YOU can learn a lot about a composer, and a person, simply from the place you first meet them. My first encounter with Eddie McGuire was at a meeting of Radical Options for Scotland and Europe in the Unite offices in Glasgow. Since then, to this day, most of my encounters with the composer have been at a protest or rally rather than in a concert hall. 

Shortly after I moved to Scotland, after my years living in Vilnius, I attended a Morning Star event (although I can’t remember for the life of me which) where Keith Stoddart deployed his usual charm and curiosity and quickly discovered I was a composer. His instant response was: “In Scotland you only need to know two composers James MacMillan and Eddie McGuire.”

Two very telling signs about a composer who celebrates his 75th this year. 

Another encounter which is lodged firmly in my brain was at the Scottish Awards for New Music in 2019, where after a conversation with Stuart MacRae we somehow ended up discussing composers who had been imprisoned and Stuart turned to Eddie and said: “Have you ever been in jail in your time Eddie?” To which he replied: “Oh, only one night, in 1968 I think, following an anti-war demo.”

McGuire’s musical life doesn’t fit any easy definition. And this isn’t just because he has managed to juggle life as the flautist for the Whistlebinkies, to compose for orchestras and choirs from all walks of life, and to participate in the Harmony Ensemble playing traditional Chinese folk music among other work. The inspiration and drive of his music is just as diverse, though they do have their roots in his life as a performer. 

But despite his talents and warm soul, McGuire doesn’t draw much attention to his music – often focusing on other things, like the next trade union campaign or anti-war activities. This meant that, to research this article I knew I had to hide in a hole at the Scottish Music Centre to investigate the works of McGuire. The time was joyous, because his musical output is so rich and varied – but all distinctly Eddie. 

In his oeuvre, there are many stand-out works which not only show his talents and tenacity as a composer, but reflect his concerns and ideas about the world around him. Martyr, for viola, with electronics or two other violas, is dedicated to Joseph Connolly and Joe McCann who was murdered by British paramilitaries in 1972. 

The work is distressed throughout, as the instrumentalist for most of the work is in isolation which, despite the intensity of the feeling, means it is almost screaming into an empty room. Yet, despite this, a certain beauty does manage to sneak out along with a small snippet of hope in the quotation of the Irish Jig Hare in the Corn. It shows that all is not lost, and the concluding passage, where the other violas enter, creates the sensation that others have seen this example and are moving forward to meet the coming challenges – whatever they may be. 

A quirkier solo viola work, Prelude no. 6, speaks volumes despite its innocuous title. The work was written because of his disenchantment with Elvis Presley following his enthusiastic recruitment into the US Army. The viola works its way through familiar Presley favourites, but gets sick of them – like gum that has lost its flavour – and throws it all away in disgust. Then, suddenly, from out of nowhere comes the Vietnamese revolutionary song Free the South – a clear hint of where McGuire’s allegiances lie. 

This ability to dance between songs also appears beautifully in his A Scot in China,  which, thankfully, is much more joyous. The simplicity and ingenuity of the piece makes it really surprising. Because both Chinese traditional music and Scottish traditional music often use pentatonic scales (a scale with only five notes) the work simply dances between both a Scotch pentatonic and a Chinese one. It starts with a beautiful wash of colour, before The East is Red appears briefly, but instantly fades away into Auld Lang Syne using the exact same pentatonic. 

Pipes of Peace, however, is the work which has moved me the most and after days spent in the archive, I can’t shake the power of the piece. 

Written for performances in Jerusalem by the RSNO Chorus in the late ’80s, the work is a setting of the Psalms for choir and pipes (the player alternates between border pipes and highland pipes). A work for piper and choir, could easily be brushed off as a twee work, but despite Eddie McGuire’s heavy reliance on Scottish folk traditions, he manages to produces a sometimes harrowing work which finds brief moments of freedom. 

Much like the Psalms as a whole, the dialogue, drama and optimism shifts drastically. There are moments of peace and acceptance of God’s influence, before moments of panic where the feeling is that God has abandoned us. McGuire’s setting isn’t necessarily an overtly religious one, but he captures the dramatic tensions originally written by King David. 

Throughout the piece, the piper serves as a guide, and an almost saintly figure who keeps the crowd (the choir) heading in the right direction, reminding them of the beauty of peace, and when he disappears, the faith of the choir is challenged and often breaks into worry and doubt. However, as the work progresses, the choir gain confidence and even become joyous. 

Beyond the rhythmic and harmonic power of the piece as a whole, what I think makes this work stand out as it does is Eddie McGuire’s avoidance of any anti-war text or depiction of the horrors of war. The use of the Psalms, while culturally relevant to a performance in Jerusalem, belong to the wider purpose of summoning a sense of history and the universal fear of losing peace. The terror that suddenly the “wicked have drawn out the sword”. 

The motto “think internationally, act locally” would be the best summary of McGuire’s work. Though not all of his works use traditional instruments (though they appear frequently), the idioms and character remain acute to the present moment. 

Though not always anti-war or dedicated to a revolutionary purpose (though many are) there is always a feeling that he is thinking about the world around him. 

Considering his worldview, and practical involvement in our movement for the vast majority of his life, it is right to celebrate what McGuire has accomplished, what he continues to write, and what a great example he is of how contemporary music can be used for the bettering of our class. 

Here’s to Eddie!