The Bagpipe Society

Blowout 2018 - 1st to 3rd June

Have we got a programme for you!

Eric Montbel ZampogneriA

Jane and Eric Moulder

Terry Mann Paul Roberts

Steve Tyler and Katy Marchant

Pat Goodacre

plus … The Friday Tune competition!!

Eric Montbel (Sat, Sun concerts, workshops plus Saturday Bal)

As a musician, collector, ethnomusicologist, teacher, composer, publisher and co-founder of Modal Magazine, the influence of Eric Montbel on the revival of the French bagpipes and their repertoire cannot be overstated and it is a great honour to welcome him back to the Blowout, after far too long an absence.

It was in the 1980s that Eric became a leading bagpipe specialist in France, after many field trips to collect and record the music and song of the last players of the Centre: Limousin and Auvergne. In 1984, he reissued some recordings by the master of the Auvergne, Antoine Bouscatel and revived the playing style and repertoire of the then forgotten chabrette limousine and the musette of Central France. He has many recordings to his credit including the hugely influential l’Art de la Cornemuse, Cornemuses, then Bagpipes of France for UNESCO, with Jean Blanchard. He has performed widely throughout Europe and the Americas, both solo and as a member of groups such as Le Grand Rouge, Lo Jai, Ulysse and more recently Vertigo with Bruno Le Tron. In 1996, his solo bagpipe CD Les cornemuses à miroirs du Limousin was a great critical success, receiving a number of awards including Grand Prix of the Academy Charles Cros.

Eric is regularly involved in international projects, having worked in Sao Paulo (Brazil) in a “Orquesta Mediterraneo”. He also directs the ensemble Le Grand Baleti of Marseille’s Cité de la Musique, a group of amateurs devoted to the traditional ball and folk dance. Along with his solo work, we will have the rare opportunity to enjoy the results of his collaboration with ZamponeriA and experience a unique combination of musical textures from two separate but connected traditions.

http://bit.ly/Chanter42 http://bit.ly/Chanter43

ZampogneriA (Sat, Sun concerts plus Saturday Bal)

ZampogneriA are Marco Tomassi, Marco Iamele and Giorgio Pinai. They are dedicated to the enhancement of that most iconic Italian bagpipe, the Zampogna. Since forming in 2015, the trio has gained international recognition, performing widely, both in their own right and in collaboration with artists such as Susana Seivane and Eric Montbel, with whom they are working on a French-Italian repertoire of Christmas and dance music, played on Grande Cornemuse à Miroirs and Zampognas. Their first CD Fiumerapido attracted attention all over the world reaching the seventh place in the world ranking of listeners to world music radio.

At their core is the fundamental experience acquired through the research and reconstruction work done with Liuteria Montecassino, sharing studies, prototypes, and technical solutions to finally develop versions of ancient and new models of Zampognas and Pifferi that are versatile and capable of facing new challenges.

Most of the instruments Marco Tomassi makes and plays are inspired by the Sordellina, an ancient court Zampogna, bellows-blown, with 3 chanters and numerous keys, and by the Zampogne of the XVII, XVIII, XIX century “musici dell’arte”. Another relevant inspiration are the giant Zampognas widely used in the past, especially among migrant itinerant “zampognari”. http://bit.ly/Chanter44 http://bit.ly/Chanter45

Steve Tyler (Sat Workshop plus Bal with Katy Marchant)

Steve is well known as a hurdy gurdy player, renowned for his rhythmic and inventive playing, and is equally at home with early music, traditional melodies or modern compositions. He has performed with such diverse artists as English folk singer Jackie Oates, German industrial/electronic musician F.M.Einheit and South African puppeteer John Roberts, and has played for theatrical productions (most recently at The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), historical and traditional dances, and mixed media performances. He is currently playing with bagpiper Katy Marchant and working on dark multitrack music mixing hurdy gurdies with dulcimer, reed organ and diverse instruments, inspired by patterns in nature, mathematics and the imagination.

Paul Roberts (Concerts and workshop)

Paul Roberts was an early pioneer of the Border pipes revival, winning the first three LBPS competitions in 1984-86. He specializes in the music of Northern England and Lowland Scotland, and has also written extensively on the subject of British bellows bagpipes, their music and history.

Eric and Jane Moulder (workshops)

Eric and Jane Moulder are well known to both the Bagpipe Society and the early music world. Eric is one of the world’s leading makers of Renaissance double reed woodwind instruments and Jane, as well as being a historical researcher and writer, is known to all as the editor of Chanter. They have been running Piva since 2002 which is now established as one of the country’s leading Renaissance music ensembles. Known for their interesting arrangements and multi-part harmonies, bagpipes feature prominently amongst the many instruments they play in the group.

Presentation (Sat)

ZampogneriA - The Zampogna, Past, Present and Future. There is a lot of interest in double chanter pipes but most of us know only a little about the zampogna, beyond it being a popular instrument for travelling Italian musicians in the 18th and 19th centuries. ZampogneriA will be presenting an illustrated talk with music examples about it’s history, revival and how it is evolving in design and repertoire.

