Tom Clough - The Manuscripts

The Manuscripts

A book on the family and their music, was published by the Northumbrian Pipers' Society in 2000. This has become a significant source for players of the instrument. It contains a short biography, selections from Tom Clough's writings, a description of his playing style, transcriptions of the three recordings, and selections from his music manuscripts. These include his extensive collection of variation sets. Of these, some are distinctive versions of traditional variation sets, such as I saw my love come passing by me, other sets are his own compositions such as the variations on The tailors are aal gyen styen blind. Others are his adaptations, to Northumbrian pipes, of sets composed for other instruments such as the fiddle. Some of the versions are very old - for instance, the triple-time hornpipe Lads of Alnwick, here with 5 strains, is almost identical to William Dixon's version from the 1730s, while the commonest 19th century version omits the final strain.

Comparison of the recordings of The Keel Row and Holey Ha'penny with his manuscripts of the same pieces, and his notes on how to play them, suggests that most of the pieces in his huge repertoire were played much more floridly than he notated them.

Unfortunately, by the time portable recording equipment became available in the 1950s, he had largely given up playing owing to severe deafness. However, the three surviving HMV recordings are a testament both to his virtuosity and to the expressive power of the traditional close-fingered style.