The defining performance of the Blackbird for me (both the air and the set
dance) was Paddy Keenan's on his solo UP album.
That probably owed a bit to Johnny Doran's famous recording.
But Chris achieved a tremendous lot on his recording of the air - proving that
NSP can be powerfully expressive,
if you know how to play them, and respect their limitations. Less is more...
________________________________________
From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of
Anthony Robb [anth...@robbpipes.com]
Sent: 18 December 2010 14:04
To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu; gibbonssoi...@aol.com
Subject: [NSP] Re: Doubleday
John, I know what you mean. I also think that fiddle and pipes in duet
are a Northumbrian version of 'Himmel un Aed'.
If I may rewind the discussion and with particular reference to the
Chris Ormston's "Blackbird", I have to say it is a far superior track
to anything I managed to offer on that album (or indeed in the 10
years either side of it - that was a dreadful period for me stuck in
the music doldrums).
The thing about the Blackbird was that in about 1985 Greg Smith
recorded it for me (with his own variations) on my trusty old Dansette
tape recorder. It was breathtaking. Visits over subsequent years
produced more recordings of the same tune with yet more mesmerising
oramentation/tune development. This piece with its rises and falls,
embellishments and softness of song going into harshness of the alarm
call had everything and had been firmly implanted on my brain for years
before I heard Chris tackle it. When he did, he made a fine job of it
but even in a master's hands the pipes failed to touch me as the
fiddle version had.
I did listen to that track again this morning and I can understand its
appeal. I also had the misfortune to hear the embarrassingly
unsuccessful attempt at trying to play two lovely Northumbrian Rants
after it.
So, it's apologies all round for the rubbish perpetrated in the name of
piping by yours truly during the years '85-'05
As aye
Anthony
--- On Sat, 18/12/10, gibbonssoi...@aol.com <gibbonssoi...@aol.com>
wrote:
From: gibbonssoi...@aol.com <gibbonssoi...@aol.com>
Subject: [NSP] Re: Doubleday
To: cwh...@santa-fe.freeserve.co.uk, nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu
Date: Saturday, 18 December, 2010, 12:35
One thing I like about NSP is the way vibrato alters the colour,
rather
than the volume of a note.
You can emphasise higher harmonics this way, and Billy Pigg seemed
to
use this a lot in The Lark in the Clear Air, for example.
As for apples and potatoes - in Cologne they have 'Himmel un Aed' -
Heaven and Earth, meaning apple kompott and mashed potatoes served
together with eg, Bratwurst. There's a place for both - not
necessarily
far apart.
John
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