The Wind in the Reeds: The Northumbrian Smallpipes, and: Northumberland Rant: Traditional Music from the Edge of England (review)

Northumberland is a beautiful, at times rugged, and thinly populated northern English county that borders Scotland. Its border situation is emphasized by the fact that the Romans built a wall there, if not to keep out the Scots then at least to control entry to the area. The ancient Northumbria is a large area, literally the land north of the river Humber. Referred to in the English context as the "North East," the region is geographically diverse. Traditionally coal mining, shipbuilding, armaments manufacturing, and fishing centered in the urban areas and villages of the east coast; farming and some lead, coal, and iron mining once flourished in the rural areas. Many traditional industries have disappeared, but urban centers like Newcastle and Gateshead have made great strides in postindustrial development, albeit with some areas of acute poverty remaining.

As someone who has moved from the far south of England to rural Northumberland, I am personally very aware of a number of factors that separate the North East from the rest of the country. It is a long way from London; Edinburgh is much nearer. It is linguistically quite distinct from the rest of England: in an age of linguistic flattening, broad "Geordie" is hard for a southerner like me to understand, even after extensive exposure. Finally, a distinctive sense of local identity, developed since at least the nineteenth century, makes this region quite different from other parts of England. Although Scotland is a significant influence, it is not a dominating one.

This localism is also expressed through traditional Northumbrian music, which I now encounter regularly. Serious interest in the music of the region goes back to at least the early nineteenth century and expressed itself through music collections and the work of antiquarian collectors like John Bell. Published in 1882, the Northumbrian Minstrelsy emerged from the somewhat dilatory activities of a committee set up by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle "to protect and preserve the ancient melodies of Northumberland" (charge of the society's committee, quoted in A. L. Lloyd's foreword to the 1965 reprint, p. vi, J. Collingwood Bruce and John Stokoe, eds., Folklore Associates). Both aristocratic patronage and autonomous plebeian activity ensured an ongoing place for traditional music in the life of the region. The quality of traditional instrumentalists who played through the twentieth century is generally higher than in many other parts of England, and the postwar folk music revival has produced some outstanding musicians such as Alistair Anderson, Pauline Cato, and Kathryn Tickell who have learned from and built on the older traditions.

The two CDs under review provide a good cross section of Northumbrian instrumental music as it existed in the latter part of the twentieth century. The Topic Records release The Wind in the Reeds puts the focus very much on the Northumbrian smallpipes, the distinctive elbow-powered bagpipes with an end-stopped chanter, which allows a clear separation of pitches. The album is compiled from two important LPs made in 1975 and 1980: Cut and Dry Dolly and Cut and Dry #2. This CD records a period in the revival of the pipes when freshness and discovery made up for any shortcomings in experience and technique. Some of the players on the recordings are very active today and are playing better than ever, so in some ways it is a pity if they are only represented by their earlier efforts. On the other hand, Colin Ross's admirable liner notes situate the recordings in their piping history.

There are a few defects with The Wind in the Reeds. All five musicians on the recording play the Northumbrian pipes, but we are never told who is...