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The Bagpipe Society
Review: Cauld Wind Pipes by Hamish Moore
This edition is from our archives, so it is presented as scanned pages rather than text.
Hamish Moore, Cauld Wind Pipes: Dunkeld Records DUN 003
Old Schoolhouse, Butterstone, Dunkeld, Perthshire
The title of this record refers to the fact that it features Scottish bellows-blown pipes (hence cold-blown air), and a very interesting variety of instruments is on display here. While the Lowland pipes are in the midst of a revival and are becoming increasingly common, such things as the Scottish small-pipes and the Pastoral pipes were only previously known (to this reviewer) as museum specimens.
The cylindrically-bored chanter of the Scottish small-pipe produces a sound not dissimilar to that of the Northumbrian pipes. However, it is open-ended (unlike the closed Northumbrian type), and allows one to play using Scottish-style gracing. This record features four different types of Scottish small-pipe chanter (all reconstructions of actual 19th century examples): plain chanters in D and B , one double chanter (two bores in one piece of wood) and a keyed chanter (with a wider range).
The Lowland pipe used here is a 19th century instrument very similar in tone and style to the Highland pipe and is played in a stylistically very similar manner, though considerably quieter.
The pastoral pipe has three drones and one regulator in a common stock, and a chanter with a similar length and bore to an uillean pipe. In addition it has an extended ‘foot’ joint which is open-ended, thus the overblowing of this instrument cannot be facilitated by knee-stopping and relies on bag pressure alone. The set on this record, made by Chris Bailey, has a very sweet sound and seems to handle the transition between octaves very easily.
An album which features such rare instruments as these could be forgiven for putting the sound of the intruments before the tunes that they play, but fortunately this is not the case. The pieces composed by Hamish Moore are as strong as the traditional pieces, and the contributions of the other musicians, especially Dougie Maclean, are complementary but not obtrusive. A poem spoken over a piece of music is usually bad news all round, both the artists suffering in the process, but Harvey Horton’s poem in Lowland Scots bears repeated listening. Playing the small-pipes against the rhythm of a watermill is a successful and unusual combination, but not as unexpected a combination as that of small-pipes and didgeridoo on the hornpipe ‘Sailor’s Lass’. Providing drone and rhythm, the didgeridoo establishes a formidable presence, while rhythm of another kind is provided by Jim Sutherland’s very exciting and upfront bodhran part on his composition ‘The Dogs’. ‘Calanish’, the tune which opens the record is an atmospheric and mysterious tune and shows off the rich tone of the double-bored chanter, which must have been very meticulously set up (by Colin Ross) since there is very little dissonance across the compass. ‘Roslyn Castle’, which features
Pastoral pipes is an outstanding traditional tune and the sweet tone of the pipes blends with the clarsach to make it the best tune on the whole record, in my opinion.
The Lowland pipes and small-pipes are played with the same fingerings as Highland pipes and show the same stylistic approach. This similarity is particularly evident when the pibroch ‘Macrummen’s Lament’ is played on the small-pipes and is then taken up by Highland pipes in a seamless changeover. The token appearance by the Highland pipes serves to put the rest of the instruments used into perspective and demonstrates the richness of the tradition of Scottish pipes and piping.
This record is a valuable addition to the canon of recorded bagpipe music both for the rare instruments it introduces and for the quality of the tunes played with a high level of skill by Hamish Moore. The whole set is recorded and produced with crystal clarity and a sympathetic ear, and features a lovely cover painting by Jennifer Maclean.
Simon Owen
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