My King Has Landed in Moidart by John Macintyre, 1745

My King has landed in Moidart by John Macintyre, 1745

This piobaireachd commemorates Prince Charles Edward Stuart arriving by ship in Glen Uig Bay in Moidart on Sunday 11 August 1745 after crossing the four miles over the Sound of Aisaig from Borrodale. The complete title of this tune is in fact, “My King has landed in Moidart, Royal Charlie, Charlie Stuart.” It was composed later in the same year by John Macintyre, piper to Donald MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart whom the Prince appointed Colonel in the Clanranald Regiment but was to meet a tragic death at Carlisle in October 1746.

John Macintyre originally came from the Braes of Rannoch in Highland Perthshire where Macintyres had for generations been hereditary pipers to the Menzies of Weem. John, in 1698, like his father before him was sent by Menzies to Skye where he studied piobaireachd under Patrick Og MacCrimmon, one of the legendary pipers to the Lairds of Macleod. A branch of the Macintyres later moved across from Rannoch to Moidart where they became pipers to Clanranald. John Macintyre was said to have settled in Glen Moidart at Ulgary on the banks of the River Moidart about six miles north east of Kinlochmoidart House. He had previously composed other piobaireachd tunes associated with the Stuarts, namely The Battle of Sheriffmuir and The Prince’s Salute which are connected with the 1715 Rising.

The tune itself is unusual as it has no high notes in its entire composition and only reaches the bottom note ‘e’ on the top hand of the chanter during the complete tune. Nevertheless it is one of the great piobaireachds and was a set tune played last year at Oban and Inverness in the Gold Medal competitions, the premier events for piobaireachd music. Only the ground, more properly called then’urlar’, of the tune and the ground first variation called the ‘dithis’ (pronounced ‘dee-ish’) was played at The 2009 1745 Association Annual Gathering.