I believe that bagpipes; in the right hands; to be a superb musical instrument, producing the whole spectrum of musical emotions.
It has been my privilege to know the greatest piper of all times; Donald MacPherson who has won more competitions than anyone in the history of piping. I could listen to him for hours and derive great pleasure. Being a great musician he appreciates a wide variety of music from opera, orchestral, jazz, and even may I say brass bands, and is very discerning when it comes to quality of performance.
Bagpipes just like brass instruments in the wrong hands can perform the operation that turns hearing people deaf.
Dafydd ap Iago
P.S. The Bagpipes have been used in opera, and orchestral music.
Schwanda the Bagpiper
• Jaromír Weinberger. Opera in two acts. 1927.
• Libretto by Miloš Kareš, based on traditional Czech children's stories.
• First performance at the National Theatre, Prague, on 27th April 1927.
The robber Babinski takes refuge in the farmhouse of Schwanda and his wife Dorota and he and Schwanda go to relieve the Queen of melancholy, as she suffers under the power of a wicked Magician. Schwanda plays his bagpipes and the Queen recovers, suggesting marriage, which Schwanda accepts, kissing her. The Queen is angry, however, when Dorota and the Magician appear, and Schwanda is condemned to death, escaping with the help of Babinski and his bagpipes. He swears to Dorota that if he ever kissed the Queen, he will go to hell, and promptly does so. There the Devil asks him to play, a request he refuses, and then seeks his soul. Babinski rescues him again, this time beating the Devil at cards. Schwanda is finally re- united with Dorota, although Babinski had had hopes of her himself.
Schwanda's bagpipe Polka enjoys great popularity, to which the second act Fugue comes a close second. The opera itself has enjoyed considerable success, with its use of Czech folk material.