The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1906-02-08

In EuTOpe-Ihe HfRnlanu, Lo"Aau0
and Irish Varieties.
According to the encyclopedia, the bag
pipe is a wind instrument the fixed char
acreristic of which has always been
two or more reed pipes attached to and
sounded by a wind chest, or bag. which
bag has in turn been supplied either by
The lungs Of the performer or by bel
lows. The original instrument was pre-
sumably the simple reed. or shepherds
| pipe, which was well known to the
Trojans. Egyptians, Greeks and Ro-
| mans. But the strain Of blowing these
| ancient pipes was SO great that some
genius conceived the idea Of having q
reserve supply Of wind in a bag attach
| ed to the pipes, and hence the bagpipe.
| The first real instrument Is believed to
have been q skin Of a goat or kid, with
| two pipes, through one Of which the
bag was inflated, the other emitting the
sound.
In early times the bagpipe was COM
mon in Great Britain and abroad. AT
| one time there were five different kinds
| known OH the continent, some inflated
| by the mouth and others by bellows,
while in the British isles three kinds
were known-the great highland bag
pipe, the lowland bagpipe Of Scotland
| (Which closely resembled the Northum-
BRIAN and the Irish bagpipe.
In the great highland bagpipe, which
| originally had but one drone, a Waived
| tube leads from the mouth to an air
| tight bag which has four other orif1ces,
| three large enough to contain the base
| Of three fixed long tubes, termed drones,
| and another smaller, to which is fitted
| the chanter The three are thrown on
! the shoulder, while the latter IS held in
| the hands. All four pipes are filled
with reeds, but Of different kinds. The
| drones are timed by means Of sliders,
| or movable joints, and this tuning or
preparation for playing, which general
| ly occupies few minutes of the pipers
| time before he begins the tune proper,
| is heard with Impotence by those not
| accustomed to the instrument. Indeed,
| it gave rise to the saying, applied In
| Scotland to those who waste time over
| small matters, You are longer in tun-
|
| tune"
| The Scottish lowland bagpipe, like
| the Northumbrian pipe, was in two
| forms, one consisting of smaller and
| milder toned edition Of the highland In
| strument and the other q miniature of
| this and having the same relation to 1t
| as the fife has to Il German band. Its
| n w., 10 nnint ~ Wow
of the dcy0t"ai Of the highland bagpipe,
is that it i; ursu.ted to perform what
| they consi1c" the perfection of pipe mu'
| sic-the pibroch. These small pipes
| We're, however. gentlcr than the high
| land having the same tone, but less
| sonoroUS. 1t was to the strains of such
bagDine that Chaucer tells US the com
| pany Of pilgrims left London, and 1t Is
the same instrument that is alluded tC
in Shakespeare rs the Lincolnshire bag
pipe.
| The Irish bagnipc is the instrument IL
its most elaborate fO.m and is supplied
with wind l,y Il bellows. The drones
are all fixcl Oh one stock and have
keys which are played by the wrist OF
| the right hand. The reeds are soft and
the tones very sweet and melodious
and there Is Il harmonious bass which
| ia very e.Ip tive in the hands of goot
| rlaye3. Tn" Irish instrument Is faS
| dying GA.
| Ire bagn.ne. though at one time fair
~ common never obtained Il firm hold
| III England. 1t lost favor and gradual
~ ,,eterlorltcd until it is now practi
cal!y cXtirct. The average English
man neither appreciates nor under
stands 1t. y famous poet irreverently
once compared its notes to 1.-The shril
| screech of q lame goose caught In
| corn" W. lie another hereto writer Xix
ems ita sound to horrible, noisy, mad
| freshman" or to the cries Of the Heter
nally tormented.' To the Irish people
it appeals more strongly They still
possess in Il degree the feeling Of at
tachment to the bagpipe which is sc
genera! :mOHg ScOtSmen. But 1t Is
undoubtedly more closely associated
with Scotland. both In the highlands
and lowlands. than with any other
country. the particular instrument in
use being the great highland bagpipe
which, as already explained, consists
OF three drones, including the big
d"one. which was added about the be
ginning of the last century. 1t Is this
type which has gradually superseded
the lowland pipe. There is no doub
that the bagpipc was in use in Scot
land from y very early period, and /
is in Scotland that it has been brought
to the highest degree of perfection. 1t.
music distinctly connects it with Scot
land, as is clear in the pibroch, thu
, strathspey, the reel, the march ant
other popular melodies. There art
proofs that the instrument was cult
waited in Scotland certainly in thu
twelfth century and of its universe
popularity as early rs the fifteenth cen
fury. while in the seventeenth century
nearly every town in the highlands ant
lowlands boosted of its piper-Londor
Globe