MUSICIANS FIND LOCAL STAND-IN FOR HIGHLANDS PIPE SOUNDS SOAR FROM SANTA CLARITA GLEN INTO THE HILLS.Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - As Chris Carson of Saugus played his bagpipes bagpipes Noun, pl a musical wind instrument in which sounds are produced in reed pipes by air from an inflated bag bagpipes npl → gaita sg bagpipes under the tree shade in full tartan regalia, he appeared every bit a son of Scotland. Only his band's insignia - a palm tree framed by the sun and surf - betrays his California roots. ``I like to practice out here,'' said Carson, 48, as he breathed a powerful melody from his Highland pipes during a recent visit to Central Park in Saugus. ``They don't have volume control.'' For local bagpipe bagpipe, musical instrument whose ancient origin was probably in Mesopotamia from which it was carried east and west by Celtic migrations. It was used in ancient Greece and Rome and has been long known in India. aficionados, the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. , flanked by rolling hills Rolling hills are like a mountain chain, only a "hill chain" of hills that roll on and on continually. You will often find them in between plains and mountains, near major rivers, or randomly anywhere. The only places without rolling hills are deserts and flood plains. , makes a good stand-in for a glen of Scotland - albeit one that's more golden brown than craggy crag·gy adj. crag·gi·er, crag·gi·est 1. Having crags: craggy terrain. 2. Rugged and uneven: a craggy face. gray or emerald green. A piper for some 35 years, Carson is among those who revere Revere, city (1990 pop. 42,786), Suffolk co., E Mass., a residential suburb of Boston, on Massachusetts Bay; settled c.1630, set off from Chelsea and named for Paul Revere 1871, inc. as a city 1914. the bagpipes as something more than fodder for a Mike Myers Mike Myers may refer to:
A recent Valencia High production of ``Romeo and Juliet'' prominently featured the bagpipes, and they are once again front and center with the annual Highland Games Highland Games Athletic games originating in the Scottish Highlands and now held there and in various parts of the world, usually under the auspices of a local Caledonian society. and Renaissance Faire season under way. To describe the soul of piping, Carson looks to Irish poet William Butler William Butler may refer to:
``And never was piping so sad, and never was piping so gay.'' Olivia Valaer, 18, a competitive bagpipe player and tutor from Valencia, marveled at the instrument's power to arouse emotion. ``It's that guy in the corner crying to 'Amazing Grace,''' said Valaer, who picked up bagpipe playing about three years ago. ``Or it's when you play 'Scotland the Brave.' All the people start throwing their underwear at you.'' Lou Steele, the Valencia High senior who enriched an Irish take of Shakespeare's tragic lovers with pipe music, appreciated the instrument's ability to set mood. ``If it's the right time you're playing, it gives everything around you a really ethereal feel,'' said Steele, 17, of Castaic. ``It's like the mist is coming in where you're standing.'' Though most Americans readily identify bagpipes with Scotland, the wind instrument's roots can be traced to ancient Near East civilizations such as Greece and Egypt. It began evolving into the pipes familiar today in 12th century Europe, and entered Scotland in the 1400s. The Scottish Highlands version achieved its current form - three pipes and a flute attached to an air bag - in the late 1500s, when the rich, droning melodies and laments proved a distinguished call to arms on the battlefield. ``It's one of those instruments that just stops people dead in their tracks,'' said Steele, a piper for two years. ``It's a commanding instrument. ... Your breath is going into this bag, and the sound comes out different than anything else.'' To play bagpipes well requires nimble fingers working in unison with strong lungs, stomach muscles and a subtle ear, Carson said. A piper must force a steady flow of air from the bag into the bass pipe, while fingering the melody on the chanter chanter: see bagpipe. pipes. ``The lips are the first to go, along with your cheeks,'' he said. It's not hard to distinguish good piping from bad. ``It's like when a rabbit gets run over by a lawn mower,'' Valaer said about the sound of a mistake. Carson, whose ancestors were Northern Irish descended from Scotsmen, first picked up the bagpipes at age 12, upon hearing his elder brother play. ``I was attracted to the skirl skirl v. skirled, skirl·ing, skirls v.intr. To produce a high, shrill, wailing tone. Used of bagpipes. v.tr. To play (a piece) on bagpipes. n. 1. ,'' he said, referring to the instrument's highest, piercing tones. ``It might have been harkening back to my ancestry.'' Carson has been hooked since. He first marched with his pipes in 1970 in a Newhall Christmas parade, and he has been active in the Southern California bagpipe music scene with his band - the Pacific Coast Highlanders. ``(If I didn't play the pipes) I wouldn't know how to act,'' Carson quipped. Valaer got interested by way of punk rock. A fan of the Boston-based Dropkick Murphys, she first set eyes on bagpipes at one of their concerts. ``I loved the sound,'' Valaer recalled. ``At first, I was thinking, When is the good sound going to happen?'' She dove head-first into playing the pipes, traveling to festivals, taking lessons and practicing to refine her skill despite occasional noise complaints from neighbors. In August, she will travel with her band, Misty Isle, to Edinburgh, Scotland, to take part in international bagpipe competition. Though there are no known Scots in her ancestry, Valaer is relishing every moment spent with the community of pipers. ``Everyone is so friendly.'' she said. ``Just put on a kilt kilt Knee-length, skirtlike garment worn by men as part of the traditional national garb, or Highland dress, of Scotland. It is made of permanently pleated wool and wrapped around the wearer's waist so that the pleats are in the back and the flat ends overlap in front. , and you're already family.'' Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253 eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Competitive player Olivia Valaer of Valencia knows of no Scotsmen in her ancestry, but the 18-year-old says the sound of the bagpipes touches her deepest emotions. (2 -- color) Chris Carson of Saugus and Olivia Valaer of Valencia play their bagpipes under Central Park shade trees in the Santa Clarita Valley, their stand-in for a glen of Scotland, but with much less water and mist. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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