The Park Grove Collection – Captain Stuart D Samson MBE

It has been nearly 10 years since my first book, “Land of Bens and Glens and Heroes” was published and I am delighted that I am now able to present to you a second volume of original compositions, namely “The Parkgrove Collection”.

As with my first book, I have tried to provide a range of material so that all levels of competency are catered for.  I hope that this collection will be of interest to solo pipers and pipe bands alike, who may be looking for new tunes to add to their repertoire and also to musicians in the wider sphere of traditional music and its interpretation.  In short, I hope that there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

There are 56 original compositions over a complete range of time signatures, including competition style marches, various simple and compound time marches, strathspeys and reels, hornpipes and jigs, slow airs and piobaireachds. Many of the tunes include harmonies, which makes this a substantial book, extending to 96 pages in total.

Marches – (2/4) North Esk, Invermark Castle, George McKenzie Samson VC, David Alexander Hunter, Douglas Connon MBE, (3/4) Yvonne Hürlimann, Christopher Nelson, (4/4) Pipe Major Ian Hughes, The Swiss Highlanders, The Pathfinder, The Vancouver Police Pipe Band’s welcome to India, Carol’s March, The Basel Tattoo Helfer March, Parkgrove, Piping Noel, (6/8) The Bluebell Woods of Kinclaven, The Tache of the North, The Anniversary March, Cairnwell Pass, (9/8) Pipe Major Cal Davis, Roddy Graham’s March.  Strathspeys – The Falls of Garrawalt, The Hill of Rowan, Linn of Dee, Water of Tanar, Tarfside.  Reels – Mount Blair, Cat Law, The Rosemount Rambler, Fellswater Reel, Calm Before the Storm, Skip Healy’s Reel, Touchwood Reel, Reel in the Tradition.  Slow Airs – Heading for Harbour, The Banks of the Isla, The Lost Waterfall, The Cow Bell Serenade, Enduring Memories, Notes of Sorrow.  Hornpipes – The Hogmanay Hornpipe, The Doo-lander, The Grey Coats (21^st Grey Coat Battalion Fife and Drum Corps, Basel), The Grey Coats (22^nd Grey Coats Battalion Fife and Drum Corps, Washington DC), The End Rig.  Jigs – A Sting in the Tail, Cargill’s Leap, Pipe Major Charles Canning, Lotti’s Jig, The Quantum Leap, The Picobello Jig, Skimming the Water, Chasing the Storm, The Glass Chanter. Piobaireachds – The Flame of Remembrance, Farewell to the Reedmaker.

Here is a current playlist of tunes from the book which I have recorded, and I will continue to add more recordings over time.