[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham
Hellos apiece There is a rather important tale to tell here and Chris is understandbly reluctant to publicise it but hereas the story, as I have it. I'm putting in lots of background as I think it helps. Chris was an amazing player even as a youngster. He came up to the first Rothbury Festival in Colin Rossas V W camper van, which was parked for the weekend in Mount Hooley stack-yard. On the Saturday morning I was in our garden when I heard aI saw my Love Come Passing by Mea drifting out across the steading. I couldnat work out what was happening as parts of it sounded like my track on Cut Dry Dolly, it was the same version but different somehow. Nevertheless, it was close enough for me to think that Colin had rigged up a record player in the van. I rushed to the stack yard to witness a youth standing bolt upright playing what was my favourite pipes tune of all time. Chris then came to the advanced pipes class of the weekly sessions at Wallsend Arts Centre. If people are familiar with the educational gem, athe pupil should surpass the master otherwise both have faileda, all I can say is, we didnat fail! A wee lass, whose party piece was singing Dainty Davy whilst accompanying herself on piano, also came to the workshops. She soon progressed via whistle to fiddle (taught by Tony Corcoran at St Dominicas) and when I had an Archie Dagg set of pipes for sale, her father Mike said, aIall buy them for Kathryna. Starting in the beginnersa class with Dennis Ogle she quickly progressed to the advanced class with Chris. These so called aadvanced classesa were more shared sessions than classes but were great times and true learning went on I think. Times moved on, The Buddle Arts Centre decided to concentrate on concerts rather than learning. The folk workshops ceased, I stopped travelling from Whittingham to Tyneside most Saturdays and concentrated on the amazing music surrounding me up at Mount Hooley. Sounds wonderful, and that bit was, but I was to suffer under the cosh of Government curriculum reformers intent on emasculating my subject (chemistry) almost out of existence. (A move to the Independent sector helped but eventual relief was only to be found abroad, where IGCSE chemistry provided a decent springboard to aAa level) - enough! Chris went off to Liverpool to study geography and Kathryn continued at Gosforth High School and caused, incredulity, despair and almost mocking laughter from her teachers when she announced, in year 13,that she wouldnat be going to university but was setting her sights on a professional career in Traditional music! Sticking to her guns, that is exactly what she did! Here enters the villain of the piece letas call him Cid. We now know him as an infamous promoter, record producer and distributor who has trodden over many a talented musicianas career. His antics since buying out Leader records were the subject of a BBC Radio 4 documentary (broadcast 12 May 2007). Back in the 80s he seemed a reasonable lad. Chris signed up for a record contract with him and went on to record the sets now available for us to download (what a CD they would have made)! Part of Cidas business interests was the recording studio run by Geoff Heslop and Mickey Sweeney at Esldon where Kathryn did her early recordings. For reasons we can all have fun guessing at, Kathrynas CDs were produced, promoted and went on to wide appeal, Chrisas masterpiece was put on the shelf to gather dust. Not only did Cid sit on those recordings, he also put an embargo on the NPS using him on the aNew Horizonsa album. It was extremely upsetting for all concerned (the tracks had already been recorded; one of them was a tune Chris wrote for me aDr Robb of Ellinghama) but devastating for Chris himself who had to drag around Cidas ball and chain for many a year! So thatas about the size of it, a cracking yarn but true, and Iam just full to busting at what these two have achieved. Between them they have delighted, moved and captivated the full spectrum of pipes lovers around the world and some would say even the angels too. As aye Anthony --- On Sun, 15/3/09, Chris Ormston ch...@chrisormston.com wrote: From: Chris Ormston ch...@chrisormston.com Subject: [NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham To: 'Dartmouth NSP' nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Date: Sunday, 15 March, 2009, 6:37 PM The recordings were made in 1987 as part of a plan to release an album of the Clough MS. The album never appeared for reasons I cannot disclose without creating more antagonism, unfortunately! They were recorded on old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape, and were never fully completed, but I've tidied them up as best as I can. Glad you enjoy them! Chris -Original Message- From: Robert Greef [mailto:[1]rob
[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham
'I can feel a jig coming on!' Or a dirge - given the speed these recordings came out? John -Original Message- From: nsp-request+j.gibbons=ic.ac...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:nsp-request+j.gibbons=ic.ac...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Francis Wood Sent: 16 March 2009 11:21 To: julia@nspipes.co.uk Cc: 'Dartmouth NSP'; Chris Ormston; Anthony Robb Subject: [NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham On 16 Mar 2009, at 11:02, julia@nspipes.co.uk wrote: However, despite Cid the Ciderer's (I can feel a jig coming on!) best efforts . . . . Good to have insider information. Huge thanks to Chris for the music! Francis To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham
I am in the process of building a website for the Northumbrian Smallpipes Society of North America and at present as a holding page I have a collection of Youtube videos on pipers. Many of you will have seen some or all of these but the current discussion prompted me to point to the webpage and that they are gathered in one place. Email me if you know of more (I know there are some of Chris Evans out there). The page is linked from www.nspsna.org and most of the videos are from Chris and Steve Douglas's youtube channels. Ian To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham
Thank you so much for these super recordings Chris. It's easy, with all the antagonism that turns up on this forum, to forget that most folks who play the Northumbrian Pipes are friendly, and generous with their expertise and talents. Good website too. Out of interest, how did you make the recordings, and what mikes do you use? all the best, Paul Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:28:27 + To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu From: ch...@chrisormston.com Subject: [NSP] The Lost Music of Newsham Hi All, In the new-found spirit of altruism on this list, and for those of you who've not already had a bootleg copy, I've uploaded some tracks of tunes from the Clough MS here: [1]http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx Chris Ormston chrisormston.com borderdirectors.com -- References 1. http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html __ Beyond Hotmail see what else you can do with Windows Live. [1]Find out more! -- References 1. http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/134665375/direct/01/
