Pipers on Red Square

[tokareva]

I'm sure many of you have seen this before, but I had never heard the Royal Scots Polka before. I was amazed at what seems like the ability to sustain the same notes almost endlessly. Could someone (Richard?) tell me what's actually going on here, are they really playing that long nonstop or trading out turns playing the same notes? I would also be interested in hearing a critique of the performance. I'm quite impressed with it and watch it occasionally, but I'm also not a piper. Thank you.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ENmM94LuoE8

[OC Richard]

I don't know what you mean about "sustaining the same notes endlessly" because they're playing ordinary pipe tunes with rapid notes, well except for the Slow March (in 6/8 time) which has the feel of a waltz. Still in the Slow March no single note would last as long as one second. Unless you mean the drones! Which go on forever.

It's an impressive lineup of military pipe bands there!

I see

The Scots Guards
1SCOTS (Royal Scots Borderers)
3SCOTS (The Black Watch)
4SCOTS (The Highlanders)

plus one of the RAF bands, a Police band (you can see the Drum Major and drummers wearing Glengarries with police dice), and several civilian pipe bands. One civilian pipe band I think I see is one that often appears in the Edinburgh Tattoo, The Rats Of Tobruk, identifiable by their pipers wearing scarlet jackets.

About the piping, it's the usual Massed Bands sort of piping, not very well in tune, and playing fairly basic repertoire.

About the tuning, for sure it's very challenging getting that many pipers, from diverse bands, playing a variety of chanter makes and reed makes, all in tune! And at night it gets worse; the cool air, perhaps damp air, plays havoc on the tuning.

For us pipers Massed Band piping is what it is: a load of different bands using different tuning and different styles with differing repertoires all thrown together and making the best of it. No piper would hold up Massed Band playing as being representative of the art of pipe band music.

For that we watch the top Grade One pipe bands playing in Major competitions. Here's one of the very best pipe bands in the world, Field Marshal Montgomery, playing at the World Pipe Band Championships. It really doesn't get much better than this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh2Cfua2xwg

Listen to the lovely tuning of the pipes, the lush orchestrations of the pipe corps and the drum corps.

OK The Royal Scots Polka is the tune they play at around 0:59. It's a commonly-heard tune. Then they go into a Slow March, then the hornpipe Itchy Fingers, then another hornpipe, then the jig The Glasgow Police Pipers. Most of the tunes are fairly recently composed.

Here's a different take on the Royal Scots Polka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CeUAQVoebA

and a different take on Itchy Fingers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q903THPgAM

and another

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h41n2mof8WI

An interesting take on Glasgow City Police Pipers, a young piper accompanying herself on piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=772Ing9qI4w

[tokareva]

Ok thanks, great review Richard, it gives me a much better understanding of whats happening there. Starting at around 4:00 minutes I think I detect two different sets of notes being played, I think some are playing one part and some are playing another.

[blackwatch70]

It was in September 2007, when first "Kremlin Zorya" tattoo was organised here in Moscow.

There was 16 pipe bands total:
from UK - 1 Scots Guards, 1SCOTS (Royal Scottish Borderers), 3SCOTS (Black Watch), 4SCOTS (Seaforth, Camerons & Gordons), 2 Royal Gurkha Rifles, RAF, Royal Corps of Signal and UOTC.
Also there was 5 pipe bands from Australia, 1 from Canada, South Africa and New Zealand.

The leading Drum-Major was Brian Alexander from 3SCOTS (Black Watch).
It was amazing!

btw, we have similar event in Moscow every year, but now it has the name "Spasskaya Tower", and we have never had such a magnificent list of leading pipe bands ...

[OC Richard]

Thanks for the complete list!

Very impressive!