The Highland bagpipe, widely considered 'Scotland's national instrument', is one of the most recognized icons of traditional music in the world. It is also among the least understood. But Scottish bagpipe music and tradition - particularly, but not exclusively, the Highland bagpipe - has enjoyed an unprecedented surge in public visibility and scholarly attention since the 1990s. A greater interest in the emic led to a diverse picture of the meaning and musical iconicism of the bagpipe in communities in Scotland and throughout the Scottish diaspora. This interest has led to the consideration of both the globalization of Highland piping and piping as rooted in local culture. It has given rise to a reappraisal of sources which have hitherto formed the backbone of long-standing historical and performative assumptions. And revivalist research which reassesses Highland piping's cultural position relative to other Scottish piping traditions, such as that of the Lowlands and Borders, today effectively challenges the notion of the Highland bagpipe as Scotland's 'national' instrument. "The Highland Bagpipe" provides an unprecedented insight into the current state of Scottish piping studies. The contributors - from Scotland, England, Canada and the United States - discuss the bagpipe in oral and written history, anthropology, ethnography, musicology, material culture and modal aesthetics. The book will appeal to ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, as well as those interested in international bagpipe studies and traditions.
Author(s): Joshua Dickson
Edition: Har/Com
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 422
Contents......Page 6
List of Figures......Page 8
List of Illustrations......Page 10
List of Music Examples......Page 12
List of Tables......Page 14
List of Audio Tracks......Page 16
Notes on the Contributors......Page 18
General Editor's Preface......Page 24
Acknowledgements......Page 26
Introduction......Page 28
Urlar......Page 30
1 Problems of Notating Pibroch: A Study of 'Maol Donn'......Page 32
Dithis: Materiality and the Highland Pipe......Page 50
2 The Iain Dall Chanter: Material Evidence for Intonation and Pitch in Gaelic Scotland, 1650–1800......Page 52
3 Wood, Horn and Bone: A Survey of Immigrant Bagpipes and Regional Pipe-making in Nova Scotia, 1820–1920......Page 74
4 The Making of Bagpipe Reeds and Practice Chanters in South Uist......Page 98
Siubhal: Historical studies......Page 122
5 Traditional Origins of the Piping Dynasties......Page 124
6 One Piper or Two: Neil MacLean of the 84th Highlanders......Page 154
7 Simon Fraser Reconsidered......Page 172
Taorludh: Revivalism and Transformation......Page 194
8 Taking Stock: Lowland and Border Piping in a Highland World......Page 196
9 'Tullochgorm' Transformed: A Case Study in Revivalism and the Highland Pipe......Page 218
10 Return of the Drone: A 'Folk' Thing?......Page 248
Crùnnludh: Canonical Studies......Page 280
11 The Campbell Canntaireachd Manuscript: The Case for a Lost Volume......Page 282
12 The Concept of Mode in Scottish Bagpipe Music......Page 306
Urlar......Page 328
13 Rhythm in Pibroch: A Return to 'Maol Donn'......Page 330
Bibliography......Page 360
Index......Page 386
