The Bagpipe Society

Grace Notes

Grace Notes - Jane Moulder

Well, I have another cornucopia of delights for you in this edition of Chanter! As ever, there is an eclectic collection of articles which, amongst others, feature the bringing back to life an instrument painted nearly 400 years ago in Italy, a re-examination of the fingering system of the sordellina bagpipes which were also developed around 400 years ago, a visit to the depths of the boxes at the back of the cupboard in a Scottish museum and, bringing things up to date, pipes being used to protest against pipelines! From my position as editor, it is very gratifying to be receiving such a broad range of articles, all of which convey the passion of the writer and/or researcher. Some of these articles have been ‘coaxed’ from their writer (my reputation as a terrier yapping at the heels of prospective contributors is not completely unfounded!) but, after 5 years in post, it is very gratifying to be receiving contributions completely out of the blue and unprompted. This is a dream come true! I hope there are many other projects, researches, ideas and thoughts out there which are all waiting to be documented, written about and…..submitted to Chanter! They are all welcome – my email address is on the back cover.

Not only do I compile and edit Chanter, I also stick the labels on the envelopes, affix the stamps and then take them to the Post Office. So, I am more than aware of the ever-increasing number of non-UK based members and this trend is touched on below by our chairman, Ian Clabburn. This is a great state of affairs as, after all, bagpipes are universal and part and parcel of many cultures throughout the world. It is therefore particularly pleasing to see that the International Bagpipe Organisation is holding its biennial conference outside of Europe for the first time and the theme is “Bagpipes and Diaspora”. Not everyone will be able to get to Harvard, USA but then neither can everyone attend the annual Blowout in Polesworth, so it is good to hear of more bagpipe themed events throughout the world. Andrea Kirkby reports on the recent French conference on the musette and I am also pleased to discover that there will be another bagpipe conference in Plovdiv, Bulgaria this coming November which, sadly, I am unable to attend.