(I've missed a day on this, while I was daft enough to honour a gig in
Hampstead: 1 hr 40 there, 7 hours 20 back. The joys of the soft south!)
You're absolutely right, John.
It is, to adapt an earlier comment, pointless comparing apples and potatoes.
But since we've mentioned it....
I was going to write and comment that it's all down to so many elements
of time, place, mood, etc.
And before seeing yours below, was going to say that for me hearing
Billy Pigg (interesting how often his name crops up in this) playing the
Wild Hills of Wannie just Did It when I when I was about 18, had never
even heard of Northumbrian smallpipes or any pipes other than GHB's, (as
played by buskers when crossing the border on Scottish holidays) ... a
seed was set, and ever since then I wanted to play these things. (Pity
it took until I was in my mid 50's before actually pursuing them!)
And it is enormously subjective. It's like foods, tastes vary so widely.
I'm not surprised that Paddy Keenan's Blackbird is John Gibbons'
defining one (quite agree!) Irish pipes, Irish tune.... (yes I know
they're an English invention).
We could go off topic and discuss which instruments do different jobs
for different people - for me a one row melodeon does a fantastic job
with some dance tunes, but is 'orrible even when played by a great Irish
master for a slow air.
But that's another big discussion, and I've take us off topic too
often recently, so I won't suggest it :)
It would be interesting to know how many people, either within the North
Eastern fold or out of it, were first inspired by hearing Mr Pigg's
playing, though.
Best wishes,
Richard.
On 18/12/2010 17:51, John Dally wrote:
Thanks to everyone for the edifying discussion. To me Doubleday seems
to be saying, the NSP are a rude, wee thing with enough charm to make
them worth preserving, and within its narrowest scope in its own way
it's quite nice, really. Another way of looking at it is that he's
saying "fa\g a phiob bhochd", "leave the poor pipes alone," which
makes good sense to me too. All that is fair enough. Contrast that
with George Sand's novel, The Bagpipers, which is truly inspired by
the rude sounds of peasant instruments. I think she wrote about the
same time as Doubleday.
The discussion lost me when it took on the topic of most expressive
instrument. "Whatever gets you through the night," as the late, great
Liverpudlian once sang. All music is nostalgic and so much depends on
your frame of reference. When I first heard the NSP when I was about
fifteen I was drinking tea in a close corner by a wood stove after a
cold, wet day of scavaging fire wood from a logged off patch where
alder and madrona were left to rot. My friend, Sandy Ross (somehow
related to Colin), put a recording of Billy Pigg on the record player
and I was hooked. If he had put a recording of the best violinist in
the world I would have hurried out the door without finishing my tea.
There is much more to the context of that moment, social and personal,
that made it so important to me. But suffice it to say that for all
it's many flaws and short comings the NSP are the only thing that
works to express some things for me, and every time I hear and play
them that moment of contentment and happiness shines through. Of
course, I have many flaws and shortcomings, which explains a lot!
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