The Oban Times, 14 October, 1911
Canntaireachd
Salsburgh, by Holytown
9 October, 1911
Sir,–Mr. Grant, in your issue of seventh inst., makes the statement that I claim to be one of two men living who “understand the MacCrimmon secrets.” Would your correspondent point out when and where I made the claim?
I only claim to be able to read Capt. MacLeod’s Canntaireachd, and I still make that claim. Mr. William MacLean, Glasgow, winner of the Cowal March prize, also reads it. He does so in the same way as I do–principally by sound, and he learned it in half an hour. Captain MacLeod’s book contains no secrets, so far as I can make out. The MacCrimmon secrets are contained in their many fine tunes published in old notation in well-known collections.–I am, etc.,
C. Bannatyne, M.B., C.M.
