Boreraig’s sweetness redefined with massive new piobaireachd collection

With 137 piobaireachds painstakingly edited, notated, and reformatted in standard staff notation, Beyond Binneas by brothers Chris and Pat Terry of South Africa is available in spiral-bound (£30/$57) and hardcover (£35/$67) editions, and for those who purchase either, a free digital version.

The three-year project is a massive 214-page collection based on Binneas is Boreraig (“The Sweetness of Boreraig” in English), the famous and unorthodox multi-volume work that began in 1959 by the late Dr. Roderick Ross. Beyond Binneas had a little-publicized “soft launch” earlier in 2025 and is now into broader production.

Roddy Ross compiled Binneas is Boreraig over two decades and six volumes using a distinctive three-line staff notation, deeming the top and bottom lines of the conventional music stave unnecessary for Highland pipe music. Determined to keep the notation for each tune as concise as possible, Ross presented each piobaireachd in segmented, abbreviated phrases, which he believed were in accordance with the teachings of his instructor, the legendary Malcolm R. MacPherson.

In Beyond Binneas, the Terrys have corrected the obvious note errors and “awkward abbreviations” in Binneas is Boreraig, but have retained Ross’s meticulous timing and note values, which provide a substantial alternative to the Piobaireachd Society’s Collection.

The compilers include a comprehensive introduction explaining the methodology and logic applied to Beyond Binneas, explaining that they have compared each score in Binneas is Boreraig with recordings of MacPherson’s playing, the Piobaireachd Society’s standardized settings, obvious note errors, and poor transcriptions.

Beyond Binneas is available print-on-demand from BookVault Publishers, and will be listed soon via Amazon and Abebooks.com.

Chris Terry of Grahamstown, South Africa, was taught piobaireachd by the great John MacFadyen, among others, and enjoyed success in Scottish solo competitions from the 1970s to 1990s, including prizes in Highland Society of London Gold Medals. Pat Terry received instruction from James Campbell, the son of Archibald “Kilberry” Campbell, who co-founded the Piobaireachd Society and compiled The Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor.

Many accomplished pipers were and are fans of Binneas is Boreraig. The late Jimmy McIntosh discussed the importance of Ross’s work in his 1994 pipes|drums Interview.

Dr. Roddy Ross died in 2015 at the age of 96. One of the great solo pipers of the early 1900s, Malcolm Ross MacPherson (1907-’66) was the grandson of the legendary Calum “Calum Piobair” MacPherson (1928-1898).