Workshops

Please Note All resource/preparatory material will be available via the website and will be updated when necessary

Eric Montbel (Sat, Sun) - Eric will be leading two workshops for the players of G pipes. He writes: “We shall work on 3 time “bourrée " style, ornamentations and rhythm, from repertory of pipers and fiddlers from Corrèze and Auvergne generally. We shall have the project of a dance set for the evening, as it was played in the balls from Auvergne and from the “bal-musette” in Paris, too. We shall explore the drone music of French bagpipes, which means modal music, rather than tonal harmonic music : and the bagpiper as a soloist, making his own body a whole instrument.

Eric and Jane Moulder (Sat, Sun) - Eric and Jane will be leading two workshop sessions exploring music for bagpipes from the late 16th century. During this period, whether at court or in the country, the bagpipe was the instrument of choice for accompanying dancing and there is consequently a rich repertoire of music which can be easily adapted to suit the instrument. These sessions will work on two part harmony settings for bagpipes in G with the first session concentrating on music from England (Saturday) and the second (Sunday) featuring music from continental Europe. Low C and high C bagpipes are encouraged for those that have them as this opens the possibility of some 3-part harmony arrangements.

Steve Tyler - Hurdy Gurdy (Sat) - Steve will be leading an extended workshop on the hurdy gurdy, spread over the entire day. This workshop is aimed at intermediate to advanced players who are aiming to further develop their technique. The workshop will be suitable for D or G tunings but a D trompette is most useful. The focus will be on rhythmic and melodic patterns used to enhance and interpret a simple tune using medieval and newly composed source material, including a fragment of the polyphonic Exercise Two – http://bit.ly/Chanter46

Paul Roberts - Smallpipes (Sun) - Paul will be leading a workshop on border style decorations and variations based on the tune Lads of Alnwick (standard session version, which is the one in the 1st NPS tunebook) - “Scottish” smallpipes/Dudey in D preferred, but all compatible instruments are welcome.

Terry Mann - Swedish Bagpipes (Sat) - Terry has been making Säckpipa for several years. They are based on the revival set made by Leif Eriksson in the 1980s, but with his own adaptations. In the workshop we will be playing the traditional E/A(min) tuning and looking at ornamentation through specific Säckpipa tunes.

Pat Goodacre - French Dance (Sat). By popular demand, Pat will once more be leading us through some of the dances likely to feature in the Bal, plus something new, no doubt!

Terry Mann - Pipers’ Surgery (Sat) - Now a regular feature of the festival, the ‘piper’s surgery’, is principally for players of Southern English Border Pipes, but open to all, especially beginners and those at an intermediate level. Come with questions about technique, posture, repertoire, or practice and he will do our best to help!

Ian Clabburn - Absolute Beginners (Sun) - This workshop is for anyone who has just started out and would like a bit of help in establishing good practice from the outset. The Bagpipe Society’s own student borderpipes and smallpipes will be available for use if anyone wishes to try them out.

The Competition! - Julian has taken full control of this and the details can be found separately in his article. No questions permitted!

Makers’ Stalls - The following pipe makers will be exhibiting their wares and will be glad to help you draw up your wish list: Jon Swayne, Julian Goodacre, Sean Jones, Jim Parr, Terry Mann. Whistle maker Phil Bleazy will also be in attendance.

The Bagpipe Society’s Second hand pipes, books & CD Stall. Buy, sell, swap, donate - it’s up to you! There will also be a final opportunity to acquire some of the last remaining paper copies of Chanter from the days of yore.

Blowout Menu Vanessa (The Blowout’s official caterer) will again be providing all the meals for the weekend – quality, quantity and value for money. Please read**: All meals must be booked and paid for in advance.** Kitchen facilities are tight and there is an upper limit to the number of meals we can provide. The cut-off date for meal bookings is Saturday 26th May. We cannot guarantee that any spare meals will be available on the day – so book early! See the website for full details

Camper Vans and General Parking - The arrangements are as last year. Details on the website

Directions Postal address: Polesworth Priory, High Street, Polesworth B78 1DU

On arrival, please make yourself known at the reception area in the Memorial Hall.

Paying: There is a £5 reduction for current members who pay in advance.

We are now ticket-less. Print off your PayPal or email receipt if you require proof of purchase. Please make our lives stress free as by paying as early as you can. You can pay online by PayPal – just follow the link from the Blowout page on the website or by using this address: http://www.bagpipesociety.org.uk/blowout/book/ Ticket enquiries: bpsblowout@gmail.com. General enquiries: info@bagpipesociety.org.uk

There will be updates, so keep an eye on our Facebook page and especially our website, where you can also read more detailed practical information and download timetables, music scores etc. www.bagpipesociety.org.uk/blowout

See you! Ian Clabburn