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A pibroch (pė`brǒox) is an ancient type of music, native to the Scottish Highlands and performed exclusively on the Great Highland Bagpipe. In Scots Gaelic, the original form for the name of this type of music is piobaireachd (literally meaning "pipering" or the actions of a piper), and the Anglicised word pibroch is derived from the Gaelic pronunciation. The word is derived from the Gaelic piobair which simply means piper, and so the term piobaireachd has gradually evolved to refer to ancient and traditional pipe music. For this reason many pipers prefer the Scottish Gaelic name Ceòl Mòr which is Scots Gaelic for the Great Music, to distinguish it from other kinds of pipe music which are called Ceòl Beag or the Little Music. More specifically, Ceòl Mòr which is normally associated with music referred to as Piobaireachd, represents music which is written in a more classical style that goes back several hundred years. Ceòl Beag is a more recent development (within the last 200 years) and is commonly referred to as Dance Music, Marches or Airs.
Subjects
The subjects of pibroch music are quite varied but share the common theme of comemorating a specific event. The categories of pibroch include: Laments, Salutes, Gatherings, Rowing. In general, the categories of pibroch do not have distinctive or consistent musical patterns that are characteristic of the category. However pibroch was written for specific events, personages or situations. Laments are mourning tunes often written for a deceased person on note. Laments were commonly written as a result of families being displaced from their homeland, a practice that was very common after the last Scottish Rebellion in 1745.
Salutes are tunes that acknowledge a person, event or location. Salutes were often written upon the birth of children or after a visitation to a prominent figure such as a clan chief. Many Salutes have been written to commemorate famous pipers.
Gatherings were tunes written specifically for a clan. These tunes were used to call a clan together by their chief. The tune structure is usually simple so that it could be recognized easily by clan members.
Rowing Pibroch were more rhythmic tunes used to encourage rowers while crossing the sea.
Pibroch tunes often have intriguing names such as "Too Long in This Condition", "The Piper's Warning to His Master", "Scarce of Fishing", and "The Big Spree".
History
The origins of pibroch are obscure. The musical form appears to have been well developed by the time of Patrick Mor MacCrimmon (ca. 1595-1670), one of the hereditary pipers to the MacLeods of Dunvegan on the isle of Skye. After the Jacobite Rising of 1745 and the destruction of the Scottish clan system, pibroch fell into disfavour and the musical form was nearly lost. Around 1800 piping competitions for pibroch were organised in an attempt to revive the form.
Most pibrochs are traditional tunes that were written prior to 1745, and in many cases the composer is unknown. However pibrochs continue to be written by bagpipe composers up to the present day.
Structure
Pibroch was developed on and for the Great Highland Bagpipe, and as a result relies on the features and limitations of that instrument. Pibroch is properly expressed by minute and often subtle variations in the length of notes, so much so that pibroch is nearly impossible to transcribe accurately to the written score. Many written forms of pibroch do exist (The Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor and The Piobaireachd Society Collection) but they serve mainly as a rough guide for the piper; the proper expression of the rhythms and tempos of the tune must be learned from a teacher. Pibroch is does not follow a strict metre, and though it does have a rhythmic flow or pulse; it does not follow a strict beat or tempo though it does have pacing.
In musical structure, pibroch is a theme with variations. The theme is usually a very simple melody, though few if any pibrochs contain the theme in its simplest form. The theme is first stated in a slow movement called the ground or in Gaelic the ùrlar. This is usually a fairly stylised version of the theme, and usually includes numerous added embellishments and connecting notes. The subsequent variations can number from one up to about twenty, although there are a few fragmentary tunes for which only a ground is known. In most cases the variations following the ground involve the use of a number of different musical embellishments, usually starting very simply and progressing through successively more complex movements before returning again to the ground. These variations are typically named by the Gaelic names of the types of movements used, eg Leumluath, Taorluath, and Crunluath. However not all pibrochs will include all or even any of these movements but instead the later variations may be irregular and use some other structure to state the theme.
In addition the theme will usually use one of several internal structures for the ordering of its musical phrases. These are usually classified as follows:
- Primary - The theme or ground is composed of two two-bar phrases, A and B, played in the following order:
- AAB
- ABB
- AB
- Secondary - The theme or ground is composed of four phrases, with A and B being one-bar phrases and C and D being two-bar phrases, and played in the following order:
- ABCD
- CBAD
- CD
- Tertiary - A relative of Primary Pibroch, with three two-bar phrases, A, B, and C, played in the following order:
- AB
- ABB
- AB
- C
- Irregular - The theme or ground does not fit into any of the above structures.
Unfortunately few pibrochs are pure examples of any of these structures though most can be fit into one of the first three with a slight modification of one or two of the phrases in one or more lines.
See also
References
"Piobaireachd"