Pipers in groups ?

[rorybbellows]

Most of my piping CD collection is solo piping ,but I also like good piping when its part of a group.
Are there any other pipers that have had the opportunity that Liam O’Flynn has had in planxty to provide piping accompaniment to a song or provide a musical break during a song as he did in “Musgrave” or my own favorite the piping at the end of the ballad “ Justise is as cold as the grange o county Clare”(not sure if that’s the correct title).
Davy Spillane also done a lot of it with Moving Hearts as in “Hiroshima Nagasacky”and others.
Do you know of other pipers that have done similar work with a group ?

RORY

[djimbo]

“Musgrave” or my own favorite the piping at the end of the ballad “ Justise is as cold as the grange o county Clare”(not sure if that’s the correct title).

I had it down as Musgrave or perhaps Little Musgrave...
The odd line you mention I had down as..
'Justice is cold as the Granger county clay'

I'm sure someone from Granger County will correct me about the clay temperature there

Djimbo.

[MichaelLoos]

Paddy Keenan did some song backing with The Bothy Band.
Finbar Furey did a lot when he was playing as a duo with his brother Eddie, as well as later on with the whole lot.
Jimmy O'Brien-Moran with Scullion many years ago.
Eoin Ò Riabhaigh with Jimmy Crowley's Stoker's Lodge.
I'm sure there are many, many more.

[Hans-Joerg]

“ Justise is as cold as the grange o county Clare”(not sure if that’s the correct title).

The title is "True Love Knows No Season", a song written by the American Norman Blake (who mostly sings and plays guitar).

[PJ]

You mentioned Davy Spillane with Moving Hearts, but he has done something similar with various other groups/musicians - Mary Coughlan Band (Ride On), Dolores Keane (Solid Ground), etc. For a while in the late 80s and early 90s, he seemed to be the only uilleann piper making any sort of recording.

I've recently gone back to listen to his piping and I'm surprised at how much he puts into his chanter playing. For instance, listen to his version of My Love is in America on his Shadow Hunter album (the track is called One Day in June).

[No E]

Donnchadh Gough plays pipes with Danú.
Tim Britton plays pipes with Chulrua.
Tod Denman plays pipes with Aniar.

Oh yeah, and some fellow named Maloney plays with an obscure folk group called "The Chieftains."

-No E

[travhicks]

Check out Lunasa.

[rorybbellows]

What I was kind of curious about too, was who actually writes the music of these little snipets of piping that are played in the songs .
Because if its the pipers himself,which I would of thought it is ,then this brings in a different talent, the piper as composer.
I mean Willie Clancy and Seamus Ennis were great pipers but I dont think they ever actually composed any music.
Some of the stuff that O'Flynn and Spillane played in their groups if it was composed by them, is beautifully composed music.

RORY

[samiam590]

Check out Lunasa.

Very much so. Quality playing from all the players, but especially the guy on the pipes. If you want an album to start on, I'd say go with Merry Sisters of Fate or Kinnitty Sessions.

[djm]

It was usually Donal Lunny who came up with the little musical ornaments that O'Flynn played in Planxty. Arranging is Lunny's genius.

djm

[TheSilverSpear]

I don't think playing in groups is uncommon at all. In addition to everyone mentioned, I'll add that Jarlath Henderson plays with Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton, Mick OBrien has that great recording, Kitty Lie Over, with Caoimhin O'Raghaillaigh, Ronan Browne plays with Desi Wilkinson and Sean Corcoran in Cran, has numerous recordings with Peter O'Loughlin, and has played in the Transatlantic Sessions with assorted Irish, Scottish, and American players, and Jerry O'Sullivan has played with Bonnie Rideout (Scottish fiddler). Michael McGoldrick plays (or at least has played -- I think he he still does) with Capercaillie and numerous other groups, John McSherry has a recording with Donal Lunny and another one with McGoldrick and was in Lunasa, and Brendan Ring played on an album called Across the Waters with assorted trad musicians in England such as Luke Daniels, Niall Keegan, Karen Tweed, Andy Cutting, et. al. Ivan Goff and Cillian Vallely are on the recording of the session at Mona's, Michael Cooney has a recording with Joe Burke and Terry Corcoran, and Diarmuid Moynihan played with Calico.

There are many more, but that's just out of the recordings I have.

[josh perkins]

The actual name of the Norman Blake song is "Billy Gray".

[glands]

Donnchadh Gough plays pipes with Danú.
Tim Britton plays pipes with Chulrua.
Tod Denman plays pipes with Aniar.

Oh yeah, and some fellow named Maloney plays with an obscure folk group called "The Chieftains."

-No E

Fr. d'Arcy plays pipes with the Ric Blair Band. They got sum records!

[Gaasfet]

I mean Willie Clancy and Seamus Ennis were great pipers but I dont think they ever actually composed any music.

Uh, you've not played Willie's Single or Willie's Fling then? I've also seen floating about in my iTunes library a set with Seamus Ennis' jig in it. It seems that they both wrote at least a few tunes, although I have no idea how many...

[tompipes]

Uh, you've not played Willie's Single or Willie's Fling then? I've also seen floating about in my iTunes library a set with Seamus Ennis' jig in it. It seems that they both wrote at least a few tunes, although I have no idea how many...

Unfortunately Messers Clancy nor Ennis wrote a thing.

James Ennis Snr wrote a lovely tune called The Morning Thrush.

Tommy