The Bagpipe Society

Wren Piping Hot Bagpipe Weekend

Back in March we had a fantastic weekend of Sardinian Launedas music, Irish piping and English pipes.

Roberto Tangianu is a young

virtuosic launedas player from Sardinia. He was taught the launedas by his grandfather and has been playing since he was a young boy. Over the weekend he gave various masterclasses and talks about the history and social uses of the launedas. It seems there are many types (he brought a case of them). Different pitches and modes, some instruments are only used for specific dances.

The weekend started with a ceilidh on the Friday night, the band playing pipes, fiddles, guitar and accordion. Roberto played some music for dancing and he joined the band and improvised his part for the last polka – that was great.

Saturday day saw our usual focus on pipes in the morning, with myself and Roberto leading workshops. The afternoon was opened to all instruments but focusing on pipe repertoire.

The Saturday evening concert started with some trio playing from myself, Mike York and Jon Swayne. This was followed by a great set from Nick Scott (Last Nights Fun) who took us around the Irish Pipes. The evening was completed with some amazing playing from Roberto – he was joined by three novices to Sardinian music for one number! (see photo)

The event was supported by the bagpipe society. Thank you very much

David Faulkner