Bagpipe (Fr. cornemuse; Ger. Dudelsack, Sackpfeife; It. cornamusa, piva, zampogna; Port. gaita; Sp. cornamusa, gaita, zampoña)
- William A. Cocks
- , revised by Anthony C. Baines
- and Roderick D. Cannon
Extract
(Fr. cornemuse; Ger. Dudelsack, Sackpfeife; It. cornamusa, piva, zampogna; Port. gaita; Sp. cornamusa, gaita, zampoña)
A wind instrument which in its commonest forms consists of a chanter and one or more drones, all supplied with air from the bag, which is compressed under the player’s arm to provide a constant pressure. The instrument is classed as a composite reedpipe.
Bagpipes are generally used in the performance of traditional folk musics, and their designs vary in different countries or ethnic regions. The main exceptions to this rule include the occasional adoption of bagpipes by fashionable society and by composers of opera, ballet, concertos and chamber music, most notably in 18th-century France (see Musette and Musette), and the case of the Scottish Highland bagpipe, which became widespread in the 19th century and has displaced some local types. Some bagpipe traditions have flourished continuously to the present day, notably in Great Britain and Ireland, in north-western Spain, and in Bulgaria, but by the mid-20th century many regional types had become obsolete. Since the 1960s, however, there has been a considerable revival of interest, and many regional and older types are again being manufactured and played....
