Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Burke
Date: 13 Sep 02 - 12:58 PM

I don't know a way to search everything that's been recorded, but I did do a search in WorldCat. But what I found would comfirm smallpiper's conjecture, unless you want to blame it on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo of 1972.

Searching Bagpipe AND "Amazing Grace" on recordings only, I got 141 hits (lots of duplicates) but none are prior to 1972. Unless these are the same, there seem to be 2 from 1972:
Regimental Band and Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Pipes and Drums of the Regimental Brigade of Scotland.

Released in 1973, the first cut for a the recording of the 1972 Edinburgh military tattoo: (Pipes & drums) Amazing grace / trad.

Unfortunately, other Tattoo recordings in earlier years do not all provide track lists. But Amazing Grace is conspicously absent from a recording called "Scottish pipe band favourites" done in 1970.

So did the pipers get the idea from Judy Collins?

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Les from Hull
Date: 13 Sep 02 - 01:27 PM

Here's a thought - how come a cavalry regiment has a pipe and drum band? Surely THAT must scare the horses!

Who can date the Judy Collins thing (and what was it anyway). Did she get the idea from the Great Awakening recording in 1969? I'm sure that I wasn't the only one of us on this forum that was at the Isle of Wight Festival in '69.

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Burke
Date: 13 Sep 02 - 02:34 PM

"Whales and Nightingales" - 1970 Nov 12 (Certified Gold, 1971 Apr 6) - Elektra EKS-75010 (stereo LP), 75010-2 (CD), TC5-75010 (cassette) This was recorded at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in New York City with many of Judy's friends forming the choir.

There's a small book, that I have only as a photocopy where Judy writes about the meaning of Amazing Grace for herself. From what I remember, she says she grew up in a church where it was sung so she knew it all her life. She's also included in Bill Moyer's PBS program on Amazing Grace so you could see if you can find the video & see what she has to say. I watched it, but have forgotten.

There's a detailed discography of both Judy Collins & Joan Baez in rec.music.folk from July 1997. The Subject line is Amazing Grace as Folk. You can try to locate it at groups.google.com. I'm not sure how to link directly, but maybe this will work. Really ugly clicky

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Genie
Date: 14 Sep 02 - 12:55 AM

LOL, Geoff!

Kim C, You say, "What the original tune (to John Newton's lyrics) was, no one seems to know...". I believe he wrote the "lyrics" as a poem, with no reference to music, and folks put the words to music later. Am I right?

Genie

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: GUEST,Julie
Date: 14 Sep 02 - 05:22 PM

I wonder if Amazing Grace and Scotland the Brave are so popular because they are so readily identifiable to the ear. After all, a lot of bagpipe tunes sound really similar to the untrained .....

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: BH
Date: 14 Sep 02 - 06:47 PM

To me the the most memorable renditions of this wonderful piece are Paul Robeson's and Bill Crofut's. Not overproduced on a recording and sounding as coming from the soul.

Bagpipes---what can I say---personal taste I guess.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Artful Codger
Date: 04 Sep 05 - 02:40 PM

There is an a cappella version of Amazing Grace sung to a different tune on "Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways". The singer is Horton Barker, and the track was recorded in 1962. Horton sang what he called the "old melody", which he learned from a neighbor. The notes say "Amazing Grace", credited to John Newton (1725-18097), was first published in 1779, but they neglect to mention whether any music was published with it. Those of you sick to death of the usual tune might appreciate this alternative.
--Rob

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: GUEST,Urbane Guerrilla
Date: 29 Jun 11 - 06:37 PM

My first piping teacher, teaching me out of the College of Piping's Tutor, Vol. One, which starts you on Scots Wha Ha'e, which I suppose may be regarded now as the earlier Scottish national anthem, that perhaps STB should be called the Scottish national march.

It and AG are two tunes no piper should be allowed out in public without, both for reasons of popular request and that if you can play the standard setting of STB well, you've arrived at a good -- beginning -- technical standard of play and can at least hold your end up in a massed-bands set.

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: catspaw49
Date: 29 Jun 11 - 07:12 PM

I'd like to have all the pipers in the world get together and play any of the ditties mentioned above.......while at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. I would consider that an excellent massed-pipe bands gala!

Short of that, how about the UN passes a rule stating no form of piping can be done in public or on recordings until the piper can play "Flight of the Bumblebee."


Spaw

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Jack Campin
Date: 29 Jun 11 - 07:22 PM

Back in 1779 most hymns were written to one of a few standard metres and it was expected that you might vary the tune. This survived in Scotland well into the 20th century, when you got editions of hymnbooks and more particularly psalters with the pages split horizontally, so you could turn the text and music pages independently and match them up however you wanted.

Newton would have intended it to be sung but not to any specific tune.

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Joe_F
Date: 29 Jun 11 - 08:04 PM

The first time I heard "Amazing Grace" was in the '60s, at the beginning of the movie _Alice's Restaurant_. Since then, I have mostly heard it sung by persons of my acquaintance whom I admire, so it has that sentimental value for me. It is on my list of magical songs, and for my book I have amalgamated all the various versions I have seen & heard.

I indeed have a tape of the Royal Scots Dragoons with that song on it, but I listen to it seldom enough that I do not consider it overperformed.

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Leadfingers
Date: 30 Jun 11 - 08:05 AM

There is a discrepancy with the date of the Erliest Pipe Band recordoing of Amazing grace - I was in the RAF Cosford Boy entrant Band in 1959 , and was threatened with Disciplinary Action when three of us played AG after marching the lads to work one morning ! We had heard the record and learned it then !!

Ex Sergeant Piper !!

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 08 May 20 - 12:16 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJi-uKOlLV4&list=RDOJi-uKOlLV4&start_radio=1

It certainly has staying power.

When she gets to the end of it, she begins speaking. You might wish to lower your volume control just a bit earlier than that.

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: cnd
Date: 08 May 20 - 06:19 PM

NC State University's marching band does a military appreciation halftime show every year, rotating between a set of shows every three years. One year is an armed forces salute, one is a medley of patriotic songs (America the Beautiful, Battle Hymn of the Republic, maybe a few others?), but the third and by far my favorite is Amazing Grace, which combines the marching band and the bagpipers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiyzZwdP8U

That's a video of it, but because the camera is so high up it doesn't quite capture the full sound of the bagpipes. To hear that in person is probably the most powerful halftime show I've seen.

Subject: RE: Amazing Grace and the Bagpipes
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 May 20 - 07:01 PM

I have a hard time telling Scotland the Brave from the Garry Owen, despite Errol Flynn.

Love bagpipes, but I truly *loathe* Amazing Grace. You are not wretches, and neither am I. Barf.

Now lemme tell you how I *really* feel...