[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham
Hear Hear to that! Interesting query, too. Trade secrets? Robert - Original Message - From: Paul Rhodes oxpi...@hotmail.com To: Dartmouth NSP nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 2:36 PM Subject: [NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham Thank you so much for these super recordings Chris. It's easy, with all the antagonism that turns up on this forum, to forget that most folks who play the Northumbrian Pipes are friendly, and generous with their expertise and talents. Good website too. Out of interest, how did you make the recordings, and what mikes do you use? all the best, Paul Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:28:27 + To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu From: ch...@chrisormston.com Subject: [NSP] The Lost Music of Newsham Hi All, In the new-found spirit of altruism on this list, and for those of you who've not already had a bootleg copy, I've uploaded some tracks of tunes from the Clough MS here: [1]http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx Chris Ormston To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham
The recordings were made in 1987 as part of a plan to release an album of the Clough MS. The album never appeared for reasons I cannot disclose without creating more antagonism, unfortunately! They were recorded on old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape, and were never fully completed, but I've tidied them up as best as I can. Glad you enjoy them! Chris -Original Message- From: Robert Greef [mailto:rob...@greef.fsnet.co.uk] Sent: 15 March 2009 16:25 To: Dartmouth NSP Subject: [NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham Hear Hear to that! Interesting query, too. Trade secrets? Robert - Original Message - From: Paul Rhodes oxpi...@hotmail.com To: Dartmouth NSP nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 2:36 PM Subject: [NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham Thank you so much for these super recordings Chris. It's easy, with all the antagonism that turns up on this forum, to forget that most folks who play the Northumbrian Pipes are friendly, and generous with their expertise and talents. Good website too. Out of interest, how did you make the recordings, and what mikes do you use? all the best, Paul Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:28:27 + To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu From: ch...@chrisormston.com Subject: [NSP] The Lost Music of Newsham Hi All, In the new-found spirit of altruism on this list, and for those of you who've not already had a bootleg copy, I've uploaded some tracks of tunes from the Clough MS here: [1]http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx Chris Ormston To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham (and mics)
Great stuff Chris! I've your prize winning duet set (with Cathy Goss) from the same Rothbury bash. Do I have your permission to include it in my walk down memory lane? As for your recordings; there's a familiar air about these and if I'm correct they were very probably recorded with AKG 451s. The people involved at the time (If the cider manufacturer has anything to do with it) swore by AKG 414s for vocals and 451s for instruments. The ideal mics for pipes have as flat a frequency response as possible. Bruel Kaejer 406s were unbeatable in this respect but they cost 5 times as much marginal improvement offered. These days many professional engineers go for sE electronics. They are made to the highest standards in China. The sE 4 has wowed the pros as a little stunner costing just under A-L-250 (about the same as a 451). The sE 4400a has an even flatter response but these are A-L-850 for a matched pair. If money's no object go for Schoeps at about A-L-1500 apiece. (specs very similar to 4400a!) As aye Anthony --- On Sun, 15/3/09, Chris Ormston ch...@chrisormston.com wrote: From: Chris Ormston ch...@chrisormston.com Subject: [NSP] The Lost Music of Newsham To: 'NSP List' nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Date: Sunday, 15 March, 2009, 12:28 PM Hi All, In the new-found spirit of altruism on this list, and for those of you who've not already had a bootleg copy, I've uploaded some tracks of tunes from the Clough MS here: [1][1]http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx Chris Ormston chrisormston.com borderdirectors.com -- References 1. [2]http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx To get on or off this list see list information at [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx 2. http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham (and mics)
-Original Message- From: anth...@robbpipes.com [mailto:anth...@robbpipes.com] Sent: 15 March 2009 22:42 To: 'NSP List'; Chris Ormston Subject: [NSP] Re: The Lost Music of Newsham (and mics) Great stuff Chris! I've your prize winning duet set (with Cathy Goss) from the same Rothbury bash. Do I have your permission to include it in my walk down memory lane? YES! Though I remember getting lost at one point - nobody's perfect! As for your recordings; there's a familiar air about these and if I'm correct they were very probably recorded with AKG 451s. The people involved at the time (If the cider manufacturer has anything to do with it) swore by AKG 414s for vocals and 451s for instruments. The ideal mics for pipes have as flat a frequency response as possible. Bruel Kaejer 406s were unbeatable in this respect but they cost 5 times as much marginal improvement offered. These days many professional engineers go for sE electronics. They are made to the highest standards in China. The sE 4 has wowed the pros as a little stunner costing just under A-L-250 (about the same as a 451). The sE 4400a has an even flatter response but these are A-L-850 for a matched pair. If money's no object go for Schoeps at about A-L-1500 apiece. (specs very similar to 4400a!) As aye Anthony Yes it was Mr Magners! As for mics - I just play the pipes grin Chris --- On Sun, 15/3/09, Chris Ormston ch...@chrisormston.com wrote: From: Chris Ormston ch...@chrisormston.com Subject: [NSP] The Lost Music of Newsham To: 'NSP List' nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Date: Sunday, 15 March, 2009, 12:28 PM Hi All, In the new-found spirit of altruism on this list, and for those of you who've not already had a bootleg copy, I've uploaded some tracks of tunes from the Clough MS here: [1][1]http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx Chris Ormston chrisormston.com borderdirectors.com -- References 1. [2]http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx To get on or off this list see list information at [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx 2. http://chrisormston.com/clough.aspx 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
