''Chieftain's Salute'' is a concerto in one movement for

Great Highland Bagpipe The great Highland bagpipe ( 'the great pipe') is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, and the Scottish analogue to the great Irish warpipes. It has acquired widespread recognition through its usage in the British Armed Forces, British mili ...

and orchestra by

Graham Waterhouse Graham Waterhouse (born 2 November 1962) is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, '' Three Pieces for Solo Cello'' and '' Variations for Cello Solo'' for his own instrument, and str ...

. The work is one of few to use the bagpipe with a classical orchestra. A version for bagpipe and

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

, Op. 34a, was composed in 2001. It is based on an earlier work for bagpipe and string quartet. ''Jacobean Salute'' was also derived from the early work, with a wind quintet replacing the bagpipe, published in 2003. A version for bagpipe and orchestra was composed and first performed in 2015.

Background and history

At Scottish Highland gatherings, a "Salute" is played to honour a person, here the "Chieftain" (the Head of a Clan). Waterhouse composed the first version of ''Chieftain's Salute'' in 1994 for bagpipe and

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

, for a fund-raising event. He wrote a version for bagpipe and string orchestra, Op. 34a, in 2001. It was premiered and first recorded with soloist Graham Waller. In 2015 Waterhouse wrote a version for bagpipe and symphony orchestra. It was first performed on 8 November 2015 at the Capitol Theater in

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

, again with Graham Waller as the soloist and the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt conducted by Steven Lloyd González. Waterhouse derived from the first work in 1994 also ''Jacobean Salute'', a version without bagpipe, but scored for wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon), and

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet ...

(two violins, viola, cello and double bass), with the winds mainly playing the role of the bagpipe.

Glissandi In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a wikt:glide, glide from one pitch (music), pitch to another (). It is an Italianized Musical terminology, musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In ...

of the strings imitate the blowing of the pipes (). It was premiered in 1995 and published in 2003 by Lienau in Frankfurt.

Music

The opening theme is based on "Lady Doyle's Salute", a lament from the 17th century. The strings play alone for a while, the bagpipe enters, also first playing first, then both interact, with the strings at times imitating the drones of the bagpipe. Later passages are reminiscent of the old Scottish dances jig and

reel A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...

, in variations with "increasing complex figurations".

Performances and recording

''Jacobean Salute'' was first performed in 1995, and notably played in a composer portrait concert at the Gasteig in Munich on 5 October 2003, along with the Piccolo Quintet, the premiere of the Bassoon Quintet, the Nonet and other chamber music, played by Burkhard Jäckle, Lisa Outred, Albert Osterhammer, Ulrich Haider, Lyndon Watts, Odette Couch, Kirsty Hilton, Isabel Charisius, the composer and Matthias Weber (including several members of the Munich Philharmonic), conducted by Yaron Traub. The version for bagpipe and string orchestra was recorded in 2002 (released in 2004) by Graham Waller and the

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra spe ...

, conducted by Traub. A reviewer noted that it is "a deeply serious work", with the Highland Bagpipe "a real partner in this virile, rousing piece of music".

References

External links

* {{italic title Compositions by Graham Waterhouse Concertos Contemporary classical compositions 2001 compositions Compositions for bagpipe