Scottish bagpipes - a kaleidoscope. The history of the big Scottish bagpipe Ancient sounds in modern processing

Musical instrument: Bagpipe

Bagpipes... What associations do you have when you mention this instrument? For sure - fabulous Scotland with its picturesque plains and ancient castles, a man in a plaid skirt, holding a kind of "pouch" with tubes sticking out of it... Many consider the bagpipe to be an original Scottish instrument. However, this is not entirely true - where and when it appeared, today it remains a mystery. It is only known that the bagpipe is a traditional instrument of many peoples of Europe and Asia, but the Scottish one, which is a symbol of its country, is especially popular.

The bagpipe is a reed wind musical instrument.

Sound

Friedrich Nietzsche said: “How little is needed for happiness! Bagpipe sound. - Without music, life would be a delusion. The German imagines even God singing songs.

Some believe that the voice of the bagpipe has magical properties, and its sound is similar to the guttural singing of a person. The sharp continuous timbre of the instrument, which is heard for several miles, invariably attracts attention.

At its core, the bagpipe is a polyphonic instrument that plays a melody against the background of the monotonous harmony produced by bourdon pipes. Its deep and piercingly strong sound, with a nasal and buzzing timbre, is created as follows. The piper fills the bag with air with the help of a mouthpiece pipe and, pressing with his elbow, drives it to the pipes, simultaneously pressing his fingers on the sound holes of the chanter (melody pipe). From time to time, a musician can sing along to the background sound of bourdon pipes, playing tunes on the instrument in between. The music of the bagpipes is characterized by the copious use of frior embellishments and short trills.

Range instrument is very limited, depending on the type of bagpipe, it is from one to two octaves.

It is quite difficult to play the bagpipe, it was believed that only strong men with a strong physique could play music on it, but at the present time women are also fond of playing this instrument.

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Interesting Facts:

• The Scots call their bagpipes “highland bagpipe”, which literally means “mountain bag with pipes”. In other countries, the bagpipe is called: in Ukraine - “goat; in Belarus - "duda"; Bulgaria - "guide"; in Russia - “bagpipes; in Georgia - “stviri” or “gudastviri”; in Armenia - "parkabzuk" and "tic"; in Estonia - "torupill"; in Moldova and Romania - "chimpa"; in Chuvashia - "shabr" and "shapar"; in Mari El - "shuvyr"; in Germany - "zakpfayfe" and "dudelzak"; in England - "bagpipe"; in Holland - "dudelzak"; in France - "cornemuse".
• The largest Scottish bagpipe is called the Highland, it is the most popular today and is used in Scottish military bands.
• There is evidence that the ancient Roman emperor Nero, who was fond of playing the bagpipes, played music on the instrument during the great fire of Rome.
• Scotland does not have its own national anthem. The unofficial anthem of the country is the folk song "Flower of Scotland", which is traditionally performed on bagpipes.

• Scottish regiments always went into battle to the sound of bagpipes. Pipers walked in the forefront, raising the warlike spirit of the soldiers. During World War I, over 500 bagpipers died on the battlefields as they were easy targets.
• In the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, at Waverley railway station, visitors are greeted by the bewitching sound of bagpipes. In this city, the bagpipes performed by the guard of honor also sound at the neo-Gothic world-famous monument dedicated to Walter Scott.
• The Scots endow the bagpipe with "magical powers", for example, it can scare away rats. There is also a belief that the piper begins to sound beautiful only after a year, when he gets used to the owner.

