Pipe Music for the Irish

New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 662, 14 March 1952, Page 6

Pipe Music for the Irish

IN March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, "the day for the wearing of the green," most radio stations in New Zealand will ‘provide special programmes, and of these 2ZB’s 845 p.m. programme of music by Harry Tohill’s Irish Ceilidhe Band. is probably the most unusual. The only band of its type in Wellington-pos-sibly the only one in New Zealand-Mr. Tohill’s Ceilidhe group consists of two Uileann’ pipes, two fiddles and a set of drums. Like flying a helicopter or operating a one-man band, playing the Irish Uileannbag-pipe represents a peak of human dexterity and exertion, since it demands, for normal playing, the simultaneous use of both arms, one knee, a wrist and all fingers. Each instrument consists" of ‘a chanter, tenor, baritone and bass" regulators, three corresponding drones, bellows and bag. Unfortunately, 2ZB audiences will only be able to listen to the band on this occasion of its first public performance, and they will, therefore, have to forgo the diversion of watching a piper keep the bag inflated by the bellows, finger the stops on the chanter, manoeuvre the wrist to operate the’ three banks of keys on the regulators, and work the knee to open and ‘close the .terminal stop of the chanter. But the picture on this week’s cover does at least show what the installation looks like. Back in Ireland the Uileann pipes

are still in use at country dances, competitions and national dancing meetings, and despite the difficulty of playing them they have shown recent signs of growing popularity. The music of Ireland is also featured in programmes from 1YA, at 8.0 p.m. on March 17; 2XA, 8.45 p.m.; 4YA, 7.45 p.m.; 1YZ, 6.45 p.m.; 3YZ, 4.12 p.m.; 4YZ, 9.35 a.m. and 5.30 p.m.; 1XH, 1.0 p.m.; and 2XN, 8.45 p.m. At 9.15 p.m. 1XN will present a programme of classical Irish themes, Irish Suite by Rosenthal, .Keltic Lament by Foulds, Celtic Symphony for Harp and String Orches--tra by Bantock. An Irish National Concert, to be held in the Christchurch Civic Theatre, will be broadcast by 3YA at 8.0 p.m. and at 9.44 p.m. 3YC will present The Minstrel Boy, an NZBS production commemorating the death, in 1852, of the Irish lyricist and poet, Thomas Moore, This programme, which was written by Canon A, H. Acheson, includes songs Moore added to the wealth of Irish music. Thé BBC feature For St. Patrick’s Day, will be heard from 2YA at 8.15 p.m., 1YA at 10.30 a.m., 3YC at 9.30 p.m. and 4YA at 7.30 p.m. Produced in the BBC studios at Belfast, this programme includes verse and songs with accompaniment provided by a harpist and Charles Kelly’s Ceilidhe Band. Another. BBC feature is Portrait

of Aran, which will be heard from 1YC at 10.0 p.m. The recordings for Portrait of Aran were made by a BBC team which visited the remote island off the west coast of Ireland with the late Robert Flaherty, who made the remarkable documentary film Man of Aran. Interviews with local inhabitants are included, along with "ceilidhe" music and

the strange "mouth music". which the Aran people call "casadh port." These are some of the programmes to be heard by New. Zealand listeners on St. Patrick’s Day when unpractised tongues will grapple again for a short while with the brogtie, and every Irishman will remember afresh that other green land from which he came,