Old and New World Highland Bagpiping (McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History; Series One) [Hardcover]

John G. Gibson (Author)

Book Description

Series: McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History; Series One | Publication Date: September 2002

Old and New World Highland Bagpiping provides a comprehensive biographical and genealogical account of pipers and piping in highland Scotland and Gaelic Cape Breton. The work is the result of over thirty years of oral fieldwork among the last Gaels in Cape Breton, for whom piping fitted unself-consciously into community life, as well as an exhaustive synthesis of Scottish archival and secondary sources. Reflecting the invaluable memories of now-deceased new world Gaelic lore-bearers, John Gibson shows that traditional community piping in both the old and new world Gaihealtachlan was, and for a long time remained, the same, exposing the distortions introduced by the tendency to interpret the written record from the perspective of modern, post-eighteenth-century bagpiping. Following up the argument in his previous book, Traditional Gaelic Bagpiping, 1745-1945, Gibson traces the shift from tradition to modernism in the old world through detailed genealogies, focusing on how the social function of the Scottish piper changed and step-dance piping progressively disappeared. Old and New World Highland Bagpiping will stir controversy and debate in the piping world while providing reminders of the value of oral history and the importance of describing cultural phenomena with great care and detail.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gibson presents an overall view of piping patronage among the Scottish clans which has only been dealt with piecemeal in the past. Such a general survey has not been done before in such a comprehensive manner." Peter Cooke, School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh "Gibson's is a voice which deserves to be heard on the history of the highland bagpipe. His passion for the subject shines through on every page and there can be no denying his knowledge of the sources for piping history, in Gaelic as well as in English and other languages. He has produced another book of great learning." David Waterhouse, University of Toronto, and long-time piping student of late P/M John Wilson (Edinburgh), was formerly in the Pipes and Drums of the 48th Highlanders of Canada.

About the Author

John G. Gibson, a scholar of Gaelic culture and ethnographer who lives in Judique, Nova Scotia, is also the author of Traditional Gaelic Bagpiping, 1745-1945 and The Back o' the Hill.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 456 pages
• Publisher: Mcgill Queens Univ Pr (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773522913
• ISBN-13: 978-0773522916
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,799,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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