UK - Scotland - Edinburgh - Royal Mile - Bagpiper
Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña - Escocia - Edimburgo - Royal Mile - Gaitero
ENGLISH:
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland bagpipes have the greatest visibility in the English-speaking world, bagpipes have been played for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, around the Persian Gulf, Northern Africa, and North America. The term "bagpipe" is equally correct in the singular or plural, although in the English language, pipers usually refer to the Bagpipes as "the pipes", "a set of pipes" or "a stand of pipes."
The evidence for pre-Roman era bagpipes is still uncertain but several textual and visual clues have been suggested. The Oxford History of Music says that a sculpture of bagpipes has been found on a Hittite slab at Euyuk in the Middle East, dated to 100 BC. Several authors identify the Ancient Greek askaulos with the bagpipe. In the 2nd century AD, Suetonius described the Roman emperor Nero as a player of the tibia utricularis. Dio Chrysostom wrote in the 1st century of a contemporary sovereign (possibly Nero) who could play a pipe (tibia, Roman reedpipes similar to Greek and Etruscan instruments) with his mouth as well as by tucking a bladder beneath his armpit. It has often been suggested that the bagpipes were first brought to the British Isles during the period of Roman rule.
Dozens of types of bagpipes today are widely spread across Europe and the Middle East, as well as through much of the former British Empire. The name bagpipe has almost become synonymous with its best-known form, the Great Highland bagpipe, overshadowing the great number and variety of traditional forms of bagpipe. Despite the decline of these other types of pipes over the last few centuries, in recent years many of these pipes have seen a resurgence or revival as musicians have sought them out; for example, the Irish piping tradition, which by the mid 20th century had declined to a handful of master players is today alive, well, and flourishing a situation similar to that of the Asturian gaita, the Galician gaita, the Portuguese Gaita transmontana, the Aragonese gaita de boto, Northumbrian smallpipes, the Breton biniou, the Balkan gaida, the Romanian cimpoi, the Black Sea tulum, the Scottish smallpipes and pastoral pipes, as well as other varieties.
Traditionally, one of the purposes of the bagpipe was to provide music for dancing. This has declined with the growth of dance bands, recordings, and the decline of traditional dance. In turn, this has led to many types of pipes developing a performance-led tradition, and indeed much modern music based on the dance music tradition played on bagpipes is no longer suitable for use as dance music.
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ESPAÑOL:
La primera referencia documentada a una gaita se encuentra en una losa hitita hallada en Asia Menor que data del año 1000 a. de C. Ya en el siglo I de nuestra era, las gaitas existían en muchísimos países, desde la India hasta España, pasando por Egipto y Francia. También resulta evidente que la gaita era un instrumento muy común en las demás islas británicas antes de su primera aparición documentada en lo que hoy es Escocia. Cómo y cuándo llegaron a este país es un tema muy polémico, y mientras unas teorías afirman que la trajeron los romanos, otras reclaman su procedencia de Irlanda.
En Escocia surgieron diversos tipos de gaita, pero sería la "piob-mhor", o "gran gaita", característica de las Tierras Altas, la que acabaría convirtiéndose en instrumento nacional. Esta gaita se sopla a pulmón; el fuelle, tradicionalmente de piel de oveja, se fabrica hoy día en cuero, caucho u otros materiales sintéticos. Los roncones se elaboraban originalmente con hueso o marfil, y ahora con maderas nobles. La melodía se toca por el puntero con lengüeta que parte del fuelle, mientras que los tres roncones que descansan en el hombro del gaitero producen el bajo que acompaña a la melodía.
Los estilos musicales que se tocan con la gaita de las Tierras Altas son fundamentalmente dos: la variedad de marchas y bailes (march, strathspey & reel) que se componían para acontecimientos sociales o militares, y la variedad "sinfónica" (piobaireachd, pronunciado "pibroj"). Estas piezas constituyen la "música clásica" de la gaita, una forma artística comparable a la de cualquier otro país, y se compusieron en su mayoría un siglo antes de que se inventara el piano, aunque no se escribieron en partitura. En definitiva, pese a no haber inventado la gaita, los escoceses pueden reivindicarla como propia por haberla mantenido viva como parte de su tradición musical y haberla convertido en uno de los símbolos más destacados de su cultura.
