Kirkwall City Pipe Band
Kirkwall City Pipe Band hold their final parade of the season on Broad Street on the Saturday evening of the Festival, which this year will be 8 September.
The sight and sound of the band is something to look forward to. Here they are on a summer’s evening in July.
The first of those tunes was Sarah’s Song, written by Phil Cunningham, followed by I’ve Never Had Pumpkin Soup Before by band member Andy Cant.
The song The Bonny Lass of Fyvie has some indirect Orkney connections. It tells the story of the march into Aberdeen in 1645 by the Marquis of Montrose with an army of Highlanders and an Irish brigade, their route into the city taking them through the town of Fyvie.
Montrose himself, James Graham, was a cousin of Bishop George Graham of Skaill House, and his picture can be seen there on the stairs, along with that of another famous cousin of the family, James Graham of Claverhouse, ‘Bonnie Dundee’.
When Montrose came to Scotland in the spring of 1650 to raise forces for the cause of Charles II, he landed in Orkney and gathered local men to join him, but soon after crossing to the Scottish mainland they were routed at the battle of Carbisdale.
And here’s a short extract from the band in concert, starting with The Bonny Lass of Fyvie.