• Bagpipes were banned in Scotland in 1560 during a church reform, and also in 1746 after the Jacobite rising.
• The only copy of the Russian bagpipe, which was recreated according to the descriptions in old documents, is kept in Moscow in the M.I. Glinka.
• Very significant collections of bagpipes are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (USA), the International Bagpipe Museum in Gijon (Spain), the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford (UK), the Morpeth Chantrey Piper Museum in Northumberland (UK) and the Museum of Musical Instruments in Phoenix (USA).
• The first festival of military bands "Kremlin Star", held in Moscow in 2008 on Red Square, was attended by a combined orchestra of pipers and drummers from around the world, consisting of 350 performers.
• In St. Petersburg for several years there has been an orchestra "Bagpipes and Drums of St. Petersburg". He speaks at all events related to British culture.
• Some bagpipes are made of ivory, which is banned in many countries, so traveling with such an instrument is very problematic.
• March 10th is International Piper's Day.
• Queen Elizabeth of England wakes up every day at 9:30 am to the sound of military marches. Her alarm clock is an ensemble of pipers dressed in full dress uniform. Her husband Philip does not share the Queen's love for the sound of bagpipes.
• The development of bagpipes has led to the creation of MIDI electronic keyboard instruments, which can be played with various types of bagpipes.
• The world's largest producer of bagpipes is Pakistan, which for a long time was a British colony. For the soldiers permanently stationed in this country of the Scottish military units, the Pakistanis learned how to make bagpipes. Having gained freedom, the locals did not leave this craft, but today the tools from Pakistan do not differ in good quality.

Design

For each nation, the bagpipe differs in its design, but the principle of the device is always the same. This is a tank made from the skin of animals or their bladder, and several pipes - one for filling the fur with air and several for playing to create polyphony.

• The air reservoir is called a bag and is usually made from the skin of a calf, goat, elk, sheep, cow, and even a kangaroo. The bag must be airtight and hold air well.
• The mouthpiece tube (injection) is designed to fill the fur chamber with air. It is inserted into the bag from above and attached to it with wooden cylinders - drains. The blowing tube is equipped with a shut-off valve that prevents air from escaping backwards.
• A melodic tube similar in appearance to a flute is called a chanter, on which the piper performs the main musical theme. The tube, which has several playing holes, is attached to the bag from below. Inside it has a cane, which is hidden in the drain and when exposed to air begins to oscillate.
• Bourdon pipes or drones create a constant background sound and are tuned to the tonic and dominant of the key in which the main melodic theme sounds. The number of drones in the instrument varies from one to four, and they are also inserted using drains in which reeds are inserted into the tubes.

Varieties

The bagpipe is a very popular folk instrument all over the world and there are an incredible variety of its varieties. Almost every country has its own version of the instrument, which is made from various materials, with a different number of tubes. The principle of the bagpipe device is always the same, however, each nation has its own design features, for example:

• Irish - a distinctive feature of the instrument is that the bag is filled with air through bellows.
• Spanish - a feature of the instrument is a double reed chanter and single reed drones. There are eleven holes on the chanter - eight game holes, one of which is on the back side and three are not closed at the bottom of the bell.
• Bulgarian - differs from other instruments in that there is a hole in the bag, which the performer closes with his index finger.
• Mariyskaya - has two melodic pipes, which makes it possible to perform a two-voice melody. The air tank is made from bull bladder.
• Mordovian - the pitch of the bourdons on the instrument can be changed during the game, since there are three playing holes on the bourdon pipe. Playing tubes are removable and can be used as separate musical instruments.
• Chuvash - all bagpipe pipes are made not of wood, but of metal.

Artworks:

Black Bear (listen)

Highland Laddie (listen)

Flower of Scotland (listen)

Application

The bagpipe was originally used as a solo instrument, but later it began to be used in ensemble and orchestral music-making. Today, the bagpipe is the official instrument of military and police bands in countries such as Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. In orchestras, bagpipes are played accompanied by drums.

An ideal musical instrument for playing ceremonial melodies, bagpipes are traditionally played during royal dinners in the UK.

Due to the increasing popularity of the instrument, the bagpipe is increasingly being used at weddings, holidays and dance parties.

It is very problematic to use bagpipes in an ensemble with other instruments: firstly, it has a very loud sound; secondly, the tuning of the bagpipes does not coincide with the tuning of the piano, violin and wind instruments. However, the sound of the instrument is sometimes used to decorate compositions in such musical genres as metal, hip-hop, punk and rock.

