Once upon time there was bagpipes played at every country dance in England. (Our American ‘contra dance’ is quite likely a corrupted form of ‘country dance’. Certainly the dances are very similar!) According to piper Bill O’Toole of Blowzabella, founding member of that truly great English bagpipe band, “…Industrialization – that you guys invented – wiped out any of the English peasant instruments. However they were retained in village/clan societies such as Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Central France and Belgium – just out of interest – note the Celtic theme here. From those drawings it was obviously a single drone pipe, mouth blown. They were played outdoor so it had to be a little loud.” (For more on Blowzabella, English bagpipes, and how an Aussie of Irish descent came be in an English bagpipe band, read Jack’s interview with Bill O’Toole.) According to Julian Goodacre, “The bagpipes were once the instrument for dancing in the English Countryside. Increasing urbanization led to them falling into disfavour until by the 18th Century they were regarded solely as an instrument of the North. A wealth of old English Dance tunes has survived for over two centuries without having been played on the pipes.”
And the Henderson Scottish Imports Ltd. Web site notes, “there is no question that the bagpipe was very popular throughout England. Middle Ages Pre-Reformation churches reveal carvings of bagpipes. Chaucer refers to the Miller playing pipes in “The Miller’s Tale,” Documents from the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland (1498 and 1506) refers to payments to the English piper. Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” refers to the “Drone of a Lincolnshire bagpipe”. The Irish are believed to have played pipes for Edward I at Calais in 1297 and at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. In fact, both Henry VII and Henry VIII are believed to have enjoyed pipers.” It is a pity that the music intended for pipes died out for several centuries as pipe music, but perhaps that helped preserve the music in a more pure form. Certainly the fiddlers kept it alive!
The Web site for Julian Goodacre says, “this is a celebration of English dance music with pipes once more at the centre…” and I wholeheartedly agree! Julian’s part of The English bagpipe revival has been underway for over 20 years. These three CDs are among the best piping CDs I’ve ever been blessed to hear! After years of being active as a Celtic and English music promoter, I’ve heard literally hundreds of bagpipe CDs. Most do not catch my interest, but these do as I’ve really come to appreciate the deeper, fuller sound of these bagpipes.
So how is this music? Sublime. Perfect. Truly great. This English Bagpipe music has a definite medieval feel to it as contrasted to thoroughly modern feel of the Blowzabella material. This is simple, straightforward traditional music that one well may have encountered centuries ago at a barn dance or other community event in some rural area of England. If I listed the tunes here, you’d no doubt recognize them as fiddlers have played them for centuries. I can easily imagine Geordie, de Lint’s fiddler character in his Newford universe, playing these tunes. Pipemaker Call Yer Tunes has instruments such as fiddle, melodian, triangle, sousaphone, percussion, mandolins, and bouzoukis on them, but pipes are the dominant instrument — English Great Pipes, Leicestershire Small Pipes, and Cornish Double Pipes are the three kinds of pipes used. The other two CDs are pipes and just pipes (English Great Pipes, Leicestershire Small Pipes, and Cornish Double Pipes) — quite blissfully so! This is English music in its most quintessential form!
For nearly 12 years, The Goodacre Brothers bagpipe trio have been playing English dance music on English Bagpipes in three-part harmony, and they are quite superb. Both Bag Up Yer Troubles and Call for Yer Pipers Three feature all three of the piping brothers whereas the latter is more of a ‘solo’ project from Julian. It features pipe solos, duets, a trio, one quintet, and all the music on the CD is from his three tune books which GMR will be reviewing. Martin and Eliza Carthy said of his third tune book that, “This collection is as good as an introduction to English folk music for bagpipes or indeed any instrument as it is part of the great series of tune books he has already produced. Julian obviously recognizes the need to combine the traditional with the new to keep the living folk music of this country alive and current.” Listen — If you love bagpipe music, you’ll want all three of these CDs. If you are lukewarm ’bout bagpipe music, these will win you over. Check out Julian’s Web site for all the details on how to get these must-have bag piping CDs!
(White House Musics, 1997)
(White House Musics, 1991; re-issued, 2000)
(Julian Goodacre, 2000)
