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Píobaire, An, Volume 1, Issue 10, Page 18

Píobaire, An, Volume 1, Issue 10, Page 18
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periodical Publisher
Na Píobairí Uilleann
periodical Editor
Chairman, NPU
periodical Title
Píobaire, An
volume Number
1
issue Content
(92)12For me, his piping was the first I ever heard, before knew what pipes were,for his records came to America along with Sean ac Donnchas and being brough up insuch an atmosphere (even out there) his piping awakened or coUed to me; its hard toexplain but linked in a strange way with my living here. At that time,of course, Inever really believed I would have the privilege of meeting him. From the start no othermusic could interest or satisfy me as fully as Willies, and now he is dead we starve.Is mise le meas mor,Sean P. Mac Ciarnain,Cork. 5 February 1973.66666669999999LECTURE ON THE BAGPIPES,by Theodore H. Podnos.On June 19, 1972, Mr. Theodore H. Podnos delivered a lecture to the members andfriends of Na Piobairi Ulleann on the subject of The Bagpipes in the historic church ofSt. Catherine in Thomas Street. Mr. Podnos who dealt with his subject under variousheadings, treated firstly the bagpipe as an inspiration to composers. He instancedTelleman, a contemporary of Bach, who declared it was unbelievable what extraordinarymusical fancies the bagpipe and violin players introduced when they were playing whilstthe dancers rested: Any composed who cared to note them down would in a week haveenough ideas to keep him supplied for the rest of his life. Mr. Podnos then went on todiscuss the lypes and distribution of primitive bagpipes, saying that the first part of theworld which came to mind in connection with the primitive types was invariably India,but they were also found in the Caucases, on the Volga River in Eastern Russia wherethey are played by the UgroFinnish tribes and in the Mediterranean sea area. Withsuch a widespread incidence of the instrument in its primitive state, was it possible tosay with any certainty whence the bagpipes came to the British Isles? It had beensuggested they were introduced by the Celts, but this view was questioned on the basisof the types of reed used in the warpipes. The warpipe uses the Oboetype reed withtwo vibrating pieces of cane: the area from which the Celts came never had doublereeds, only Clarinet-type or single-tongued reeds. The Celts, therefore, could nothave introduced the bagpipe, as they would have brought a completely different typeof reed with it from that still in current use in Ireland and Britain. Most of WesternEurope uses the Oboe type, including Ireland, Scotland, Galicia, Germany andBrittany; the Clarinettype is found in all these areas, except Ireland and Scotland,as well as in Sweden and Estonia. Mr. Podnos considered that further study mustreveal some kind of pattern of origin.Mr. Podnos then treated briefly of the Diabolic associations the bagpipe has hadthrough the centuries. It was tabooed by Estonian pastors of the seventeenth centurybecause of the evil influence it was supposed to have upon their flocks. Theycalled it the HeIlpipe. In Hungary it was associated with the Devil, and in Swedenit was known to have pronounced mesmeric influence upon its listeners.The question of tunings was then treated by the speaker. Traditional pipes had neverused equal temperament which derives from the piano, until the music of that instru-ment had become so pervasive that the players ear was affected to the extent that hebegan to regard his own scales as being out of tune. Unfortunately that process wasbeginning to happen in the case of the war pipe or great Highland pipe, the lateststyle of chanter being designed to conform to piano tuning. Unusual tuning methodswere also mentioned, such as the use of tuning screws by the Czechs, and the use inSweden of a series of holes in the drone pipe which can be plugged or left open inorder to modify the pitch of the drone.Mr. Podnos finally described some ethymological research he had conducted inconnection with the origin, interelation, and distribution of various bagpipes, andcon td
issue Number
10
page Number
18
periodical Author
[Periodical]
issue Publication Date
1973-04-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

Píobaire, An, Volume 1, Issue 10

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