Mark Hone Posted 17 April , 2003 Share Posted 17 April , 2003 Following on from my recent enquiry about 'The Burning Mill at Messines' it led me to wonder how many pipe tunes are there with First World War subjects? There are of course ones written to commemorate battles etc soon after the event e.g 'The Battle of the Somme' but there are also more modern ones like 'Mendinghem' composed for the Passendale Peace concerts. Incidentally I think I've asked this before but is Mendinghem the only CWGC cemetery with a piece of music named after it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garde Grenadier Posted 17 April , 2003 Share Posted 17 April , 2003 I suppose you must know the tune "The Bloody Fields of Flanders"? Greetings and happy Easter Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacky Platteeuw Posted 17 April , 2003 Share Posted 17 April , 2003 Mark, Sure is a tune " Menin Gate" and a good one, composed by John Roarty in 1997. John was at that moment with the Black Watch Cadets. Jacky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock Bruce Posted 17 April , 2003 Share Posted 17 April , 2003 Mark, quite a few listed on Bagpipes at Best have WW1 related titles e.g. 'The Armistrice of 1918' but no unfortunately no dates. And I would guess that a number of those dedicated to individuals (the 'Lt Col JJC Davidson's Farewell to the Seaforth Highlanders' type of title ) are WW1 vintage. The only one I know beyond doubt is WW1 is 'The 8th Argyll's Farewell To The 116th Regiment De Ligne' Jock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 20 April , 2003 Author Share Posted 20 April , 2003 Thanks for the replies. I'd be interested in getting some decent, full-length recordings of e.g. 'Battle of the Somme' and 'Bloody Fields...' All the versions of 'Somme' I have are brief, medley versions and the only recording of 'Bloody Fields...' doesn't even have any pipes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Heyvaert Posted 20 April , 2003 Share Posted 20 April , 2003 I think 'the bloody fields of Flanders' was written well before the first world war, somewhere in the 19th century ( I think I read that somewhere in a booklet of one of the peace-concerts-CD's). You can find plenty of WW1-related pipe-tunes on the excellent CD's of the Somme battlefield pipe band, which is for sale in the visitors centre at Delville wood. I found a very good recording of 'the bloody fields' on a CD released by the 1st battalion King's own Scottish borderers. A WW1-related tune I much enjoy to play myself, is 'blue bonnets over the border'. This was the tune piper Laidlaw played when he won his VC at Loos. Also 'the taking of Beaumont-Hamel' and 'the 80th anniversary of the Somme' are very nice, but hard to find tunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 22 April , 2003 Share Posted 22 April , 2003 The following web site may also be of interest: www.Scotbagpipe.com Books of bagpipe music by regiment including The Armistice of 1918 and Kitcheners Army as well as those mentioned above. Might be worth an enquiry for tapes, cd's ect. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 23 April , 2003 Author Share Posted 23 April , 2003 Dear all, Thanks for the advice. Terry-unfortunately the link you gave doesn't seem to work. I'll chase it up via Google Mark H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Seymour Posted 23 April , 2003 Share Posted 23 April , 2003 Mark, You may already have this book? "The Pipes of War" - A Record of the Achievement of Pipers of Scottish and Overseas Regiments during the War 1914-18 by Seton & Grant - pub. 1920. This remarkable record provides for each battalion a full list of pipers - names, ranks, regt. no. promotions, if a casualty. There is also a comprehensive section covering individual achievements - VC. etc., and a history of the Pipes and their music. This rare book was recently re-published is available from Ray Westlake at £25. Alan Seymour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 15 August , 2003 Share Posted 15 August , 2003 I don't know if it is related to WWI but one of my all-time favourites is 'When the Pipers play', especially when sung by Isla St Clair, the pipes & drums are very stirring. The words could relate to any war, but they are enough to bring out the goosebumps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broznitsky Posted 15 August , 2003 Share Posted 15 August , 2003 Pal Stevenh alerted us to this website: http://members.shaw.ca/tunebook/richardson.htm Worth checking out for a nice tune and links to the Richardson Pipes tale. Peter (with plenty of power in Western Canada!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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