There is a bagpipe - it is not for nothing that most of the funny stories about the inhabitants of this country are associated with this unusual, original and completely non-standard musical instrument. The bagpipe complements the image of a traditional Scotsman, is as indispensable an element as a kilt, a Scottish dagger and other elements of the national costume.
What is the bagpipe and when did it appear on the territory of Scotland?

History of the bagpipe

Despite the fact that many, including modern Scots themselves, are sure that the bagpipe is an exclusively Scottish invention, historians argue otherwise.
First of all, the bagpipe, like many other musical instruments, supposedly came to Europe from Asia: at least in the East, this instrument became known much earlier (the first copy was found in Sumer 3 thousand years BC)
Secondly, the bagpipe is a rather late invention. Until the Middle Ages, there was practically no mention of such an instrument in Europe.
Thirdly, the bagpipe first appeared in central Europe: for example, in the 13th century, several variants of the bagpipe, common in the territory of present-day Spain, are described in sufficient detail. While in the UK, the first mention of this instrument dates back only to the end of the 14th century.
Fourth, what the historical bagpipes looked like, we practically do not know: there are practically no historical specimens, and there are almost no drawings, where the old bagpipes would be depicted in detail.

Still bagpipes in the modern world It is primarily a Scottish instrument. And neither historical facts nor the fact that in addition to the Scottish one there are at least seven other types of bagpipes in the world (including Italian, French, Armenian and even Chuvash) can not interfere with this.
In Scotland the main peak of the popularity of this instrument fell on the 17th century, since the bagpipe had its own functional purpose in this period. With the help of bagpipe sounds, the clan learned about:
solemn events: meetings, coronations, councils,
necessary everyday moments of clan life.
And this is not surprising: Scottish beliefs say that the sounds of bagpipes are carried up to a distance of 5 kilometers from the place of origin.

So it was the bagpipe that became a musical instrument quite late, and it is interesting that it was on the territory of Scotland that the amazing and mystical sound of this instrument was fully revealed. Piping competitions are held in Edinburgh, Glasgow. In Scotland, musicians and listeners really love and appreciate this instrument!

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Despite the fact that the area of ​​Scotland at the moment is approximately 40% of the territory of Great Britain, the number of large Scottish cities is quite small. Most of the settlements, which, according to researchers, number several hundred, are small remote villages, as well as settlements, the population of which does not exceed several hundred people. It is worth noting that the large cities of Scotland are quite few in number: as if following a certain leveling standard, the population in them never exceeds 500 thousand people (the only exception to this rule is Glasgow).

Perhaps the most famous symbols of Scotland are the thistle, the kilt, the whiskey and the loud sounds of the bagpipes. With the first three, everything is more or less clear. But the idea of ​​​​Scotland as the homeland of the bagpipe is completely wrong.

The history of bagpipes is rooted in the darkness of centuries. It is believed that it was brought to Scotland by Roman legionnaires. There is evidence that the Roman Emperor Nero had a bagpipe as one of his favorite musical instruments. According to another version, the Vikings did it.

leather bag

However, the mention of the “pipe bag” can be found in the works of the Greek comedian Aristophanes, who lived in the 5th-4th centuries BC. Also, the remains of an instrument similar to a bagpipe were discovered during excavations of the capital of the Sumerian kingdom, the city of Ur, and dated to about the 3rd millennium BC. For many centuries, the bagpipe "registered" on the territory of almost the entire Eurasian continent.

In it they call it a gaita, in Belarus it is called a duda, in a goat, in Rus' it is actually a bagpipe (since cowhide was used for the production of the instrument). Moreover, in Russian folklore, the saying has even been preserved: “Bagpipe and horn - collect our house.” Armenians, Maris, Chuvashs, Mordovians and Ossetians had similar instruments. But the bagpipe especially took root in Scotland, where it received the simple name highland bagpipe. Literally translated - "mountain bag with pipes." And often the tool is called even simpler - pipes (“tubes”).

