Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 2005 (SND, online supplement).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
CRUNLUATH, n. [Gael. id.; poss. f. cruinn, round, neat, gathered in, or perh. f. crùn, a crown + liùthadh, lùth, power; movement] also crunnluath. A variation in pibroch, seen as the climax of the piece; a complex series of combinations of grace notes (s.v. grace note) characterising the crunluath variation.Sc. 1820 Donald MacDonald A Collection of the Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia, called Piobaireachd 19:
creanluidh or round movementSc. 1925 John P. Grant ed. Archibald Campbell and John P. Grant Piobaireachd[,] 12 Tunes edited by Comunn na Piobaireachd v:
Crunluath. The symbol for the Crunluath beat is bandre, e.g., habandre, chebandre, etc. Sometimes (e.g. in The Blue Ribbon) the Crunluath on D is writen harobandre.Sc. 1953 James Robertson and Donald Shaw Ramsay Master Method for the Highland Bagpipe ca. 76:
Play a G grace note on low A, close the chanter to low G, follow smartly with a D grace note on low G, followed by E grace note on low A, F grace note on low A, then finish on E. All crunluath movements finish on E.m.Sc. 1976 Walter Perrie A Lamentation for the Children (1977) 31:
The urlar has been stated and has given way before the taorluath's inevitability and the pipe now rings, vibrates and sings to the crunluath's furious ecstasy.Sc. 1988 Roderick D. Cannon The Highland Bagpipe and its Music (1990) 59:
Finally comes the ‘Crunluath’, or more properly, Crùnlùth. Again, the true meaning of the word is not known, but ‘crowning movement’ is not a bad description. The Crunluath beat is an extension of the Taorluath beat, a fast ripple of grace notes ending on the note E. The Crunluath variation always follows the Taorluath note for note, and if one has a doubling, so does the other:Sc. 1993 Times 7 Aug :
Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies, Queen's Own Hilghanders, played ''I got a kiss of the king's hand'', commemorating Padruig Mor's presentation to King Charles in 1651. Pipe Major Gillies played an excellent tune, but disaster struck towards the end of the crunluath a mach, when his bass drone stopped.