UK - Scotland - Edinburgh - Royal Mile - Bagpiper
Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña - Escocia - Edimburgo - Royal Mile - Gaitero
ENGLISH:
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland bagpipes have the greatest visibility in the English-speaking world, bagpipes have been played for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, around the Persian Gulf, Northern Africa, and North America. The term "bagpipe" is equally correct in the singular or plural, although in the English language, pipers usually refer to the Bagpipes as "the pipes", "a set of pipes" or "a stand of pipes."
The evidence for pre-Roman era bagpipes is still uncertain but several textual and visual clues have been suggested. The Oxford History of Music says that a sculpture of bagpipes has been found on a Hittite slab at Euyuk in the Middle East, dated to 100 BC. Several authors identify the Ancient Greek askaulos with the bagpipe. In the 2nd century AD, Suetonius described the Roman emperor Nero as a player of the tibia utricularis. Dio Chrysostom wrote in the 1st century of a contemporary sovereign (possibly Nero) who could play a pipe (tibia, Roman reedpipes similar to Greek and Etruscan instruments) with his mouth as well as by tucking a bladder beneath his armpit. It has often been suggested that the bagpipes were first brought to the British Isles during the period of Roman rule.
Dozens of types of bagpipes today are widely spread across Europe and the Middle East, as well as through much of the former British Empire. The name bagpipe has almost become synonymous with its best-known form, the Great Highland bagpipe, overshadowing the great number and variety of traditional forms of bagpipe. Despite the decline of these other types of pipes over the last few centuries, in recent years many of these pipes have seen a resurgence or revival as musicians have sought them out; for example, the Irish piping tradition, which by the mid 20th century had declined to a handful of master players is today alive, well, and flourishing a situation similar to that of the Asturian gaita, the Galician gaita, the Portuguese Gaita transmontana, the Aragonese gaita de boto, Northumbrian smallpipes, the Breton biniou, the Balkan gaida, the Romanian cimpoi, the Black Sea tulum, the Scottish smallpipes and pastoral pipes, as well as other varieties.
Traditionally, one of the purposes of the bagpipe was to provide music for dancing. This has declined with the growth of dance bands, recordings, and the decline of traditional dance. In turn, this has led to many types of pipes developing a performance-led tradition, and indeed much modern music based on the dance music tradition played on bagpipes is no longer suitable for use as dance music.
*****************************************************************************
ESPAÑOL:
La primera referencia documentada a una gaita se encuentra en una losa hitita hallada en Asia Menor que data del año 1000 a. de C. Ya en el siglo I de nuestra era, las gaitas existían en muchísimos países, desde la India hasta España, pasando por Egipto y Francia. También resulta evidente que la gaita era un instrumento muy común en las demás islas británicas antes de su primera aparición documentada en lo que hoy es Escocia. Cómo y cuándo llegaron a este país es un tema muy polémico, y mientras unas teorías afirman que la trajeron los romanos, otras reclaman su procedencia de Irlanda.
En Escocia surgieron diversos tipos de gaita, pero sería la "piob-mhor", o "gran gaita", característica de las Tierras Altas, la que acabaría convirtiéndose en instrumento nacional. Esta gaita se sopla a pulmón; el fuelle, tradicionalmente de piel de oveja, se fabrica hoy día en cuero, caucho u otros materiales sintéticos. Los roncones se elaboraban originalmente con hueso o marfil, y ahora con maderas nobles. La melodía se toca por el puntero con lengüeta que parte del fuelle, mientras que los tres roncones que descansan en el hombro del gaitero producen el bajo que acompaña a la melodía.
Los estilos musicales que se tocan con la gaita de las Tierras Altas son fundamentalmente dos: la variedad de marchas y bailes (march, strathspey & reel) que se componían para acontecimientos sociales o militares, y la variedad "sinfónica" (piobaireachd, pronunciado "pibroj"). Estas piezas constituyen la "música clásica" de la gaita, una forma artística comparable a la de cualquier otro país, y se compusieron en su mayoría un siglo antes de que se inventara el piano, aunque no se escribieron en partitura. En definitiva, pese a no haber inventado la gaita, los escoceses pueden reivindicarla como propia por haberla mantenido viva como parte de su tradición musical y haberla convertido en uno de los símbolos más destacados de su cultura.