At the same time, the design of bagpipes is similar everywhere. This is a bag made of calf, bull or goat skin. From 2 to 5 tubes are inserted into it. One of them, the “blower”, serves to fill the fur with air. Others are bourdons, which create a continuously lingering tone, against which a melody unfolds, which the piper with the right hand extracts with the help of one or more solo pipes (chanters). At the same time, the musician presses on the air bag with the elbow of the left hand.

However, sometimes some technical improvements are made to the design. For example, in the Irish bagpipe, not the lungs of the musician, but furs are used to pump air. In the Armenian “parkapzuk” and the Chuvash “shapor”, instead of a leather waterskin, a bull or cow bladder was used. Wooden pipes-bourdons were sometimes replaced by pipes made of reeds, reeds, or even goose feathers. And sometimes they, like a melodic cane, were cast from tin.

Special Purpose Music

The bagpipe received a permanent residence in Scotland somewhere in the middle of the 16th century, when a special musical style “pibroch” began to take shape - lingering melodies with an elusive form. Pipers have always been in demand at holidays or funerals, as it was believed that music protects those present from the evil eye and appeases the spirits. And also on the battlefield. There was even a saying: "Highlanders do not give up while the bagpipes are playing."

Indeed, the melody of a big bagpipe, which was heard at a distance of up to 16 kilometers, frightened the enemies and raised the spirit of the soldiers. This was taken into account by the British monarchs 2 centuries later during the Jacobite uprising (who advocated the restoration of the Scottish Stuart dynasty to the throne), and parliament banned not only bagpipes, but also kilts, which were traditionally worn by musicians.

True, the ban did not last long - until the moment when the royal government needed elite units formed from fearless highlanders. Representatives of the Macleod clan, as well as pipers and drummers of the McCrimmon family, played a special role in this. And there were legends about them. For example, one of them reads as follows: the fairy of mountain rivers presented the founder of the MacLeod family with a silver chanter, which allowed the owner to play without falsehood. But she set a condition: you can’t talk badly about your instrument.

The Chanter was passed down from generation to generation, and somehow the MacLeod ships went on an expedition. But a storm began, and the piper, in order to raise the morale of his comrades, began to play. However, at some point, the musician's hand slipped from the chanter, and he, out of tune, burst into curses at the bagpipes. At that moment, the chanter fell out of the stock and was swallowed by the abyss.

Subsequently, during the colonial wars, the British continued to use the combat experience of the Scottish regiments in hot spots, and the bagpipe became the official instrument of British military bands.

In the same bagpipe, which has a limited range and functionality, was supplanted by the accordion and button accordion. But it is still popular in the Bulgarian Rhodopes and in Western Belarus.

When it comes to Scotland, men in plaid woolen skirts, gloomy mountains, moorlands, piercing icy wind, strong whiskey and, of course, loud and resonant bagpipes immediately come to mind. It irritates some, disturbs and brings anxiety to the soul, others its sounds remind of something elusive, but very close, dear. For the Scots themselves, the sound of the bagpipes is an echo of history, the past, a connection with the roots that is not lost over the centuries, but becomes stronger with each new generation. For a simple man in the street, one thing is invariable - the Scottish bagpipe leaves no one indifferent.

Scottish bagpipe

The bagpipe is Scotland's most popular and iconic element. Although it is not a native Scottish musical instrument (the bagpipe was brought by the Vikings), it was this "pipe bag" that glorified Scotland on a par with the kilt.

Like all Scottish musical instruments, the bagpipe is made from scrap materials. Most often it is made from goat or turned inside out. A kind of bag is made of leather, which is tightly sewn up with five tubes inserted into it. Air is supplied through one upper bagpipe. On the bottom are holes for changing sounds. The top three make these same sounds.

The sound of the bagpipe is unlike any other musical instrument. Maybe that's what makes it so unique.

In the old days, each clan had its own piper, who accompanied all the holidays, events and campaigns of the leader.

Medieval Scottish bagpipers played drawn out melodies with a subtle form. This type of music is still called Piobaireachd and today is a textbook written specifically for the Scottish bagpipes.

