The McCrimmon Trophy. It is the holy grail for bagpipers and it won at the Interceltic Festival of Lorient. Until the great Breton mass has brought together specialists in Breton, Irish and Scottish music since 1980. On the program of the competition: five minutes of interpretation during which the musicians are expected on the accuracy, timbre, technique and richness of their repertoire. All this under the watchful eye of members of the jury who are experts in this great bagpipe or “Highland Bagpipe”, a wind instrument of Scottish origin.
The idea is to encourage them to play repertoires far from their traditional register, “to open up new horizons, so that Breton music does not remain confined to Bretons alone”, explains Breton Patrick Molard, winner of the first three editions. of the competition and today a member of the jury.
“We still have a bit of notoriety in the world of bagadoù”
After the eliminatory phases, the big bagpipe competition this year brought together 12 pipers (the name given to bagpipe players) from Scotland, Ireland and Brittany, but also from countries with lesser-known Celtic origins such as the United States, New Zealand and Australia. All were evaluated by marks ranging from 0 to 20. Whoever obtains the best mark wins the sum of 1,320 euros. And it was a Scotsman, Stuart Liddell, already winner in 2018, who won the trophy for the 2023 edition.
“We don’t earn a lot of money but we still have a little notoriety in the world of bagadoù”, these traditional Breton orchestras, explains Gwenaël Le Corronc, a Breton musician who has been competing since 1996.
The trophy owes its name to the Mac Crimmons, a family established in Scotland from 1570 to 1825. Originally from the Isle of Skye, in the northwest of Scotland, the Mac Crimmons are ringers for several generations. They are known for having composed several works of Pibroch, a traditional 15th century music originating from the Highlands region.
In a separate event, the Mac Crimmon Trophy also honors the gaïta, this bagpipe originating from Galicia and Asturias, regions of northwestern Spain. The soners of this Iberian instrument must interpret a repertoire of Breton, Galician and Asturian music. This year, the Asturian Jaíme Alvarez Fernández won.