Pipes, Drums, and a mandolin?

[Antlurz]

Came across this yesterday. It's a call to arms featuring pipes and drums, but quietly dispersed throughout is a bit of mandolin, and in the break, the mandolin gets to do some really, really neat, innovative stuff. BTW, the singer is female!!!

If it does to you what it does to me, you be playing it often.

It's the "March of Cambreadth"

http://hell.pl/szymon....dth.mp3 (http://hell.pl/szymon/Baen/There%20Will%20Be%20Dragons/March%20of%20Cambreadth/March_of_Cambreadth.mp3)

Ron

[Bertram Henze]

I'd not have noticed that she's female without the hint - either lots of cigarette smoke of lots of testosterone can do that to a voice. Anyway, seems to be that Jeanne d'Arc type singer good for belligerent themes. Reminds me of Maddy Prior singing "Cam ye o'er frae France" with Steeleye Span (but that was a traditional song).

The mandolin's role in this is nicely decorative, but not too unusual.

Bertram

[Antlurz]

I'm impressed as much by her gutteral inflections as anything, even if she had a high piercing voice, which she definitely doesn't. Celion Deyone or however you spell it or Barbra Streisand could certainly never pull something like this off http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif It is almost if she really is a "been there, done that" warrior, ready to let the blood flow. (And wants to)

Anyhow, here's the words if anyone is interested.

Axes flash, broadsword swing,
Shining armour's piercing ring
Horses run with polished shield,
Fight Those Bastards till They Yield
Midnight mare and blood red roan,
Fight to Keep this Land Your Own
Sound the horn and call the cry,
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!

Follow orders as you're told,
Make Their Yellow Blood Run Cold
Fight until you die or drop,
A Force Like Ours is Hard to Stop
Close your mind to stress and pain,
Fight till You're No Longer Sane
Let not one damn cur pass by,
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!

Guard your women and children well,
Send These Bastards Back to Hell
We'll teach them the ways of war,
They Won't Come Here Any More
Use your shield and use your head,
Fight till Every One is Dead
Raise the flag up to the sky,
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!

Dawn has broke, the time has come,
Move Your Feet to a Marching Drum
We'll win the war and pay the toll,
We'll Fight as One in Heart and Soul
Midnight mare and blood red roan,
Fight to Keep this Land Your Own
Sound the horn and call the cry,
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!

Axes flash, broadsword swing,
Shining armour's piercing ring
Horses run with polished shield,
Fight Those Bastards till They Yield
Midnight mare and blood red roan,
Fight to Keep this Land Your Own
Sound the horn and call the cry,
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!

[Bertram Henze]

I'm impressed as much by her gutteral inflections as anything
Yeah, especially that syncopated "HHH-HHow many of them...". One has to admit, it's sung with feeling - that's what makes a good song, in the end.
I wouldn't take that done-that/been-there too seriously, though; the very scots who slaughtered intruders (or each other, come to that) probably had very different (and less artistic) feelings on a much more fundamental level, and the music can never be more than an attempt to build a bridge for us to understand these their ancient feelings today.
In a sense, the same applies for our musical instruments. Today's mandolin sounds ancient compared to other contemporary instruments, but it is still space-age modern compared to the instruments heard when O'Carolan wrote his tunes we play with it today. The only exception, I think, are drums - they are an acoustic time tunnel back through the ages.

Bertram

[locrian]

The singer is Heather Alexander and I believe that is the Wicked Tinkers playing with her. (Just in case anyone was wondering)

[mandobsessed]

Pretty neat song. I don't think I could play with pipers though....yikes!!!

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

Playing mandolin with pipes is actually a lot of fun. I get lots of opportunity.
No, not those Scots highland pipes (although I have played with several types of Spanish #and Asturian - #Celtic Spanish - #pipes, which are close to that volume!)
Currently our piper plays Scots smallpipes. And I'm occasionally on gaida (Bulgarian pipes) when not on mandolin. (The dark side beckons!)
Listen to Brenga Astur - several CDs available. Excellent music. TWO pipers! Pachu Cuesta on bouzouki.

rasa
Jonathan Reinhardt

[allenhopkins]

And if you play with pipers, you learn to play fluently in B-flat.

[Bertram Henze]

Playing mandolin with pipes is actually a lot of fun.... Currently our piper plays Scots smallpipes.
I was in a session once (in Uig, Isle of Skye) with my OM, and there was just one set of smallpipes (bellows-driven) with enough volume to cover everything else. There were two fiddles - mute. One guitar player and myself strummed chords with all power we got - barely audible.
And they transposed all tunes to D, because that was what the pipes played. At least finding accompaniment chords was easier that way.

I realize there are a lot of machines out there all called "smallpipes", and some might play quite softly, but not that one.

Bertram

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

Bertram,
Yes, smallpipes do vary, but in general are an indoor instrument!
Often we will not use ALL the drones.
My band also has an accordion and a National resonator guitar, plus we are adding a saxophone and a fiddle, and occassionaly have steel pans. We had a percussionist for a long while but he has departed. We are plenty percussive and will pull out the washboard and jawharp when going over the top.
I have learned to play aggressively. Strumming just won't do.
Thus in a session (with other folks) I get those looks - never quite sure if I've crossed the line too far. However, I have never been asked to leave one, or stop playing. I try to respect the genre and use accepted scales/modes rather than be totally improv although I admit there are so many songs I've never heard before. Being able to learn the melody quickly is the ticket for me.

Also different pipes are made in different keys, and chanters vary in design, Allen, so don't give up the ship. Even horns seem to play in C, D, and G where I am. Of course I may be on another planet (or my hearing may be gone), but it's amazing how flexible some musicians can be when they want to. It's sort of the reverse for me, actually - I can't seem to get people (other than Jazz and Bluegrassers) to play in Bb or B! Hence C, which pushes tenor vocals right up there.

Annual Pipers Gathering, August 12/13 in Killington, VT. Mostly bellows pipes (not a highland thing). I think Julian Goodacre will be there with his English pipes - all created anew from extinction. Fine pipers from the US and Europe. If you want to learn alot about variety in a short time, here's an opportunity.

rasa
Jonathan Reinhardt

[mandobsessed]

I've played with small pipes and it can be a lot of fun. When I was in Newfoundland I met a piper from Germany (one of only three apparantly) and we had a hoot. But Highland pipes are not on my jam list!!