George Moss - the Master Piper from Strathglass Part 4 Supplemental - APC

This is a short supplement to the previous article on Toarluaths before the next main article. Here we explore George Moss’s approach to the ornament called “toarluath a mach.”

Considering it is comparative rarity as an ornament, we are fortunate to have access to a recording of George playing it, as well as one manuscript containing his own transcription of the ornament. (in the Rout of Glen Fruin).

Here is his written version:

We can hear George playing the ornament here from 06:30

There don’t seem to be any recordings of George plying the ornament on ‘D’, but his approach can be reasonably inferred from his treatment of the crunluath a mach here from 04:40

It is interesting to note that George’s written version is almost identical to the Fraser style, as played by Barrie Orme and illustrated in this book.

The main difference is that George keeps the third main note shorter than in the Fraser style, and also only modifies the rhythm on the notes “B”, “C” and “D”.

Check out these two midi versions if you want to hear a literal interpretation of the notation, which could also be useful for practice purposes:

George Moss style