Pipes and Vice-Presidents

Physics lab was better today, actually finished it without wanting to tear my own ears off with a pair of salad tongs.

The Vice-President was on campus today giving a speech or something, I dont know, and I care even less.  The campus is right next to an airbase, so I got to see Air Force One fly overhead which was pretty cool.  I always love to look up and see the military aircraft flying around.

So I have decided to get back into my piping a little more.  Possibly less of the traditional stuff and more into the old Ceòl Mór also known as Piobaireachd.  Piobaireachd is Scots Gaelic for "piping" or "act of piping," and can refer to any sort of specifically bagpipe music.  Ceòl Mór is "big music" to distinguish from Ceòl Beag (little music) which included reels, strathspeys, etc.  It's the "traditional" Scottish bagpipe music, and has been played for hundreds of years.  It is known for its length and complexity.

In the old times, Piobaireachd was originally taught by using caintaireachd.  Caintaireachd was music that was passed orally, not through written notation.  This way, the piper could learn through hearing the song and learn the phrasing, feel, and movements of the song.  In this tradition, piobaireachd is very difficult to write with the limitations of modern notation.  It has no meter, but has a pace for the tune.  The best way to learn the tunes today is through an experienced instructor, using notation as a supplement.

This is the music of the pipes that I enjoy above all others.  One of my favorite players is the venerable Allan MacDonald, one of the most famous players of pibroch and some claim the man responsible for the survival of the music into the modern piping world.   Here he is playing his interpretation of one of my favorite tunes, Cumha Na Chloinne, "Lament for the Children"  A tune written by the "father of pibroch," Padruig Mor MacCrimmon.  Legends say the tune was written to lament the loss of 800 men of the Clan Macleod at the battle of Worchester in 1651.

As you can see, the emotion Allan puts the tune is something you rarely hear in music that is restricted by time and notation.  Many, myself included, consider the Piobaireachd to be as much a living breathing entity as the one playing it. It has its own pulse, its own breath, and its own spirit. 

Note, the old gaelic words are:

Fhir a' chinn duibh thug mi gaol dhut
Fhir a' chinn duibh thug mi gràdh dhut
Thug mi gaol is thug mi gràdh dhut
Thug mi gaol nach dug mi chàch dhut
Fhir a' chinn duibh thug mi gràdh dhut

Boy with the black hair I gave you love
Boy with the black hair I gave affection.
I gave you love, I gave you affection.
I gave you a love that I did not give to the rest
Boy with the black hair, I gave you affection."