Re: Don't miss the PBS Bagpipe special

[Jean Haddow <jean@hadpad.demon.co.uk>]

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In message <003401be3c03$3b005ac0$227962ce@laurelfe>, Spirit One Email
<laurel@spiritone.com> writes
>
>Thought some of you might be interested in this series coming up on PBS maybe at 
>a different day and time in your area.
>
>BAGPIPE: Instrument of War
>Is a comprehensive film history of the Great Highland Bagpipe, whose use in
>war is an ancient tradition among the Celtic people.  Narrated by actors
>Charlton Heston, Tom Conti and Hannah Gordon (Upstairs, Downstairs), this
>series features musician Phil Collins, sportsman Jackie Stewart and Prince
>Charles, as well as veterans, historians and musicians from around the
>world.
>
>Part 1 of the Laddies From Hell
>JANUARY 10 10 PM  in Portland, OR
>
>Full of drama, humor and emotion, this episode tells the early story of the
>bagpipe--from the  "Braveheart" days of William Wallace to Culloden, and
>from Ticonderoga to the Alamo.  The program also features an extensive
>conversation between Prince Charles and the last surviving piper from WWI.
>Armed only with his pipes, he led a suicidal charge into machine gun fire
>until he reached the enemy trenches.  He and other veterans tell of the
>extraordinary courage of the over 1,000 pipers who fell during the conflict.
>
>Part 2
>January 17, 10 PM _Portland, OR
>The Great Highland Bagpipe has influenced the lives of many people both in
>peace and war.  This episode traces the effect of the instrument from the
>battlefields of WWII to the present day, and examines how the sound of the
>pipes touches the soul and wakens a distant past in people all around the
>world--from the late Pres. Kennedy to rock star Phil Collins, The "call to
>the blood" is strong.
>
>-Laurel
>Portland, OR
>

As a Scot I find this less than appropriate - I just can't express quite what it
makes me feel.  Yes, it has emotional connotations but so has much of the folk
music  of Scotland.  It is very much connected with those who died in battle -
do we really want to focus on such negative aspects of our musical tradition? 
Yes, we mourn but we also need to go forward and not into battle. Jean Haddow
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