The pipes offer Ken Clark a challenge

Press, 22 February 1977, Page 17

The pipes offer Ken Clark a challenge

By

MAREE MAHONY

Most people can easily recognise the distinctive sight and sound of the traditional Scottish bagpipes. But one Christchurch man has made a set of pipes that are unique to this country. Ken Clark has completed the first set of Northumbrian pipes made in New Zealand. Smaller and s w e e t e r-sounding than their Scottish counterpart, the Northumbrian pipes are also different because they are not played by the mouth. Instead, air pressure is provided by underarm bellows.

“Virtually anything can be played on them,” says Ken Clark proudly. Traditional Northumbrian tunes, Christmas carols, or pop music — they can all be trilled on this fascinating instrument.

Mr Clark was born at Alnwick, in Northumbria, and was a founder member of the Alnwick branch of the Northumbrian Pipers’ Society in 1936.

For many years he dreamed of possessing his own set of pipes. When he emigrated to New Zealand he was forced to forget the idea; pipes had to be imported at a cost of at least $4OO. But one day he saw a television programme about a Rangiora man, John Miller, who had bought a set. He managed to contact him and the two became friendly. And Ken Clark’s interest in Northumbrian pipes was truly aroused when a young Wellington radio announcer arrived back from Britain with a new set — plus the instructions to make them. For the last three years, Mr Clark has been searching for the materials needed for the pipes. “The main ingredients are the raw materials, a good engineer’s lathe, the knowhow, and a tollerant wife. I had the latter two, so I began a search for the lathe and materials. It’s been a hell of a job.”

Often it has been necessary to substitute for the real thing. “African blackwood and ivory cannot be bought in New Zealand. I had to use imitation plastic ivory from Auckland. Brass lace to hem the bag is also very difficult to get, so I used thin strips of brass foil woven into string.” Many of the items he has needed Mr Clark has stumbled across accidentally. “I wanted some

lignum vitae — a very hard wood — for the chanter. I found out that it was once used for making properllor shaft bearings, when I met a man who had had some lying around his house unused for several years.” By experimenting, he has discovered that fruit woods, such as the crab apple, are equally suitable for the chanter.

Mr Clark has finished his first set of pipes, and is now working on a second set. In his spare time, he is learning to play them properly. The chanter is the most important part. It has 10 keys, which are played with the tips of the fingers, while the bellows which provide the air are controlled by the thumb of the right hand and the little finger of the left. The drones mounted in

one stock can be tuned so that the pipes may be played in the keys of G, D, or A. They are half a tone lower than concert instruments, according to Mr Clark. He is very keen that the Northumbrian pipes continue to be played in New Zealand “They are worth preserving, and unless people make the effort they will

become defunct in a 100 years.” Although they are still quite popular in Britain, a professional pipe-maker can make only about five or six sets a year. “It takes 60 hours to make them, and another 60 hours to fit the reeds and tune them before they can be played,” Mr Clark says. “After that it only takes a lifetime to learn how to play them properly.” He is quite willing to help people make their own pipes, and eventually hopes to retire and devote all his time to the job. Mr Clark has a workshop at the bottom of his garden, where he does all the cutting, turning, and brasswork. The only special tools he needs are extra long drills, and a lathe. Eventually, he would like to make a set of pipes using indigenous New Zealand woods, such as the black marai. Like most musical instruments, there is a great

deal of tradition and speculation about the origin of the Northumbrian pipes. They have been traced back to Egyptian times. Some found in 1926 have been dated at 2800 B.C, A coffin contained a set of pipes thought to have been sealed at about 1880 B.C. Goddesses are believed to have played the pipes once, but. thrown them away in disgust when they saw the reflections of their puffed out faces in the water. Most historians agree that the Northumbrian pipes were taken from France to Northumberland, as they are similar to the French musette.

The Earls and Dukes of Northumberland have retained a succession of “Duke’s Pipers” in service at Alnwick Castle for more than 200 years, and the pipes were played in the American Civil War. Barges used to float up and down the River Tyne, with pipers performing the latest tunes, and the Mayor of Newcastle had pipers providing music in the streets of his town. Much of the recorded history is very vague, but for someone as keen as Ken Clark it is another avenue to explore when he tires of making and playing the pipes.