On The Battle of the Somme as a massed bands tune honoring WWI

Today, July 28, marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Great War, known today simply as World War I. A fellow band mate and piper, Melody, sent me a link to the BBC Special “Pipers of the Trenches" on http://youtu.be/4oXiAu3P0LM (great show by the way). After a short email discussion about the show, she suggested that the classic pipe tune The Battle of the Somme become a tune to be played with appropriate fanfare by massed bands over the next four years, honoring and celebrating the lives, valor and sacrifices made by the men and women who served during the Great War, 1914 – 1918.

The tune: The Battle of the Somme is attributed to Pipe Major William Lawrie (1881-1916). He was PM of the 8th Argyllshire Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1914 and remained as such until pneumonia, pleurisy and meningitis contracted in the trenches of France took his health, was sent home and succumbed to an early death.

Prior to the war, Lawrie was a student of the pipes under both his father, Hugh, and the great John MacColl, winning many awards for his piping. He left the piping community a legacy of compositions of which ‘Battle’ is considered one of the best and remains a classic 9/8 march played by pipe bands to this day.

The setting of the public domain tune pictured above is included for download: The Battle of the Somme

To add your voice to the discussion go to Bob Dunshire’s forum at: http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156316