Through the ages

Not everyone knows, but Scottish musical instruments are not limited to one bagpipe. This tool is only more popular, advertised and more often used on national holidays. It is logical to assume that the population of this region also invented other musical instruments that not only raised morale during the battle, but also had signal and entertainment properties.

Carnyx

A fairly rare Scottish folk musical instrument is the carnyx. Now, unfortunately, they don't play it. The last time he sang was almost 2,000 years ago. Now the exhibits found by archaeologists are stored in the National Museum of Scotland. Carnyx, like bagpipes, has a very melodic sound. But if the bagpipe sometimes irritates with its "squeaky", then the carnyx has a very gentle, velvety sound. It is just as sad, but it has the sound of the wind that lives in the Highland mountains, the smell of a fire and the taste of the salty northern sea. Just like the bagpipe, the carnyx was made from natural materials, or rather from a deer antler. Its main purpose was to give a combat signal.

whistle

Another Scottish wind instrument is the whistle. In appearance, and in its sound, it is more like a flute. The time frame of its origin is not exactly known. It seemed like he was always there. Unlike the carnyx, the whistle is still used today. He is especially loved in Irish folk art. The whistle is a very distinctive Scottish musical instrument. Its name in translation means "tin whistle".

What unites the brass of Scotland?

All Scottish musical instruments have an unusual sound magic. The famous bourdon (stretching) tone was formed as a result of the use of natural materials. And the age-old transformation of both appearance and material led to the fact that, say, the same bagpipe became so native to the Scottish population that over the past 300 years not a single military parade or any significant event took place without it.

Scottish musical instruments, among which the bagpipe occupies a dominant position, are distinguished by their simplicity and melodic sound. In addition, they all had a practical purpose. They transmitted signals, raised morale, or simply rejoiced in moments of despair.

▼...Gaelic soul, - All this drone drone and chanter's sobs sound meaningful only in Gaelic.
That's what a bagpipe is for the Gaels. It sounds not so much in the air as in their souls. I'm afraid we Englishmen can't understand that. The bagpipe may excite us - as a sudden cavalry charge would excite - but it is unlikely that any of us will shed tears at its sounds.
/from Henry Morton's book "Scottish Castles"/

In Scotland they say that the sound of a bagpipe should combine the voice of a man with the voice of an animal and should be heard for three miles.
The ancient Scots, like other cultures that use the bagpipe, have been fascinated from time immemorial by its long and continuous sound.
Tales have come down to us about pipers from the Isle of Skye - the Mac Crimmon clan, about a magic bagpipe and about a cave where you can still hear its sounds.

Kate Elizabeth Oliver Portrait of Charles Higgins, in Highland dress. 1939

The bagpipe is one of the oldest musical instruments. Who, where and when invented this unusual tool is unknown. Traces are lost in the mists of time.
The ancient Assyrians, Egyptians and Greeks played the bagpipes, which is reflected in the stone bas-reliefs of those times.
Some sources say that the bagpipe comes from Southwest Asia, there are suggestions about its Egyptian and Greek origin.
Mentions of bagpipes can also be found in ancient historical literature.
With its loud lingering sounds, the bagpipe raised the spirit of the Roman soldiers and was one of Nero's favorite instruments.
According to Gaius Suetonius Tranquill, the emperor dreamed of the time when on the same day he would have a chance to play the flute and bagpipes, and then act as an actor.
There is also a version that the Romans brought bagpipes to the British Isles.
This bag pipe (English bagpipe) is known among many peoples under different names: gaita, duda, dudelzak, goat, sarnay, chimpoy, shuvyr, etc.
However, the Scots consider the bagpipe their national instrument.

Piper to the Laird of Grant by Richard Waitt, 1714

The word "bagpipe" is used even in the Bible.
"As soon as you hear the sounds of horns, pipes and zithers, harps, lutes and bagpipes and other instruments, fall on your face and pray to the golden statue that King Nebukadnezar erected" (from the book of the prophet Daniel, 3.5).

