Set of Union bagpipes, bellows-blown with chanter, and bass and tenor drones and baritone and tenor regulators

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Set of Union pipes by Hugh Robertson of Edinburgh, late 18th century, bellows-blown with chanter, and bass and tenor drones and baritone and tenor regulators. Chanter is marked 'ROBERTSON' twice. Tenor drone with two joints. Bass drone looped to reduce overall size of instrument, in three sections connected by two brass U-bends. Tenor regulator with four closed flat brass keys. Baritone regulator with three closed flat brass keys. The drones and regulators are set in a common stock. Boxwood, mounted with brass and ivory. Green velvet bag cover decorated with a tussled fringe along the seam. Set of bellows with clappers or boards of elm on a brass hinge; the recessed stitching of the leather has been finished with a line of inlay and the leather has been given an outer decorative soft green leather covering. Formerly stock of J. and R. Glen, Edinburgh, or from the collection of the firm's proprietors.

The Union Bagpipe was developed for chamber music and light opera performance in the early 18th century. It is a form of bellows-blown chamber bagpipe which survives today in the versatile Irish Uilleann pipe. In the early form, it was a popular and fashionable musical instrument but now it is not generally seen beyond museum collections. It had a wider melodic range than the standard bagpipe and this was achieved in the early stages by overblowing and later by adding keys to the chanter. 'Regulators', which were stopped pipes with keys and mounted with the drones, were added to the instrument in the second half of the 18th century and were used to provide chord accompaniment to the chanter. The Union Bagpipe was used for orchestral performance in the ballad opera tradition of the 18th century and later for operatic arrangements of the Ossian Cycle.

This piece comes from the Glen and Ross Collection of musical instruments which were preserved in the shop of 'J & R Glen, Highland Bagpipe Makers' until it closed about 1978. This was the business founded in 1827 by Thomas McBean Glen in the Cowgate in Edinburgh, dealing in and repairing musical instruments. His brother, Alexander Glen, specialized in bagpipe-making and was succeeded by his son David. Thomas' sons, John and Robert Glen, succeeding to the business in 1866, probably did most to collect instruments and their antiquarian interests were carried on by Andrew Ross who acquired the business from the Glens in 1947. The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland purchased the bagpipe collections from the family in 1983.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-000-579-669-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: The Bagpipe Collection
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.1995.792
• Date: Late 18th century (date of manufacture)
  
• Material: Boxwood, brass, ivory, green velvet, elm and leather
  Set of bagpipes
  
• Dimensions: Chanter 359 mm L; tenor drone 463 mm L; bass drone 1138 mm L; tenor regulator 290 mm L; baritone regulator 369 mm L
  
• What: Set of bagpipes
  
• Subject:
• Who: Andrew Ross (successor to John and Robert Glen)
  Glen and Ross Collection (musical instrument collection)
  Hugh Robertson (manufacturer)
  John and Robert Glen, Highland Bagpipe Makers
  Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh (place of display)
  
• Where: Scotland, Edinburgh (place of manufacture)
  
• Event:
• Description: Boxwood and brass and ivory mounted set of Union bagpipes with green velvet bag cover.
  
• References:
  • Baines, Anthony,. Occaisonal Paper on Technology 9, Oxford Press, 1973. Bagpipes.
  • Campbell, Jeannie,. Highland Bagpipe Makers. Magnus Orr Publishing, 2001.
  • Cheape, Hugh,. A Checklist of Bagpipes in the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. Edinburgh: Reid School of Music, 1983, pp. 6-7.
• Translations:
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