Bagpipes at the wedding

Subject: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: fretless
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 04:25 PM

OK. So the daughter is getting married this September. It is an outdoor wedding and we have already selected the piper. Now we need tunes for the processional, the recessional, and for the new bride and groom's entrance into the hall after the ceremony. Suggestions?

Mari's Wedding is acceptable, although obvious, as is Scotland the Brave. I'm not convinced Birnie Bouzle would do the trick.

Oh yeah -- one more thing: this is a typically American mixed event. The bride's heritage is Jewish and Scots-Canadian; the groom's Scottish and German. I am trying hard to convince the piper not to try Hava Nagila, at least for the ceremony, but success is not guaranteed.

Subject: RE: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: Jack Campin
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 04:52 PM

I have heard of a piper in Scotland doing an Elvis number for the moment when everybody leaves the church (dunno what you call that).

"Muss i denn"/"Wooden Heart" almost fits the pipes (the seventh will be flattened when it shouldn't be, most people won't notice) and it's German-American fusion, so what more do you want?

"Hava Nagila" would sound horrible on the pipes. Just about anything that sounds identifiably Jewish will be in the wrong scale.

Subject: RE: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 05:06 PM

"Mo Nighean Donn Bhoidheach" was played at my daughters wedding. Any good piper should know the tune well.

Subject: RE: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 07:25 PM

"Highland Cathedral" was written by a German, so might fit the groom: it's a tune people either love or hate: in my family they love it!
I did ask the piper for my daughter's wedding if he could play "St Kilda Wedding": he didn't know it, but I sent him the dots and he managed to play it.

Subject: RE: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: irishenglish
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 09:39 PM

Well when my wife and I got married last year I had wanted to surprise her with a piper....but budget prevented that, plus it was indoors in a small space, which wouldn't have worked. The compromise was Scotland The Brave (since she is part Scots) for the recessional. My advice, if I may throw my 2 cents in, is to go with Scotland the Brave for at least one of the 3, as it is a tune that everyone knows (or at worst, think is the music from the old Old Spice ads!). Obviously there is so much to choose from, but we decided to have that delicate balance between what's known, and what is unknown to most-such as our ceremony itself, which was a handfasting. In any case-congrats to all involved.

Subject: RE: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 10:05 PM

This is surprisingly not so uncommon in today's world. The bagpipes work well with the traditional Jewish Klezmer tonal scale - (I trust that Rabbi Sol will be available to check into this thread.)

Havana Gila - with the holding of hands and circiling spiral and weaving of guests....and of course the chair ceremony....any Goyhim marrying into Judism needs to experience this....(oy vey? You think SHE is marrying into Christianity and the first born son will not be a Heb?)

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Love is blind - and that is GOOD!!!

Subject: RE: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: eddie1
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 11:47 PM

Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" sounds wonderful on the pipes!

Eddie

Subject: RE: Bagpipes at the wedding
From: fretless
Date: 01 May 09 - 12:19 PM

Thanks to all! Meeting with the piper is this weekend. I'll post how it comes out (although perhaps not until after the actual wedding).