Speak of the devil! I've been very busy with the quieter Irish cousin, the uilleann pipes, (Mine are made in Germany, how appropriate for TC! ) I don't play the highland pipes really anymore and mostly play the uilleann pipes, but I could recommend you some Highland, Uilleann, and perhaps even Northumbrian, and Musette de cour music.

I kind of became embittered or jaded, one of the reasons I don't play the highland pipes much anymore, I didn't feel like I was taken seriously, I felt less like a musician and more like a circus performer; when this instrument has much more to offer. In the days of old this was primarily a solo instrument and there is much more to the highland pipes than parades and tattoos, piobaireached for example, the "great music" is far more rewarding to listen to or play IMHO, and the history of piobaireached is far more interesting and it is a shame that is is overlooked in favor of silly banal gimmicks and carcaitures.

P.S. Mendelssohn even showed an interest in highland bagpipes at one point, although he did write a scathing letter about Scottish music when he was there, it's more likely not a true reflection on his views on such music, rather he was homesick, tired and cranky, and overexposed to not so great players. In fact, from what I have been reading, I believe he was sharing an Inn of some sort with a Highland piper a couple rooms down , of whom he would visit and listen to.



Without further ado, here are some good highland pipe albums I would recommend: Here is some unaccompanied solo playing, no drums, no bands, the REAL stuff!

If you have Spotify, here are some good playlists:





ON TO UILLEANN PIPING! The authentic, real, raw, gritty stuff of old, full or scratches and rough edges...

My favorite piper, perhaps of all time: Séamus Ennis!!

These are some good albums, I have shared them here before, I should warn you though, many of Ennis's recordings were made in his later years, mostly the 1970's, he was in ailing health at this time, and sadly died in 1982 from throat cancer.

Car accidents, tuberculosis, two big heart attacks, drinking problems, repeated bouts of pneumonia (Likely from his TB), and of course cancer which sadly took him from us, most certainly took quite an edge off of his musicianship, his 1830's-1840's Maurice Coyne pipes also weren't in their best shape either, unsurprising considering he lived in the uilleann piping dark ages, reedmakers, pipemakers/restorers were very scarce.

All this put into consideration, his later recordings may be rather distressing to listen to for a casual listener of Irish Trad music, nevertheless, in his later years, in spite of his ailements and instrument troubles, his music shows a more nuanced, deeper understanding of the music. There is a lot more 'tempo rubato' in his later recordings, and he could be quite volatile, making his piping very unsuitable for dancing or playing with others, not that he really sought out to do such things anyways.

Nevertheless, putting all this into consideration, if you want to give Ennis a try, here are some albums:

This last one "Return from Fingal" is hard to find, but it has many recordings of Ennis in his prime when he was in good health, it can be found in Na piobari uilleann: Na Píobairí Uilleann


This is all for now, but I can show you more later, perhaps some more uilleann, northumbrian, and Musette de cour recordings!

 

Wow, you went full Josquin on me

I want you to know I have copied your entire post and put it into a Word document for easy access. This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much!

 

It looks like my work here has been done for me already...still, I will dig up some Hungarian bagpipe music for you if I can, since it's a very popular instrument in my humble, little country as well.

 

Please do, I'd love to explore that musical anomaly too. As you know, I like Hungarian music in general, and bagpipes can only improve it further. I wish there were more bagpipes in Mozart's Requiem. Way too few bagpipes in Schubert's Ave Maria. The Bach solo cello suites would have been so much better with added bagpipes.

I think I might be in a bit of a bagpipy mood, not sure.

 

Listening to the Piper Major Robert Brown albums now. Gorgeous, absolutely hits the spot 😊

 

I believe it may have been recorded some time in the 1970’s.

I bring that up because the pitch crept up in the 1990’s and 2000’s, possibly earlier.

In the 20th century they were pitched much lower, A-450, up to A-470.

Pipe Major Bob Brown sounds to be almost bang on A-470, last time I checked anyways!

Pitch was never really standardized, and it still isn’t, not really anyways, most pipes now pitch around A-475-485. Too high for me!

Sounds much warmer and deeper in the low 470s IMO.

they do thankfully offer Bflat chanters now, should get one if I ever do get into playing again.

 

There is another ... Graham Waterhouse's Chieftain's Salute. There is a 2002 recording with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Yaron Traub...

 

Great, it's on Spotify!

 

I don't remember which disc but I have heard some kind of pipes (not quite as loud and shrill as the modern? Scottish ones) on a baroque recording, probably Rameau or other French suites with Savall. It might only have been an imitation, though. That's quite common although it's usually a general drone that might as well imitate a hurdy-gurdy or other drone instrument.

The Baltimore consort did a whole bunch of Renaissance/Baroque discs with folk influences. I am sure that one of the Scottish ones "On the Banks of Helikon" has one or two titles with pipes. They have another scottish disc that I have not heard and also a French one that might contain pipes (as all backward/marginalized (usually Keltic) groups kept using them when they had vanished from most other European music, so do the Bretons).

 

probably Rameau

Yes, I think it is in the Les Indes Galantes suite.

 

Until 1996, the British government considered the bagpipes to be a bona fide weapon of war.

Out of tune unmusical unpleasantness YUCK. They should be banned

 

Listening to the suites, in "Musette en rondeau" from Les Indes galantes there's a background drone that, if you really want it to, sounds a bit like someone playing the bagpipe in an adjacent room. That's all I can find. To whine a bit further, I might also add that I don't like the simpering, dainty way the music is played in this recording. Rameau benefits from more cock.

