Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

3

7 3 22 20110711 22 ~ SEANCHAS ~ SOME IRISH PIPERS IN AMERICA 1800 – 1850 PART 2 NICHOLAS CAROLAN I T IS NOTICEABLE that some Irish pipers in the America of the period played Scottish as well as Irish airs, as did Irish pipers in Britain in the years around 1800, such as Courtney, Murphy and O’Farrell in London. Apart from the attractiveness and contempor- ary popularity of Scottish airs, it is possible also that the Irish pipers may have been react- ing to audience expectations and also ac- knowledging the Scottish origins of some of their audiences. General American audiences may not have distinguished particularly be- tween the two ethnicities and may have seen the two genres of music as being essentially the same. Scottish pipers were also playing in America in the same general period, and were playing ‘union’ and ‘Irish’ pipes and Irish music, as well as Scottish (probably mouth-blown) bag- pipes and Scottish music. Their activities also throw light on contemporary Irish piping and on the differing centrality of union pipes to both overlapping traditions; it is interesting to note from some of the Scottish players’ adver- tisements also that the union pipes seem to have associations of Irishness for them: • ‘To which will be added, (composed by Mr. Byrne, late of the Philadelphia Thea- tre,) a grand heroic pantomime and spec- tacle, (taken from Ossian) called Oscar and Malvina; or, The Hall of Fingal. With the ancient Scots music, as selected by Mr. Shield. The union pipes to be played by Mr. Bunyie.’ (New Theatre, Philadelphia, 1811) 63 [Robert Bunyie, by his name a Scotsman, was teaching clarinet, German flute, violin and violincello in Alexandria, Virginia, later in 1811, 64 and also playing ‘on the Scotch bag-pipe’ on stage at the thea- tre there. 65 In 1818 he was playing ‘nat- ional Scotch and Irish airs on the union bagpipes’ as well as ‘the pibroch a[n]d Scotch airs on the highland or military bag- pipes’ at a concert in Mr. Duclairacq’s ball- room in Baltimore, Maryland. 66 By 1820 Bunyie was in Washington DC, repairing musical instruments at his residence on Bridge St, and advertising several instru- ments for sale prior to his leaving town, in- cluding ‘an excellent pair of union bag pipes, in complete order’. 67 By 1833, back in Baltimore, he is teaching music, repair- ing musical instruments and selling a range of instruments, including ‘Irish and Scotch bag-pipes’.] 68 • ‘Alexander Fraser lately from Europe, begs to intimate to his friends and the pub- lic, that he intends to perform some airs on the union or Irish pipe, in that log house situated opposite to the house of Mr. Pope.’ (Lexington, Kentucky, 1820) 69 • ‘The Wandering Piper is now piping in New York… he is a decent, clever Scotch- man… his Tour in Ireland and Scotland

7

22

[Periodical]

2011-07-19T00:00:00

anonymous,guest,friend,member