The Irish Warpipes in Classical and Orchestral Settings: A Historical Journey

Aloys Fleischmann (1910 - 1992)

In February 1926, composer Aloys Fleischmann met piper Neilus Cronin at Corkery's pub in County Cork. In his journal, Fleischmann wrote that Cronin was "the best piper in Ireland." This chance meeting would help shape how Irish warpipes would later be used in orchestra music.

Clare's Dragoons: Breaking New Ground

The story of Irish warpipes in orchestral music really began with "Clare's Dragoons." The piece started as a poem by Thomas Davis in 1840, telling the story of how Irish soldiers helped the French army defeat British forces at the Battle of Fontenoy. For the Irish people, this victory meant a lot - it felt like justice for the broken promises of the 1691 Treaty of Limerick.

In 1943, Fleischmann turned this poem into a 15-minute piece for orchestra. He wrote it for the Thomas Davis and Young Ireland Centenary, combining singers, choir, warpipes, and orchestra. The first performance took place at Dublin's Capitol Theatre in September 1945. Michael O'Higgins sang the main part, Joan Denise Moriarty played the warpipes, and Fleischmann conducted both the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Aloys Fleischmann - the album cover for the most recent performance of his works by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra.

Joan Denise Moriarty: Dancer and Piper

Joan Denise Moriarty brought something special to "Clare's Dragoons." Born in England in 1912 to parents from Mallow, she excelled in both Irish music and dance. Though she studied ballet with Marie Rambert, she was told she was too tall to dance professionally. This didn't stop her - by 1931, she had won the Irish step dancing championship of Britain. The next year, she won a silver medal for warpiping at Dublin's Tailteann Games.

When Moriarty moved back to Ireland in 1933, she started several dance companies: the Cork Ballet Company, Irish Theatre Ballet, and later the Irish Ballet Company (which became the Irish National Ballet). She worked closely with Fleischmann, who helped run the Cork Ballet Company. Together, they showed how traditional Irish music could work beautifully with classical forms. In 1933, Joan Denise Moriarty also won the Munster Open Championship in the Solo Warpiping category in Killarney, County Kerry. That same year, she participated in a solo warpiping competition at the Scots Gathering and Highland Games at Morecambe and Heysham in Lancashire.

Joan Denise Moriarty from Mallow, County Cork. Irish Dancer and Warpiper.

The Seville Suite: Irish Pipes on the World Stage

In 1992, Irish piping took a big step forward when the St. Laurence O'Toole pipe band played Bill Whelan's "The Seville Suite" at World Expo '92 in Spain. The Irish government chose them to perform alongside famous groups like The Chieftains. The suite told the story of the Battle of Kinsale and Red Hugh O'Donnell's journey afterward. Tim Farrelly, James Quirke, Terry Tully, Pat Fitzpatrick and many more Dublin based bagpipers played in the band, helping to show how Irish pipe bands could handle complex orchestra music just as well as traditional tunes.

The album cover for Bill Whelan's, "The Seville Suite" with famous Irish musicians like Davy Spillane, Máirtín Ó'Connor, Liam Ó'Flynn, Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny, Mairéad Nesbitt, Nolaig Casey and many more. 

A New Take on an Old Classic, "Clare's Dragoons".

In 2010, RTÉ Lyric fm brought "Clare's Dragoons" back to life with a new recording. Gavan Ring sang the main part, Pat Fitzpatrick played the warpipes, and Robert Houlihan conducted the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Choir. Fitzpatrick, from County Wexford, was a leading figure in the band of, "An Garda Síochána" and brought his skills on the Irish bagpipes to the performance. He plays a wide variety of Irish instruments from bagpipes, uilleann pipes, whistles and flute, to more orchestral/jazz instruments like clarinet, saxophone and many more. 

Pictured: Mark Redmond (left) and Pat Fitzpatrick (right) who are both fantastic Irish musicians. It's evident that Pat is a gifted multi-instrumentalist with his whistle, uilleann pipes, bass clarinet and flute.

Celtic Woman and Orchestra Tours

Since 2010, Irish Bagpiping has become a regular part of Celtic Woman's Symphony tours in America. Anthony Byrne, a piper from Arklow in County Wicklow, started this tradition. He played with orchestras all over America, both with Celtic Woman and The High Kings. From 2018, John Hunt from Newcastle West in Limerick took over this role, playing with orchestras at their Christmas symphony concerts across America.

This is the promotional poster for, "Celtic Woman" and their most recent symphony Christmas tour.

Recent Performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Ireland. 

The tradition keeps growing stronger. In September 2023, Tim Farrelly played Irish Bagpipes/Warpipes with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland in their show "The NSO's Bus Journey Through Scotland." Well-known uilleann piper Mark Redmond also played in this piece. Having both types of pipes in one orchestra performance highlighted how versatile Irish piping can be.

Pipe Major Tim Farrelly playing bagpipes with the NSO (National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland).

The Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland: Bringing People Together Through Music

The Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland brings together pipers from both the Republic and Northern Ireland. Their Peace Proms shows feature pipe bands from all over the island, proving that music can bring communities together. The show travels and performs in each province in Ireland and includes both bagpipes and uilleann pipes. 

Members of New Ross and District Pipe Band that performed at the Peace Proms. Irish Pipe Band Association (IPBA) Chairman Brian McMahon pictured on the far left, and accomplished New Ross piper David Doyle on the far right.

André Rieu:

More recently, Irish pipers have worked with famous classical performers. In 2017, pipers from Dublin's St. Joseph's and Black Raven Pipe Bands played with André Rieu at the 3Arena. In 2023, the Dublin Fire brigade Pipe Band joined him on stage. These shows prove that Irish piping fits perfectly with classical music while keeping its own special character.

From that first meeting in a Cork pub to today's international concerts, Irish warpipes have found their place in orchestra music. They've stayed true to their roots while helping to create something new and exciting in classical music.

References

For more information about the people and events mentioned in this article, you can visit:

- Dictionary of Irish Biography: [Aloys Freischmann]

- Dictionary of Irish Biography: [Joan Denise Moriarty]

- Pat Fitzpatrick performing Clare's Dragoons: [YouTube Performance] (6:38 warpipes begin. Pat Fitzpatrick comes in again towards the end).

- Celtic Woman Symphony Tour: [Official Website]

- National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland featuring Tim Farrelly: [NSO Twitter]

- St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band history: [SLOT Website]

- Peace Proms: [Official Website]

- André Rieu: [Official Website]