Union Pipes - Irish Traditional Music Archive

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65 SPreAD OF ‘UnIOn PIPeS’ Courtney. The following year ‘Mr. Arbuckle, The Caledonian Conjuror’ is presenting a show of ‘Magical Deceptions’ in Derby and varying the proceedings by playing a selection of the ‘most ancient and beautiful Scotch Airs on the grand Union Pipes’. 199 In 1811 a Philadelphia production of Oscar and Malvina featured ‘union pipes to be played by Mr. Bunyie’, who also played on the ‘Scotch bagpipe’ and was by his name a Scotsman; 200 the following year Bunyie was again appearing on the ‘union pipes’ in another production of the show in Baltimore. 201 he was the first of a number of Scottish players performing on the highland pipes and the union pipes in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century; they too referred to the latter instrument both as ‘union pipes’ and as ‘Irish union pipes’. 202 In 1812 a Malcolm Macgregor of glasgow (who had been a prizewinner at the highland Society of london’s competitions for the highland bagpipe from 1802) 203 was awarded a premium by the Society for ‘essential improvements made by him on the great highland Pipe, and the Union and northumberland Pipes, on which last instruments he played several tunes in an excellent style’. 204 From 1818 Macgregor was appearing on the london stage playing airs from Oscar and Malvina on ‘union pipes’, as well as ‘highland pipes’ and flute, in both Scottish and Irish contexts: in a Caledonian Melange in April 1818; 205 an Irish ‘aqua-drama’ O’Donoghue and his White Horse in June 1818; 206 and a Sons of Caledonia fundraising 199 Derby Mercury, Derby, 11 Aug. 1808. 200 Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, 23 Feb. 1811; Alexandria Gazette, Alexandria, Virginia, 25 July 1811. 201 Federal Republican, Baltimore, 1 June 1812. 202 See below, and Carolan 2011: 22–5. 203 Manson 1901: 389; Campbell 2011: 23–5. 204 Minutes of the highland Society of london, quoted by Campbell 2011: 24. 205 The Times, london, 6 Apr. 1818. 206 The Times, london, 17 June 1818. M’gregor was accompanied on the harp by O’Farrell’s former musical partner nicholson.
COUrTney’S ‘UnIOn PIPeS’ AnD The TerMInOlOgy OF IrISh BellOWS-BlOWn BAgPIPeS 66 concert in november 1820. 207 In 1815 in Sydney, Australia, a James Stewart, again presumably a Scottish professional player, published a newspaper notice about the attempted theft of his ‘Set of Union Pipes’. 208 In 1820 an unnamed native of edinburgh was playing ‘national Airs on the Union Pipes’ there in an entirely Scottish evening of entertainment, 209 and in 1821 John Mcgregor, piper to the highland Society of london, was playing highland pipes and ‘Union pipe’ in Perth. 210 A dancing and music master Mr Mackenzie, again by his name Scottish, had died in Derby by 1835 and the auction of his varied musical instrument collection included his highland pipes and ‘his celebrated Set of Union Pipes’. 211 robert Millar (1789–1861), piper to the Aberdeen highland Society, when referred to in 1836, was also in this multi-pipes playing tradition which included union pipes. Millar played a set made by robert reid of north Shields which was presented to him in 1830, and he compiled a manuscript of over 300 tunes begun by him in Montrose that year for the ‘Union Bag-pipe, &’. 212 As late as 1842, a ‘Mr. Donald, the celebrated player on the Union pipe’ was entertaining the Operative Conservative Society of ripon with ‘many beautiful Scotch Airs’. 213 even Scots in the new World, in Detroit, had a taste 207 The Times, london, 8 nov. 1820. 208 Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sydney, 20 May 1815. 209 Caledonian Mercury, edinburgh, 9 Mar. 1820. 210 Cannon 1980: 12; Campbell 2011: 22–3. On an undated item of sheet music ‘A Favorite Waltz and March Composed for the Piano Forte…’ by Mcgregor and published in london by J. Briggs, he describes himself as a ‘teacher of the union pipes’ (University of Cambridge online library catalogue, 1 May 2012, which dates it as [1815?]). 211 Derby Mercury, Derby, 22 Apr. 1835. 212 Edinburgh Evening Courant, edinburgh, 4 Feb. 1836, quoted in MacInnes 1986: 21; Cannon 1993: 30–6; Keith Sanger research notes, kindly communicated by him, Apr. 2012. 213 Leeds Intelligencer, leeds, 21 Mar. 1842.
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Union Pipes - Irish Traditional Music Archive

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