BEDE PATTERSON
Glaisvair
CD Review by Alex Monaghan.
Own Label BPM001
8 tracks, 44 minutes
www.bedepatterson.com
Bagpipe.news November 2026.
New music for Scottish bagpipes – a phrase we hear a lot, but rarely is it as fresh and as well played as Glaisvair. Australian piper Bede Patterson has composed and arranged a body of music which complements and extends the repertoire of the GHB. Working with Dean Garrity, Ewan Johnston and Roan Anderson to add sax, keys and drums, Patterson has incorporated elements of ancient piobaireachd and recent compositions by Ross Ainslie and Fraser Fifield, but the vast majority of this album is his own creation. In addition to his composing skills, Bede is a superb piper, playing with clean and almost mechanically accurate technique: I wondered if some of the piping was electronic or even synthesised, but apparently this is all from an acoustic instrument. Certainly the improvisation before Lament for the Children seems to require a traditional chanter, and the MacCrimmon piobaireachd itself shows subtle interpretation to contrast with some of the more machinegun sections of Glaisvair. Of course there’s a didgeridoo in the mix too – I’m sure if Pàdraig Mòr MacCrimmon had been Australian he would have written for that instrument. He might not have approved the joyful jazzy jumble of Piobaireachd Saltatoria, or the eastern mood of Martyn Bennett’s Karabach where the pipes are joined by the zither of Vahideh Eisaei for a trip to the deserts of Arabia, but I feel the MacCrimmons would have been quite comfortable with the piping cadences of Dastirum and the canntaireachd foundation of the final piece which pulls all the threads of Glaisvair together. Outstanding piping, imaginative arrangements and some great guests make this mix of original and established material a fascinating album, well worth a listen.