Bagpipes as an after-dinner treat up in Scotland in season three.
In general, most of us do not live our daily lives to the sound of the Scottish pipe. Dinners are not accompanied by the instrument, and for the sake of bag pipers everywhere, I am glad it is not a tradition to wake others up with the sound. Bag pipes have been the sound of war for the country of Scotland for generations, but no one would want to face the fury of a non-caffeinated person who was sleeping prior to the musical alarm.
It has become a tradition at the funerals of American firefighters and police for there to be at least a single performer with his/her bag pipes to signal the loss of a life. Although the Scottish highland pipes are often used, the tradition is Irish. In the 1840s, when the potato famine drove many away from Erin gra mo chroi, they left Ireland for better prospects in America. Very often, the Irish were forced to find work in the most dangerous fields, the only ones available to them. They became police and fire fighters for their new country, and when they commemorated a fallen man, a traditional Irish funeral was held. The Irish pipes are smaller than the Scottish ones, giving less oomph to their sound. That is the reason many of us currently can recognize the loud blats of a Scottish horn pipe; the louder instrument won out.
No comments:
Post a Comment