Episco-pipes: St. Christopher’s Hosts English Bagpipe Consort

On Thursday evening of May 1st, the halls of St. Christopher’s were filled with the deep hum of drones and the sweet skirl of chanters. The Caprock English Bagpipe Consort is an ensemble of the Texas Tech University School of Music which performs on English border pipes. That’s right – English bagpipes. No kilts or whisky to be found with this ensemble; English border pipes are a type of bagpipe found in England during the Middle Ages, which was resurrected during the European folk music revivals of the 1970s. Much of the revival of this instrument is due, in fact, to iconography and stone carvings found in English parishes.On Thursday evening of May 1st, the halls of St. Christopher’s were filled with the deep hum of drones and the sweet skirl of chanters. The Caprock English Bagpipe Consort is an ensemble of the Texas Tech University School of Music which performs on English border pipes. That’s right – English bagpipes. No kilts or whisky to be found with this ensemble; English border pipes are a type of bagpipe found in England during the Middle Ages, which was resurrected during the European folk music revivals of the 1970s. Much of the revival of this instrument is due, in fact, to iconography and stone carvings found in English parishes.

As the organist and choirmaster at our parish, and a founding member of the Consort since 2017, I am grateful to offer my artistic connections to the congregation when appropriate. (Many of you will remember the surprise appearance by the Consort at the conclusion of the 2023 Diocesan Convention worship service at St. Christopher’s.) Due to scheduling conflicts at the University, we began to practice at the church building on Sunday afternoons. Our concert was similarly rescheduled and in need of a venue – what better opportunity to share joy with the congregation and the ensemble!

Our concert featured music on our consort of English border pipes. A consort is a group of the same instrument, yet in different sizes to achieve a wider range of pitch (like a string quartet). This iteration of the consort featured four pipers and a drummer on a variety of hand percussion. Our repertoire featured music from Medieval England, Germany, Spain; marches from Ireland; dance tunes from England and France; and anthems from Ukraine and the USA. 

In addition to full ensemble pieces, several of our members performed solo pieces: a plaintive Irish air on English bagpipes; and a charming duet of a waltz and reels for two Scottish border pipes. Though I am the organist at St. Chris, I am primarily a multi-instrumentalist specialising in instruments of historical and global significance, especially rare bagpipes from across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Caucasus. This evening, I shared two “imitation songs” for the Estonian torupill; an example of poetic melodies for the endangered Georgian gudastviri; and was one half of the Scottish duet.

At St. Christopher’s, we integrate elements of historical and global music into our liturgical practice when it is tasteful and meaningful to our worship. Whether hearing chant accompanied by the renaissance serpent, choral anthems from the West Gallery and Sacred Harp repertoires, baroque instruments in small chorales, or historical temperaments (tunings) for the organ — it’s safe to say that the sight of bagpipes is certainly not unfamiliar in our parish. 

With zeal for our future concert performances, the Caprock English Bagpipe Consort extends its sincerest thanks to the many congregants who came to enjoy an enriching evening of music, as St. Christopher’s continues to celebrate God’s wonders through all things bright and beautiful.