Klarinet Archive - Posting 000149.txt from 2001/09

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: Re: [kl] Aha! Setting the record straight about bagpipes
Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 13:48:28 -0400

<><> Bill, I've heard it said that a Scottish gentleman is a man
who can play the pipes ---but won't!

<chuckle> Humor aside, and I don't mean to beat this to death,
but there is just enough 'bite' in this to demand a reply. No offense
intended, but it's sort of like saying that all bassoonists are weird,
or all trumpeters are incapable of playing delicate music, and so forth.

The piper that I mentioned has a CD out. I don't know whether his
CD is the same sort of music as what I heard in the competition, but if
you're curious (as I am, I ordered a copy), here's the address and
label:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~kerrymusic
King of the Pipers, Danny Houlihan
$13 + $3 s&h

The web page states that much of the music is the piper's own
compositions, and therefore it seems unlikely that this CD is the usual
"traditional bagpipe music", of which I admit I'm not a fan --- although
I must tell you that even with the traditional music, one's heart does
thump a bit faster when you're walking down the street and an entire
national-champion drum & bagpipe band comes striding around the corner
in perfect step and (almost, if they could tune those things) playing in
unison.

Cheers,
Bill

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