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Anybody know of some good albums with Scottish small pipes they enjoy? Or artists to look up?

-Eric

Key_of_D wrote:Anybody know of some good albums with Scottish small pipes they enjoy? Or artists to look up?

-Eric

Tryst by Iain Macinnes and The Chanters Song by Mike MacNintch are the best you'll ever find. Both of them are fantastic examples of the piper's art and craft.

After those 2, see if you can find Hamish Moore's first 2 albums (never released on CD) called Open Ended and Cauld Wind Pipes if you can.

I'd also give some props to the 2 Pipers' Gathering CDs for their smallpipes tracks.

Sounds like a good deal then, thankyou wgority.

A lame response, I know, but Sting's "Fields of Gold" song featured Kathyrn Tickell on smallpipes. Maybe she has some nice albums of piping....I've only heard her on the Sting track.

Uilleann915 wrote:A lame response, I know, but Sting's "Fields of Gold" song featured Kathyrn Tickell on smallpipes. Maybe she has some nice albums of piping....I've only heard her on the Sting track.

Kathryn's smallpipe recordings feature Northumbrian smallpipes, not Scottish smallpipes.

Vickie Swan has a couple of SSP recordings out which feature her own compositions, I think.

I think the first two Hamish Moore albums mentioned above are, alas, vinyl only. Why nobody has thought to reissue them on CD is beyond me...A few copies would probably still be available from Hamish himself. Also get his three CDs The Bees Knees, Farewell To Decorum, and Dannsa air a' Drochaid (Stepping on the Bridge). Hamish has probably done more to revive Scottish smallpipes than anyone else and his music is required listening for anybody interested. He makes the best smallpipes out there, too.

Other artists/albums with "good" Scottish smallpipes stuff on them:

Anna Murray--Out of the Blue, Into Indigo,& Tri Nithean (Three Things)
Rory Campbell--Magaid a' Phipir (The Piper's Whim)
Smalltalk--self titled
Ossian--The Carrying Stream
Allan MacDonald & Margaret Stewart--Fhuair Mi Pog & Colla Mo Rùn
Gordon Mooney--O'er The Border
Martyn Bennett--All of his albums are good, but it would probably help if you also happen to be a conoisseur of drum & bass. If you don't like electronic music, then you might not like them. Granted, I'd say he's just about the only person that has managed to do Scottish trad. + electronic "fusion" and actually create something interesting...His first self-titled album has some nice bits with smallpipes on them.

And the Grand Concert of Piping albums, Vols. 1, 2, & 3.

If you have any serious interest in learning Scottish tunes, I would also recommend you listen to the following musicians who are better known for playing Highland and/or Border pipes:
Gordon Duncan, Fred Morrison, Dr. Angus MacDonald, Iain MacDonald, Angus MacKenzie, Graham Mulholland, Jamie MacInnis & Paul MacNeil.

Recordings by just about all the people listed above should be available from http://www.musicscotland.com. If you prefer to download, http://www.tradtunes.com has a nice selection of stuff.


PS--Kathryn Tickell has numerous solo albums out. She's also appeared on a few other Sting songs (yecch...) and curiously was on the soundtrack to the film The 25th Hour...Her album The Gathering has some nice cuts on it...

Well the Sporting Pitchfork has given me a lot to sort out! (I'm not complaining though, I'm glad there's so much to sort through)

I was thinking for the most part, solo piping albums of Scottish smallpipes if there are such things. Maybe albums that feature solo highland piping as well as small pipes?

I do enjoy Highland piping, in fact I should update my collection with a few new cd's. I've only just recently gotten into Scottish smallpipes, and I think they're a lovely sounding instrument, I really enjoy the sound of that mellow chanter along with the even mellower drones, almost a haunting feel to them at times. I'm tempted to take them up the more I listen to them!

-Eric

The Piper and the Maker

Can't recommend this one highly enough - all tracks of superb players playing on Hamish Moore instruments at a concert celebrating his making and Finn Moore's acceptance from apprentice to full partner of the firm, sponsored by the Edradour distillery. Wonderfull collection of small pipes in various keys, border pipes, even a track or two of great pipes and all played by wizards including off the top of my head, the aforementioned Finn, Martyn Bennet, Allan MacDonald, Ian MacInnes and Anne Murray - Also Angus McKenzie, and Iain MacDonald and various others. Almost all solo playing unless with song or the odd fiddle.

There are also the Dochas recordings with Carol-Anne Mackay playing both border pipes and small pipes on them and Back of the Moon (border pipes I think). Great stuff both in the young hotshot trad band sort of sphere.

bepoq wrote:The Piper and the Maker

Oh yeah! I can't believe I forgot that one. That's a great album!

I carry a number of albums that feature Scottish smallpipes. These include:-

Band-Re - Strathospere
Donald Lindsay - To The Drum Of The Sea
Vicki Swann - Scatterpipes
David Barnes - Enlightenment
Iain MacInnes - Tryst
Jimmy Young - Pipeworks

The last actually plays a hybrid Northumbrian/Scottish pipe though the sleeve notes call them Northumbrian. They have the closed chanter and keys but ar set up for Scottish fingering........

Follow the link below and then navigate to the "Other Scottish" category.

Ian

My contribution:

Hamish Moore: "Stepping on the bridge".
Barbara & Gordon Mooney: "One for the birds".

Mike MacNitch - The Chanters Song. Excellent smallpiping!

My favourite SSP players are, in this order:

Anna Murray
Martyn Bennett
Lee Moore (with Pipedown - http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi_VevedhIA)
Iain MacInnes
Hamish Moore
Chris Norman

You could try
Border Pipes - Borders Traditions Vol 5 - (LTDC4002).

Not strictly smallpipes, but nice nonetheless.

David