Piping on St. Patrick's Day

[Father Bill]

Well, my college is a Jesuit University so I hope pipes during lent is okay!

Enquire. Be protected not ejected or dejected.

[ANP3]

Haha good point.

[OC Richard]

I found out what the story was on the Church where my Father-in-law's funeral Mass was held: it's a parish run by Norbertines, who are very strict about many of these technical points.

But since the priest who said the Mass was a visiting priest well known to our family, they let him call the shots, and the pipes were OK'd. (Though I did stick to the uilleann pipes! I can imagine that blasting on the big pipes might send the Norbertines running over from the rectory to see what was going on during a Friday in Lent!)

About various Highland pipe chanters, our pipe band plays McCallum band chanters, the new model with the huge oval holes, which pitch in well about 480 cycles.

McCallum also makes a "466" chanter and I use one of those for gigs, even outdoor gigs, because the "general public" likes the sound of it so much better. I get comments all the time, after a gig I've played at, that my pipes were more pleasing "than the last guy we had". I'm sure "the last guy" was blasting on a 480+ band chanter.

Many if not most pipemakers nowadays offer 466/Concert B Flat chanters.

Of course you have to set up your drones to play down at 466.

What I do is have the middle tenor set up for 466, the outside tenor set up for 482, and I switch an internal plug (a foam earplug) back and forth according to which chanter I'm using. The bass can just be tuned up or down to match.

[OC Richard]

More on the topic of playing instrumental music at Catholic Mass during Lent...

I just last weeked did three Masses, one on Friday and two on Sunday, at the Religious Education Congress at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The band consisted of
grand piano
synth
2 percussionists
5 or 6 guitarists with every sort of guitar there is
string secion with cello, viola, 2 violins
horn section with 2 trumpets 2 trombones
2 "reed guys" with saxes, clarinets, Boehm flutes, bamboo flutes
lil' ol' me with uilleann pipes and whistles

plus 100 voice choir

In attendance Sunday were a few Cardinals, Archbishops, a load of Bishops, and a few hundred Priests.

And they were all OK with the instruments.

On Saturday I attended the funeral Mass of one of the jazz musicians from Disneyland, Ernie McLean (who by the way is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

At this Mass was a New Orleans style band which played at various points during the Mass and at the conclusion marched through the church. (Ernie was a New Orleans native.)

As I said, the guy telling me "no instruments during Lent" was just giving me BS.

Anyhow back to kilt stuff, this is what I wore for my St Paddy's Day gigs