The Bagpipe Society

Review: Moebius Music for Three Bagpipes

Moebius Music – Coming around again This is not a review as such but more a PSA (Pipers’ Service Announcement)! Moebius Music for Three Bagpipes has now been reprinted and is available once again. I have a copy of the first edition and it came of something of a shock when I saw that it had first been printed back in 1995 - partly because the music sounds so fresh and good as it did over 25 years ago. It also, sadly, shows my age. However, for many, this will be a new publication.

The 2022 edition is not just a simple reprint though as Jon has taken the opportunity to make a few corrections but also to add arrangements to tunes that were simply printed as melodies in the first edition. There are also new compositions. But the core of the publication reflects the first one and has arrangements for the music which can be heard on the recording August by Moebius.

For those that don’t know, Moebius is the name of the trio, led by Jon Swayne, which plays, other than one piece, music written and arranged by Jon for three bagpipes. For me, it is simply polyphonic heaven and as the reviewer of the cassette, (the format of the time!) wrote in August 1993, that it needed to be listened to with the volume turned up high as it is ‘an awesome sound’.

As the preface says, some of the solo tunes have been published in Blowzabella’s New Tunes for Dancing so they have been replaced by tunes that Jon has composed since the original first edition, including Seven Down, Tenth Anniversary Waltz and For Rod. (The anniversary in question being that of the founding of the Bagpipe Society). I am delighted that Lamb’s March Through the Mire and One Moves have now acquired some harmonies.

Receiving Moebius Music through the post prompted me to listen again to August (bliss) and it also made me have another look through the tunes. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have two friends close by who play and own the requisite pipes (the tunes are arranged for 2 pipes in G and one in low C) but, no matter, as there are still plenty of good tunes that can be played solo.

Moebius Music is available directly from Jon Swayne’s website and costs

£12.00 plus post and packing. https://www.jonswayne.com/online-store/