 

I very much agree. The one I listened to was on CD and I can't find that recording online but it was much more bagpipe-y, so it looks like it's dealer's choice how much bagpipe they put in there (if any).

 

 

That's quite the combo of instruments

 

I've never played the pipes, but I do play pipe music (pibroch, etc) and other trad gaelic music on clarsach (wire harp) and other instruments (fiddles, cello, free reeds..)

Took up hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) a few years ago - another instrument with some similarities to pipes (no tremolo, pibroch type form, etc).

Here's a very poor recording - I had everything set up wrong! ... but it still transmits the idea

Piper Kathryn Tickell on Hdgfl:

 

Bad sound or no, that is quite the bit of loveliness right there. The Hardanger fiddle is an amazingly expressive instrument.

I used to know a guy who liked to go fishing on Hardangervidda in Norway. Always bugged me he didn't play the fiddle - where better to play it?

 

Anyways @Entelekheia here is some more pipering from Jakez Pincet, he’s a Breton Piper!

He plays a variety of tunes here, Piobaireached, marches, strathespeys, reels, and some Breton music.

just be warned the pitch is kind of all over.




also for your interest, here is an interesting Documentary about highland bagpipes and Piobaireached. There is some Dvorak in the opening too

The ending is somewhat pessimistic and thought provoking, I think I understand where they may be coming from though, I think they may perhaps be worried that it may become a caricature or just a watered down impression of the real thing, as if we will lose what makes it what it is…. Food for thought indeed

definitely give it a watch if you have time!

 

One of those times when I waver between the "helpful" and the "love" emoticon, but I've been maudlin and saccarine enough for one day, so a gritty nod and a "helpful" will do.

 

Here is S. Ennis playing a couple slow airs.

The clip starts with him joking, tuning his pipes, and then talking a bit about the stories behind the airs.

 

Here are Kathryn Tickell, Richard Thompson, and Alistair Anderson in the video I referred to in post 37. Beginning at 2:16, just listen to the interplay between Kathryn Tickell and Richard Thompson. Three of the best in this genre of music. Godspeed to all of them.

 

"...piobaireached for example, the "great music" is far more rewarding to listen to or play IMHO, and the history of piobaireached is far more interesting and it is a shame that it is overlooked..."

I've been chasing the austere, plaintive quality of ancient Gaelic air from the moment I first heard it. I'd no idea what it was, but the first i heard it was Chieftains/Derek Bell sometime in the 1980s. I obtained a hammered dulcimer and set upon a lifetime study (of trad from the northern Isles) - finally acquiring an actual instrument (wire harp) about 15 years ago. (This tune goes on for about 15 minutes - here's one section

It's a sound I've never been able to shake - and I'm most happy to see it being discussed here

 

I'm playing catch-up here (Götterdämmerung's initial post alone gave me 30 hours of music to listen to), so I hope no one feels ignored if I don't respond quickly. Thank you all for your contributions, I really did think it would just be me and ForaFrank shooting the breeze here.

 

Bartok referred to bagpipes in several works

of course nothing to do with Scotland though

 

Nevermind

 

Here is some of the Musette de cour.


I'm wanting to perhaps get one 3D printed for myself

 

Götterdämmerung, wrt the playlists you posted, I've heard some of those recordings (on the radio) a few times over the past decades. A few in particular move me as much or more as anything I've heard (particularly a set or two by Jakez Pincet). They are among the most inspirational, emotional sounds for me. And bells.

*I can't recall which harper said, in an interview I heard, that it was the sound of bells growing up somewhere in the Isles which was prominent in her memory and work. I'm after that myself, as well; though I rarely heard bells as a youth, somehow I came to love them nonetheless.

 

McAskill was a great piper, I must bring up that I have never seen a man look so uncomfortable yet play so amazingly lol.


Here is a great pibroch, probably my favorite of all of them

"Lament for Alistair of Dearag"

And some 2/4 marches, the second one played is Rossshire Volunteers, don't remember the name of the first.

Another video I love, P/M Jimmi MacGregor, he was apparently quite a character! Lovely playing

 

Although I'm primarily playing the uilleann pipes, this thread is kinda making me want to blow the dust out of their Scottish cousins that I have stowed away in my closet! I'll have to find a teacher to brush up my technique though, and do some maintenance.


One of the reasons I don't take them out often is they are not exactly the quietest instrument, if I lived somewhere more discreet I'd surely take them out more, it may be ironic but I've never really been one who like drawing attention to oneself, something that is very easy to do with this instrument, it's sound is unmistakable.

 

I learned the bagpipes when I joined the Boy Scouts when I was eleven. I’m now seventy six (you do the maths) and I doubt I have the lung capacity now to keep air in the bag. I played them for about ten years and then my interest waned.

i remember once that my inconsiderate next door neighbour came banging on my door at three in the morning. It’s a good job I was already awake and playing my bagpipes! 😂😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

 

Are the bagpipes a common thing to learn in the British boyscouts?

 

 

Context?

 

I even dreamed about bagpipes last night, so good work. Still happily listening away, apart from a couple of detours. Listening right now to Andrew Wright, "The Men Went to Drink", which seems a reasonable title for a Scottish song.

 

Holy cow, Seamus Ennis plays like a wild man, I love it

 

Because you are a wild man as well, I assume.

 

Keep an eye open for The Tannahill Weavers - their piper uses a set of pipes used by an ancestor to pipe advances during WW1... they tour the UK regularly.