of the College of Piping in Glasgow who concludes: "The Cremona tradition regarding the MacCrimmons has been rejected in its entirety  by modern scholars of MacCrimmon history".  It was Tommy who went to Cremona to attempt the connection to Giordanno, or music or any part of the story you present  --   he came up empty-handed.  So until further stuff arrives to the contrary, the Cremona tradition, is , at best, a delightful fantasy. 
The story you relate is supposed to have originated from a book by Captain Niel (sic) MacLeod of Gesto (a neighbour of the MacLeods of Skye) whom we know as the  writer of a number of cantairaeachd tunes from the fingers and singing of Ian Dubh MacCrimmon (his setting of War or Peace is one of the required tunes for the Gold Medal this year).  The Cantaireachd book exists but a copy of the other has never materialised and so the Cremona Story is hearsay from a book never seen by modern scholars which itself is hearsay from the last of the MacCrimmon line who is speaking of events 300 years previous.  Tenuous ---no?
 
Re: the tune list:  Might I suggest;
1: The Patriotic Set:    (from Judge David Bouschor)
           Flower of Scotland
           Bruces Address
           Scotland the Brave
2: The Chestnut Set:
            Skye Boat Song
            Road to the Isles
            Mairi's Wedding
            Green Hills of Tyrol
            Scotland the Brave
3:  The 3/4 Set
            Green Hills of Tyrol
            Battle's O'er
            My Home
            Highland Cradle Song
4:  The 6/8  Set
            The Glendaruel Highlanders
            Bonnie Dundee
5:   The 2/4 Set
            The Baren Rocks of Aden (2 parts)
            Highland Laddie
            79th Farewell to Gibralter
      
Of course, we will have to keep the ever-needed Amazing Grace in sight as well.  No doubt we will find other tunes that  work as well.  Looking forward to meeting you John--- it is so close  and so exciting!       
Aye,
Rory
           
-----Original Message-----
From: John McIntyre <jsmci@hdc.com.au>
To: sinclair@matrix.net <sinclair@matrix.net>
Date: Friday, May 19, 2000 6:53 PM
Subject: Re: Chanters. May 19th.

Niven,
        Interesting to hear of the MacCrimmon's Norse ancestry. My records make no mention of this. Do you know where the Norse connection fitted in?
A MacLeod from Skye visited the MacCremmons (was then spelt this way) in Ulster, Ireland, to hear them play. He then induced John (Iain) and his son Donald, to move to Skye to found a College of Piping. Each was,in turn, the personal piper to MacLeod of Dunvegan. Like many others at the time of the Clearances, the MacCrimmons suffered, as they refused to pay rent for the land where they had lived rent free.
 
Rory, I'm surprised to hear of the lack of evidence regarding Petrus Bruno (MacCrimmon) at Cremona, as my sources do not infer any doubt on this. The uncle of Petrus, Giordano Bruno, was burnt at the stake by the Inquisition for heresy, for supporting the discovery by Copernicus that the Sun and not the Earth, was the centre of the solar system. So the name should be well documented.
Have you any further suggestions on tunes we'll play on the Tour, or shall we stick to the ones we've previously discussed?
 
John.