The MacAlba

Mark Saul’s CD “Mixolydian” arrived a couple of days ago, and I’m on my 6th run through it. I mentioned this CD a week or so ago after I had heard a track being played on BBC Radio Scotland’s Celtic Connections.

“Holy Bagpipes”, Batman!

I am so impressed by the fact that every track has something to offer me. This is, most certainly, an wonderful example of a collection of high-energy, contemporary bagpipe compositions.

The take-home message is that the bagpipe is an instrument for playing music, not an instrument for playing bagpipe music.

Go visit Mark’s site at http://marksaul.tv/.

On this morning’s drive into town (it takes a bit under 30 minutes to go from door to door - and 27 km) I listened to a recording of last week’s (June 14th) edition of Mary Ann Kennedy’s Celtic Connections on BBC Radio Scotland. The very first track on the show was an eye- (or ear-) opener, an energiser and foot-tapper. It was a bagpiping piece, contemporary, fast and innovative. The piper’s name was given as Mark Saul.

We humans have a tendency to put things into slots and categories (even on this blog), and my first thought was to think “he’s a Martyn Bennett or a Paul Mounsey”. Sorry, Mark, you’re a Mark Saul.

The track played on Celtic Connections was “Forget the Golden Rules” from Mark’s “Mixolydian” CD. I’m pretty sure some piping traditionalists may think that Mark broke the rules! And, boy, am I glad he did.

On visiting Mark’s web site I discovered that’s he’s based in Melbourne - a mere 1000 km from here - with an interesting history in the piping scene.

There’s not much more for me to say to say given that I’ve only heard the one track, but based on that I’m heading off to order the CD. Thanks be to Celtic Connections.

I’ve just finished listening to the June 9 on-demand edition of Travelling Folk, a program from BBC Radio Scotland, presented by Archie Fisher. I listen a handful of BBC Radio Scotland programs on a weekly basis - Travelling Folk is one of them.

Archie Fisher interviewed Eric Bogle, a Scot now resident in Adelaide, South Australia. One of the reasons for the interview was that EMI have recently released a 5-CD set which showcases Bogle’s several decades as a performer. I’ve been a fan of Bogle’s since the 1980’s when I first heard him. During the course of the interview, a sentiment that caused me to reflect on my own situation was Bogle’s comment that Australia, rather than Scotland, is “home”. He’s been here for over 35 years. In my own case I think of myself as a Scot (I’ve not become an Australian citizen even after 26 years in the country), and, to some extent, I tend think of Scotland as “home”. Under what circumstances might I think of Australia as “home”?

The answer, I think, is “it depends”. I do recall thinking “I’m home” on returning to Australia after visiting Scotland last time (over 10 years ago). I also felt “at home” when in Scotland. Perhaps, for me, “home” is where I am comfortably settled at a given point in time?

I spent two years in Sydney (in 1997/8) - I can’t say that I ever thought of that as “home”. Does that mean that I wasn’t comfortably settled there?

So, it would seem that “home” is where the heart is - but it’s just that the heart moves around a bit that confuses the issue at times.