| The
History of Uilleann Pipes An
interview with Chicago Musician and All Ireland Piping Champion
Brendan McKinney By Lou
Carlozo Chicago Tribune Staff Writer.
Bagpipes have a military origin. Roman infantries used bagpipes
and brought them to Britain in the middle of the 1st Century. Nero
was also known to be a piper, and some speculate that he played
his bagpipes, not his fiddle, while Rome burned.
Both the Irish and Scots played war pipes (or highland bagpipes)
for centuries, and their exploits give the term "hostile audience"
a new meaning. Pipers led the phalanx, playing until the battle
ended or they were killed. No doubt if the pipes were still working,
they were peeled off the dead bodies and passed on to backup pipers,
who continued to rally the troops. It’s the age-old story
of musicians getting a lack of respect: Even if the players were
disposable, their bagpipes were not.
The woes of pipers only intensified when Irish culture became
a threat to the English. "The English had a very nasty habit of hanging
pipers, and they weren’t just hanging them because they were
playing out of tune," says Chicago piper Brendan McKinney. "They
wanted to get rid of Irish culture. It was ethnic cleansing,
basically."
In response, the Irish developed uilleann pipes in the early
1700s. "It was largely to make the instrument quieter," says McKinney.
"It was bad for your health to be heard. With highland pipes, it
was like trying to hide an elephant."
Through the start of the 20th Century, most uilleann pipers played
unaccompanied, or with other pipers. Gradually, pipes began to mix
with tin whistles, fiddles and accordions. An Irish music revival
in the 1970s brought uilleann pipes into the circle of other folk
instruments, including guitar.
Uilleann pipes are well represented in today’s Irish music,
though hearing them in clubs is often a rare treat. By McKinney’s
count, less than a half-dozen skilled uilleann pipers play in
the Chicago area. Even rarer are Scottish pipes in a club setting;
the instrument is too loud for most stages. |