Bagpipes of different nations differ in material, size, number of pipes and, depending on this, sound and timbre.
Bellows can be made from cloth, a blower can be made from metal and bone, chanters can be made from wood, bird bone, cane or tin, and bells can be made from cow horn and birch bark.
The volume of some bass bagpipes reaches 100 decibels.
The Scottish bagpipe is today the best known, the most popular and the loudest.
Thanks to tall, red-haired and colorful guys in kilts, an instrument called "pib moor", aka bagpipes, has become a real symbol of Scottish power.

Countless threads are connected with the soul of the Scots, with their sorrows and joys.
In the old days, bagpipers played slow, drawn-out pibrokh melodies, delighting the ears of highlanders and shepherds.
At feasts in the castles of kings, at festivities, bagpipes were indispensable.
In the Middle Ages, it was used by the highlander clans as a ritual and signal instrument.
The whole history of Scotland is the history of the struggle of the people for freedom, for the opportunity to preserve their traditions, habits, customs, way of life.
In this struggle, the stubborn character of the mountain people was tempered. To the sound of bagpipes, the Scots went to battle for their independence.
The bright, harsh sound of the instrument awakened the strength of the warriors, instilled the courage and faith necessary for victory.

The Romans were never able to subdue Scotland. In the 11th century, the Scottish kingdom was formed.
The English kings tried for a long time to conquer the mountainous country, but the Scots, a stubborn and stubborn people, opposed the English for many centuries.
The Scottish armies were led into battle by pipers, and for the English, the sound of bagpipes became associated with the sounds of battle.
The piper was like the banner of the regiment, and, according to tradition, while he was alive, the Scots did not surrender. However, they played the bagpipes even in peacetime.

The big Scottish bagpipe was developed in the 16th-19th centuries in the north-west of Scotland.
In the Middle Ages, the Scottish bagpipe was used as a functional instrument.
In the clans of the Scottish highlanders there was a special position "clan piper". The duties of the clan piper included the sound accompaniment of all ceremonies and events (including ritual ones), solemn dates, gatherings of sea otters and various everyday signals.

According to legend, during the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Scottish hero Prince Charles Stewart rode into Edinburgh at the head of a parade of a hundred pipers.
In 1746, Prince Charles was defeated in a battle with the British near the town of Culloden.
After the suppression of the uprising, the English parliament by a special act forbade the wearing of a kilt, the use of tartan and playing the bagpipe (recognized as nothing more and nothing less than a weapon), thereby destroying the clan system and centuries-old traditions.
This ban was lifted only half a century later.
Ironically, a large number of Highlanders were recruited into the British army, which willingly used the bagpipe.
The creation of Scottish units as part of the regular British army saved the bagpipe from oblivion. Created in 1757, the Scottish regiments had their own pipers, inspiring the army in campaigns and battles.

And today in Scotland, entire military bands of bagpipers have been created, performing military, folk and dance melodies, accompanied by drums. The Scots love singing and dancing.
At folk festivals, like many centuries ago, there is music performed on bagpipes.

▼ Now a little about the piper of the Second World War.
Bill Millin(William "Bill" Millin) 1922-2010

During the Second World War, the use of bagpipes in the army was limited to the rear. It was an order from the English Military Headquarters.
But Lord Lovat, Millin's commander, ordered him to play regardless: "You and I are Scots, so the orders of the English do not apply to us."

Old military photographs showing Millin.

22-year-old Bill Millin took part in the landings in Normandy (on the most dangerous first day) supporting the advancing soldiers with bagpipes.
His immediate superior, Lord Lovat, told the military musician that the Allied invasion would be the most significant in the world history of all wars and ordered Millin to play without ceasing, no matter what.

“He said that he was taking responsibility and ordered me to play - and I played even when soldiers were falling around, struck by bullets,” Millin later said.

While dead people fell around Millin, he performed in full growth "The boy from the Scottish mountains" and "The road to the islands" during the landing on the beach. Stayed alive.
Later, he himself said that he asked German snipers captured why they didn’t shoot at him (such a great target), they replied that they thought the guy was just crazy.
In 2010, the Piper Statue was erected in honor of Bill Millin in Normandy.