Peter Roderick MacLeod Senior | Peter Rocerick MacLeod Junior | The Peter MacLeod Memorial Collection

Peter Roderick MacLeod Senior

Peter Roderick MacLeod (Senior), the composer of the Conundrum, was born in Aird on the Isle of Lewis on the 13th of December 1878 and died at the Erskine Old Soldiers Hospital in Glasgow on the 16th of June 1965. He joined the territorial army in the early 1900s enlisting in the 17th Cameronians Scottish Rifles and achieved the rank of Pipe Major during World War 1. He saw active campaign at that time in Egypt and Gallipoli. Apart from army service he was employed as a shipwright on the Clyde in Connell's Yard, Whiteinch and at Fairfields from 1900-1927, when he was involved in an accident which necessitated the amputation of his right leg. He did not work again until 1941. He then returned to the shipyards and was re-employed there until his retirement in 1955 at the age of 77. Peter MacLeod (Senior) composed over 200 (circ) tunes for the bagpipe, notable among these being Lady Lever Park, Pipe Major Donald MacLean, Dr McKinnon's March, Hugh MacPhee, Major Morrison and John Morrison of Assynt House. A comprehensive first edition of the work of Peter MacLeod (Senior and Junior) was published by the Bagpipe Music Index, Glen Ridge, New Jersey in 1976 entitled the "United States Bicentennial Collection of Bagpipe Music, Volume 2 - The Peter MacLeod Memorial Collection". It was compiled by Peter MacLeod (Junior) and produced by Donald Varella (Detroit, Michigan) and taken from an original manuscript commissioned in 1967. A second edition was published in 1990.

According to Peter MacLeod (Jnr), his father was an unknown quantity as a composer before 1928 when he produced his son before the best pipers in the world and he was acclaimed a child prodigy. Peter MacLeod (Jnr) would then have been 12 years old, (born 7th February 1916) and had been taught solely by his father. From that time on his status as a knowledgeable man of piping never dimmed and he established himself as one of the truly prolific and good composers of the century. The "Conundrum" itself was written round about 1930 and was first played by Peter Jnr, his youngest son, for the Scottish Pipers' Association at its weekly meeting in Glasgow. In Peter MacLeod Jnr's words, "Some of the experts claimed it was off-beat and that my father could not put it down in music and maintain the normal number of beats to the measure. A rhythmic trick of this kind is unusual in bagpipe marches though one can see from an examination of other marches by the same composer that the displacement of rhythm is a distinctive fingerprint of his style (ie Dr MacKinnon's March and Hugh MacPhee). The title "The Conundrum" was applied to the tune spontaneously by Peter MacLeod Jnr's eldest sister, Dora, on first hearing it. It refers, of course, to the change of rhythmic accent in bars 1 and 3. In many ways it is a rhythmic tune since apart from the irregularity of rhythm already mentioned, which appears throughout in various forms, there exists a stringent and economic use of the melodic motif that is more usually the property of Piobaireachd." (Taken from "Analytical Aspects for the Conundrum" by James Porter, School of Scottish Studies 11.241-46, 1967).

Added to this is the belief that Peter MacLeod Snr's inspiration for the rhythm used in the Conundrum came from his walk as a result of the use of a wooden leg following the loss of his leg.

Peter Roderick MacLeod Junior

Peter Roderick MacLeod (Snr) had 3 sons, Hector, Ian, Peter (Jnr) and 3 daughters, Dora, Georgina and Christina. Hector, the eldest eventually gave up serious piping, was a notable composer and died in 1979. Ian became Pipe Major of the 9th Highland Light Infantry (Glasgow Highlanders) and was wounded in the 2nd World Way losing the use of his "E" finger. He continued to play, however, by substituting the little finger of his left hand in place of it. Peter (Jnr) was taught exclusively by his father from boyhood (first being given a chanter at 3 years old) and was recognised as a top flight professional player at the tender age of 12. In 1932 he became the youngest piper ever to win the Open Strathspey and Reel Competition in Inverness against some of the stiffest opposition from the professionals of that era, which made this accomplishment even more remarkable. In the field of digital dexterity, Peter (Jnr) was always regarded as a "wonder" in his execution of intricate jigs and reels, which few of his contempories, past or present, could match.

Sometime in the 1930s, we don't have an exact date, Peter MacLeod (Jnr) led a miniature pipe band playing for special events as requested. This select group included two other famous pipers of that era - Donald MacLean of Ballantruishal and Duncan MacIntyre for whom the reel on page 158 of "The Peter MacLeod Memorial Collection" was named. What an ensemble that must have been. During his 17 years sojourn in Rhodesia, Peter MacLeod (Jnr) became South Africa's Piping Champion by winning all 6 open events in 2 days of competition at the Rhodes Exhibition Gathering. Returning to Scotland in 1955, Peter (Jnr) was not an active competitor on a full-time basis, although he had several successes at various Highland Games during this period of time prior to his death on 25th November 1972. In his last years Peter MacLeod (Jnr) confined his activities to teaching, thus passing along his vast knowledge of piping to various pipers around the London area where he eventually settled. Some of his pupils included:

  • Professor Mark Melton, Canada
  • Greg Lippert, Oregan, USA
  • Donald Varella, Detroit
  • Eric MacIntosh, London
  • Dr John Gray, Leicester
  • Chris Aldroyd, London

Peter MacLeod (Jnr)'s wife Doreen Rita MacLeod past away in January 2008 leaving 2 sons, Robert and Duncan and 1 daughter Gina.

In 1979 the producer of the "Peter MacLeod Memorial Collection", Donald Varella, was in touch with one Bertie Gass, for whom Peter (Jnr) named the slow air on page 109 of the collection. Correspondence with Mr Gas revealed the existence of some tape recordings made by Peter (Jnr) during his stay in Rhodesia. An attempt was made to have the state of these priceless recordings evaluated, however, all efforts to have this done were to no avail as correspondence came to an abrupt end in 1979. This was due to the passing of Mr Gas who was 80 years of age at that time. The tapes were evidently made while Peter (Jnr) was in his prime and at the very top of his form.

"Perhaps they still exist and will eventually come to light someday. We should be thankful, however, that the same fate did not befall this collection, which will live on as a fitting tribute to the genius of the MacLeods providing inspiration for the generation of pipers yet to come", wrote Donald Varella.

The Peter MacLeod Memorial Collection

This splendid collection had been out of print for more than 16 years and would probably have remained in limbo had it not been for the encouragement and support of Angus MacDonald (Chalfont, PA), who persuaded the producer, Donald Varella, to prepare a second edition of this outstanding work for publication in 1990. It was Peter MacLeod Jnr's wish that all of his and his father's work be combined into a volume. However, suggestions that this be done were met with typical silence from some other publishers involved. Perhaps at some time in the future this worthwhile aim will be realised. For the present, this collection of the MacLeod tunes will have to suffice. As in the first edition a list of their works published in other collections is included in a second edition. Needless to say, the MacLeods composed some of the greatest tunes in the bagpipe repertoire. Many of which have become standards and as is the case with many great composers they realised almost nothing in the way of monetary reward in their lifetime.

"Peter MacLeod Jnr once remarked to me that in his opinion "The Blue Lagoon" (number 158 of the collection) was the most difficult piece ever composed for the bagpipe. Those of us fortunate enough to actually hear his performance would agree that he did not exaggerate in the least." Donald Varella