|
|
|
|
It was decided at that time to be a family oriented, fun organization, where the music is the main component, and dedication to the music will lead to a more interesting and entertaining experience both to those who listen and those who participate. Even if the family members don't play an instrument, they are important to an organization by helping with fundraising, carrying banners, handing out leaflets, and a thousand other important jobs. Not to mention all of the good ideas that they can come up with. Determined to set ourselves apart from
nearly all other bagpipe bands, the Midland Highlanders decided to take the pipe
band back to it's musical roots. Using traditionally styled instruments which
replicate the sound of a late 18th century pipe band, we are forging new ground
by integrating sounds from the past into the music of today.
We also decided to be a student/beginner friendly organization where we start with simpler tunes for our parades and work up to more complex music for our stand alone performances. We will strive to be a musically aggressive group where musical excellence always to be strived for, while recognizing that no one was ever born knowing how to play an instrument. We will also work to be organized so as to be as efficient as possible with our memberships time. We will provide equal opportunity for membership without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, parental status, handicapping condition, or membership in any labor organization.
Bagpiping in the Mid to Late 18th Century Highland Regiments The bagpiper in the 18th century Highland regiment wasn’t an officer or enlisted man and so was not subject to military laws, pay, or discipline. This is not to say however, that he wasn’t an integral part of the highland regiments. Because of the importance placed on music, dance, and fighting in Highland culture at this time the piper continued these traditions in the Highland regiments. The piper was present at the will and expense of the company leaders. The company leaders had discretionary public monies at their disposal through the pay system which allowed officers to dock the pay of enlisted men. In 1777 pay for a piper in the Fraser Highland regiment – the 71st - was a shilling and sixpence a day. A piper’s duty would include playing for the same types of occasions as he would have at home. If there was work to be done requiring many people to accomplish, (harvesting, road building, brush clearing, etc.) it is likely the piper would have played to lighten the mood and make the work go easier. At the end of the day when the work of the soldier was done, it was common for the men listen to airs and to dance to the music of the pipes. Reels were a very popular dance at the time and it was said the pipes were the best instrument to dance to. The bagpiper was also famously used in battles. The story of the Fraser Highlanders refusing, without pipes, to charge Montcalm’s army on the Plains of Abraham is very telling of how the Highlanders felt about their pipers and piping in battle. While drummers were important for relaying commands on the field between commanders and the enlisted man, the pipes value was more psychological, more visceral. The piper’s prime value was to encourage and excite the men’s spirits when the pressure was at its height, especially during the charge and the “shock” (man-to-man fighting). That subtlety of how to motivate their men separated the Highland from the English Officer. This concept was beyond the grasp of an English officer, who thought their men contemptible, and preferred to motivate with the fear of the lash or the gallows. In the Seaforth Highlanders, MacKay Scobie said the number of pipers in the regiment depended on the commanding officers wishes, but usually each flank company (i.e. Grenadier and Light) had one or two pipers and each battalion company had one. He also added that each flank company was allowed two drummers and the flank companies an additional fifer. This appears to have been a common number of pipers and drummers across the Highland regiments. Disarming Act of 1746 You may have heard the story that the bagpipes were outlawed at some point in history. The pipes were never outlawed by any act of King or Parliament. This argument is complete rubbish. The act they are referring to is the Disarming Act of 1746 and the amendments of 1748. The act stipulates that if persons are carrying arms or warlike weapons they would be fined 15 pounds sterling and imprisoned until payment was made. If payment was not made within one calendar month from the date of conviction... the perpetrator was then enlisted as a regular soldier in His Majesty’s forces in America. The second offense for having arms and warlike weapons made the perpetrator “liable to be transported to any of His Majesty’s Plantations beyond the Seas, there to remain for the Space of Seven Years.” The Disarming Act of 1746 also proscribed or outlawed the wearing of the kilt, trowse, or any other “Highland Garb”, and that no “Tartan or Party Coloured Plaid” could be made into “Great Coats or for Upper Coats.” Exceptions to this rule were granted to “Officers and soldiers, Landed men and the sons of landed men”. An extension was granted so the act was not put into effect until 1748. This ban affected every man and boy in Scotland, excluding the soldiery and landed men and their sons. The House of Hanover (King George II) had been much more frightened of the uniform than of the Highland arms. In the first couple of years, the ban on Highland Clothing wasn’t really enforced. In Aberdeen, for example, there were only 4 cases presented in court in the first two years. The ban on Highland clothing became useful in 1757 when the Seven Years War (the French and Indian War) began and many kilted Highlanders were impressed into His Majesty’s army to increase the army’s numbers. Myth of banning the Bagpipes Nowhere in the Disarming Act of 1746 or it’s amendments in 1748 were bagpipes even mentioned. Part of the myth comes from the case of James Reid, a piper who was hanged for treason, not for possessing or playing a bagpipe. James Reid had been captured as a Jacobite occupier in the English city of Carlisle in December 1745. He had been active in the rebellion and although he was a piper he was also a rebel. The judge when handing down his sentence said in his ruling, “no regiment ever marched without musical instruments such as drums, trumpets and the like; and that a Highland Regiment never marched without a piper; and therefore his bagpipe in the eyes of the law, was an instrument of war.” It is likely that as a some one who didn’t actually carry arms against his Majesty, Reid thought he might be able to avoid both the death penalty and transportation “across the Seas” (as other pipers subsequently brought to trial were able to do). Unfortunately, Reid was a victim of judicial inflexibility, malice, and revenge. James Reid was captured in an English city and tried in an English Court. The 6 other officers caught along with James Reid were “transported across the Seas”. Even though the English jury had recommended mercy at his trial, the judges’ unusually harsh decision was carried out. Even if the argument could be construed against a bagpipe or bagpiper, a look into other court records show no evidence of any apprehensions, trials, or convictions of pipers during the years of 1748 -1751. The origin of the myth seems to lie with Donald MacDonald, born in 1749, who stated in regards to Ceol Mor (Kell mor) –classical pipe music- that “after Culloden the Bag-Pipe was almost completely laid aside. In this interval much of the Music was neglected or lost.” This implies the Disarming Act is to blame. Although he talked of the bagpipe’s having been laid aside, he was discussing Ceol Mor and not the entire range of pipe music. The bagpipes, never banned, were an important part of the Highland culture, and as a result were important in 18th century Highland regiments. Their use in the regiments was well loved and respected as the Highland regiments saw action in America and around the world.
Feel free to contact us at webmaster@midlandhighlanders.org |
