La cornemuse

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Le joueur de cornemuse, tableau d'Abraham Bloemaert

[Wikimedia]

When we think of the bagpipes we think of Scotland, the highlands and men in kilts tossing telephone poles (aka "cabers").  These are stereotypes.  The history of the bagpipes stretches across millenia and also across continents.  Its origins are obscure but probably can be traced to the Middle East and ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).  The first documented record of bagpipes is from a Hittite slab from about 1, 000 BCE (https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Asterix/05-Bagpipes-Aulos.html ). The Romans knew it as the tibia utriclaris.  Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned (the fiddle is a Rennaisance instrument), but rather played an aulos using his mouth and armpit, to inspire his troops before battle.  The Romans introduced the aulos to the lands of the Celts.  The bagpipes were the instrument of choice for Caconofix...  It was a popular medieval instrument and was known in the court of Henry VIII of England.

 

The author has heard of stories from Scottish veterans of World War 2 who were astounded to travel to India, Pakistan, the Caucuses etc. only to find that traditional folk instruments were a variant of the bagpipes.  Bagpipes are very popular in North America, Australia, New Zealand, China etc. - not merely restricted to the former British Empire.

Attribué à Jan Massys (1509 - 1575)

Joueur de cornemuse assoiffé Huile et tempera sur toile - 58 x 44,50 cm

[Wikimedia]

 

From the image above, one might notice there are only two drones - one tenor and one bass.  We see the blowstick, the changer and of course the bag.  The instrument is recognizable but it is not the Great Highland Bagpipe that we know of.  

The Great Highland Bagpipe [Wikimedia]

Above is the Great Highland Bagpipe - generally the standard bagpipe that most pipe bands, including the Northwest Territorial Pipe Band, play.  Every piper should be able to name the parts from memory. 

But did you know that they have proper French terms as well?

1. Chanter chalumeau
2. Bag reservoir d'air fole
3. Stock souche
4. Blowstick/blowpipe tuyau d'insufflation/sutell
5. Tenor drones bourdons tenors
6. Bass drone bourdon basse
7. Tuning slide coulisse du bourdon
8. Cord/tassle cordon
9. Reed anche

 

The mere existence of French terminology for the bagpipes reveals a history in French culture.  In Western France (Brittany), the bagpipe is a traditional bretonne instrument known as the biniou (above).  It has only one drone, but is usually accompanied by another woodwind instrument called a bombarde (below).  

When played together, the two instruments have a "conversation" - typical of traditional Breton music.  The two instruments have enjoyed a revival after having been displaced by the concertina/accordian and cultural assimilation pressures.  The French navy (Marine Nationale), with a significant presence on the coast of Brittany, has a pipe band (Bagad de Lann-Bihoué) that plays traditional Breton music with the bombarde, but has opted to use the Great Highland Bagpipe over the biniou.  Some believe that the traditional quebecois music may have significant similarities to traditional Breton music, ported largely to the fiddle.  Recall that many of the settlers to New France came from Brittany.  

There is a significant cross-cultural connection between the Scots and the French that is hinted at by the bagpipes.  Some call it the Auld Alliance of the Scots against the English.  The Garde Ecossaise, founded in 1418, was an elite bodyguard unit of the French monarchy.  It was disbanded during the French Revolution and briefly restored from 1814 to 1830.  The Scots Guard is immortalized in Sir Walter Scott's Quentin Durward (English, French). 

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