Looking at old examples in the museums, wondering how they sounded, and felt like to play. Few of us are in the position to actually own a museum piece, and finance its restoration, so I decided to commission my own set. I have always had a deep interest in the early development of Smallpipes, Border/Lowland, and Pastoral- developing into Uilleann pipes, so if you share this interest, desire that Uilleann pipe sound, while retaining your Scottish fingering, all while bridging a historic gap… this the set for you!
Scottish, or Irish pipers should have no trouble with the fingering, I’ll explain below…
The chanter was made by Andreas Rogge, and the rest of the set was made by Matthias Branschke. My reason for chosing 2 different makers was, I know Andreas is one of the greatest craftsmen for Uilleann pipes alive, so I knew he’d be the man for the chanter, plus he made one before – check out this video… it is the same model, just your one for sale here, is African Blackwood.
And for the drones, I’m a real ‘drones head’ – I came across Matthias’ piping and I never heard a set of drones like this before; rich, deep, dark, beefy, meaty, powerful drones, so I thought they’d be a unique perfect match for my bespoke chanter. And I was right. A delicious blend. A perfect balanced sound match. I felt these drones had a much richer sound than anything else I had heard before.
In the key of ‘D’. This unique set would suit both Scottish and Irish players,
Scottish pipers will get this straight away. It is the same fingering as a Smallpipe or GHB.
Uilleann pipers – Just like a tin whistle, but with the ‘extra’ note for your pinkie on the bottom hand which is C, and the top hand thumbhole at the back is the same for the high D. As you know, the difference with Uilleann fingering is; all holes covered gets us the bottom ‘D’ lift up your bottom 2 fingers is ‘E’ etc. This pastoral chanter doesnt need 2 fingers for the bottom D, its one finger per note (like your whistle) – the hole below is C. So if you play tin whistle, you’ll be fine – you get an ‘extra’ note for your pinkie finger, and your top thumb will give you the high D.
The set is arranged like an Uilleann pipe, so drones go down and rest on your lap, but the chanter is played ‘off the knee’ like smallpipes and all the early Pastoral Pipes were. Bag and bellows are the same as Uilleann or smallpipes. The unique thing is, even off the knee, the chanter has a range of the 2 octaves just like an Uilleann pipe. If you wish, if you are used to playing Scottish smallpipes, or border pipes, you could rest the drones across your arm and play standing. Whatever is the most comfortable for you! Chanter stop key makes it easy to fine tune your drones, and drones also have an on/off switch.
I am including Matthias’ German chanter with the set, I have given it no time at all, and the fingering is slightly different, so please check out his videos of him playing the exact same model for a good idea of sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlAUCFYh_DI So you will receive this set (arranged like an Uilleann pipe) with Andreas Rogges’ Pastoral chanter
So why am I selling? – I honestly don’t want to, For this set, I had a wait of over 2 years, and in that time many circumstances have changed in my life. All told, in the last 5 years, I’ve had 4 sets of pipes ordered, and for some reason, they all start arriving at the same time! And unfortunately now, I don’t have the time to dedicate to each of them. I need to focus, and select which sets I’m playing. This is the reason I’m not doing a sound sample myself for these, I could sadly give very little time to them, and I definitely will not do them justice – so I do apologise, but the best thing is to check out someone who is making a better attempt than I can, to get an idea of the sound. This is the very same model I asked each of the makers to make for me…
The Pastoral Chanter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDtmYQDSH5c
The Drones and German chanter (Matthias is wearing the hat) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZnTXFOV8Gs&list=PL6v60Vrp4x12v4whBdlPmQ1WKy7fLuk6i&index=6
If you are stuck, I can supply a spare bellows at no extra cost, but I’ll be honest and say this bellows isn’t great, its just an old one I have, to get you out of a hole, but I would advise a better one. This set comes with a soft padded case, and complete set of spare reeds.
This is the perfect transition set of pipes for someone who either plays GHB, Smallpipes, or Lowland/Border pipes, and is interested in exploring that Uilleann sound, without having to change your fingering! On top of all that, you are also making a transition through time, playing a beautiful piece of history….
Any questions? Ask me any time…
