Music of the Great Highland Bagpipe: Chronological Changes In
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MUSIC OF THE GREAT HIGHLAND BAGPIPE: CHRONOLOGICAL CHANGES IN PIOBAIREACHD STRUCTURE AND PIPING REPERTOIRE —————— A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Dominguez Hills —————— In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Humanities —————— by Michael E. Akard Spring 2020 THESIS: MUSIC OF THE GREAT HIGHLAND BAGPIPE: CHRONOLOGICAL CHANGES IN PIOBAIREACHD STRUCTURE AND PIPING REPERTOIRE AUTHOR: MICHAEL E. AKARD APPROVED: ___________________________________ Jacqueline Shannon, D.M.A. Thesis Committee Chair ____________________________________ Anita Chang, D.M.A. Committee Member ____________________________________ David Churchman, Ed.D. Committee Member Copyright by MICHAEL E. AKARD 2020 All Rights Reserved PREFACE Among the large family of musical instruments called “bagpipe,” the most prominent member is the Highland bagpipe, famous as the national instrument of Scotland. This study is about how the Highland bagpipe and its music have changed over time. Chapter 1 introduces the two main subdivisions of Highland bagpipe music: “light music,” or ceol beag1 and “great music,” or piobaireachd. The chapter describes the relationship of these two categories of music to the Highland bagpipe and presents an overview of some of the major changes in the performance of both. Chapter 2 describes a historically reconstructed piobaireachd from six hundred years ago and uses that performance to highlight differences between ancient practices and modern practices. Chapter 3 examines contrasting scholarly descriptions of piobaireachd and evaluates their strengths and weaknesses. A new definition for piobaireachd is proposed, and the chapter concludes with a case study demonstrating changes in piobaireachd length. Chapter 4 provides a historical overview of key influences that have shaped piobaireachd performance, composition, and transmission; the rise of ceol beag and parade marches as pipe music; and changes to the physical structure of the bagpipes themselves. That chapter also includes a case study demonstrating changes in compositional structure of piobaireachd. Chapter 5 concludes the study by examining recent developments in piobaireachd performance and composition, the role of pipe bands, and possible directions bagpipe music might develop in the future. 1 See Appendix B for Glossary and Pronunciation Guide. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ............................................................................................ ix ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... x 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 Bagpipe Grammar .......................................................................................................... 1 Semantic Change ........................................................................................................... 5 2. THE EARLY YEARS ........................................................................................................... 7 Fighting Words .............................................................................................................. 7 Former Practices ............................................................................................................ 9 Reasons ......................................................................................................................... 10 More Evidence .............................................................................................................. 12 Time Brings Change ..................................................................................................... 15 3. DRAWING THE LINE ........................................................................................................ 16 Defining Piobaireachd .................................................................................................. 16 Disagreements ............................................................................................................... 18 Answering The Big Question ........................................................................................ 26 Case Study: “The Pretty Dirk” ...................................................................................... 27 4. HISTORY AND INFLUENCES ........................................................................................... 36 Where Did It All Come From? ..................................................................................... 36 Decline.......................................................................................................................... 46 Revival.......................................................................................................................... 49 Case Study: “Davidson of Tulloch’s Salute” ................................................................. 55 5. CONCLUSION: PIOBAIREACHD TODAY ....................................................................... 60 Taking Chances ............................................................................................................. 60 Staying Alive ................................................................................................................ 61 v Marching To A Different Beat ...................................................................................... 63 Ongoing Issues .............................................................................................................. 65 Summing Up ................................................................................................................. 67 The Future of Piobaireachd ........................................................................................... 68 WORKS CITED ....................................................................................................................... 69 APPENDIX A: AUDIO LINKS................................................................................................ 76 APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY AND PRONUNCIATION GUIDE ............................................. 77 APPENDIX C: MUSIC EXCERPTS ........................................................................................ 80 APPENDIX D: LETTERS OF PERMISSION .......................................................................... 88 vi LIST OF TABLES 1. Contrasting Descriptions: Piobaireachd is ............................................................................ 25 vii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Title Page from MacKay’s Collection of Ancient Piobaireachd ............................................. 4 2. Detail from Campbell Canntaireachd .................................................................................. 13 3. Milestones in Piping History ................................................................................................. 15 4. A Binary Categorization of Bagpipe Music ........................................................................... 17 5. Detail from Burney’s Amateurs of Tye-Wig Music ............................................................... 38 6. Detail from Bickham’s A Piper in His Regimentals ............................................................... 40 7. Detail from Manskirch’s Anecdote of the Bravery of the Scotch Piper ................................... 42 8. Road to Glenfiddich ............................................................................................................. 54 9. Great Hall at Blair Castle ..................................................................................................... 59 C1. Canntaireachd notation for “A Flame of Wrath for Squinting Patrick” ............................... 87 viii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES 1. Detail from “The MacLeans’ March” .................................................................................... 29 C1. “I Got a Kiss of the King’s Hand” (MacKay) ..................................................................... 81 C2. “I Got a Kiss of the King’s Hand” (Piob Soc) ..................................................................... 82 C3. “The Pretty Dirk” (MacKay) ............................................................................................. 83 C4. “The Pretty Dirk” (Piob Soc) ............................................................................................. 84 C5. Excerpt from “Davidson of Tulloch’s Salute” (MacKay) ................................................... 85 C6. Excerpt from “Davidson of Tulloch’s Salute” cont’d (MacKay) ........................................ 86 C7. Excerpt from “Davidson of Tulloch’s Salute (Piob Soc) .................................................... 87 ix ABSTRACT Misconceptions abound regarding the Highland bagpipe. Despite the global presence of this instrument and its popularity for both solo and ensemble work, there is disagreement