Well, there I was, thinking that last Chanter’s bumper edition was going to be a one off – but here we go again!
I’m very pleased that it is the gaita and the pipes of Iberia that have caused this second oversized volume in a row because there’s a special place in my heart for these instruments. What has become very clear to me in reading through all of the articles is that in the same way that the generic word “bagpipe” covers a multitude of different forms and type of instrument, so it is with gaita. Before starting to compile the submissions whilst I that there were a number of regional variations, I wasn’t aware of the sheer variety and complexity of gaitas and the number of different pipes from the Iberian peninsula. Yet again, as with other bagpipes across Europe, we see how the gaita has been used as a strong signifier by people reclaiming their regional and cultural identity.
I always like thank all contributors to Chanter because I am so grateful that people succumb to my powers of persuasion and arm twisting. Without them there certainly wouldn’t be a journal. But on this occasion I must give a special thanks to Cassandre Balosso-Bardin who has not only written a couple of articles herself but has helped me considerably in the planning by suggesting potential contributors and by doing some of the translation. Thanks also to those who have submitted articles not written in their first language, a difficult task when so much of the writing is of a technical nature.
As with so many things, this edition was a year in the planning but it somehow all came together in the last two weeks. Phew!
The Bagpipe Society’s Annual accounts for 2016 have been finalised. Despite this being a bumper edition, there is not sufficient space to display them to the size where they are readable. They are available for view on the website. Copies will also be made available at the Blowout prior to the AGM.
From Chanter Summer 2017.
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