• 02.04.2023

To the Sounds of Scottish Bagpipes

To the sounds of the Scottish bagpipes, literally, a seminar was held for students of Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tula State University as part of “Linguistic and Cultural Lecture Hall” and the course “History and Culture of the Countries of the Language Being Studied.”
It was organized by the candidate of philological sciences, associate professor of the department “Linguistics and Translation” Sergey Aleksandrovich Pukhanov.
To begin with, the teacher offered the students a game dedicated to the history and culture of Scotland.
And at the very moment when the students started feeling the spirit of this amazing country and got ready ready “to touch the beauty”, it sounded. A bagpipe! And a real piper in a kilt appeared having a traditional bag - a sporran.
The performance was really impressive!
Evgeny Lapekin is the leader of the City Pipes Scottish Bagpipe Orchestra (Moscow). Twenty years ago, this man fell in a great love with the bagpipe. Years have passed, but his feelings for the instrument only grew stronger. And the Scottish bagpipes reciprocate the Russian musician.
And it all started, one might say, with creative curiosity.
Eugene transferred from Izhevsk Musical College to Moscow Gnessin Musical College. He played the double bass.
And then one day he saw the poster of the concert. And it said that a piper would perform.
Eugene bought a ticket, came to the concert and took his place among the audience. All the spectators, including him, were impatiently waiting for the piper, all eyes were riveted on the stage ...
Suddenly, quite unexpectedly, the sounds of the music were heard behind the backs of the audience. The piper appeared from where he was not expected, and proudly walked across the hall to the stage. It must have been some kind of special trick. And the effect of it could not be compared to anything!
The musician's father, having learned that his son had exchanged the double bass for the bagpipe, of course, was upset. But Eugene made his choice.
He left Moscow Gnessin Musical College and started to save money for bagpipes. When he started playing melodies on it, he made it a rule not to play for more than 15 minutes at each metro station ...
The musician constantly masters his skills. In 2012, he created the the City Pipes Scottish Bagpipe Orchestra. At first it had two pipers and two drummers. They performed folk songs and rock. Then the organist and bass drummer joined the guys. Their creativity sparkled with new colors.
Pipers used to walk ahead of the troops. It used to be a rather dangerous profession. Bagpipers are now often at the forefront of popular culture.
Like any instrument, the bagpipe has its own character, its own style, its own soul.
Eugene came to visit students with his faithful friends. The big Scottish highland bagpipe, he said, is one of the loudest instruments in the world. It can do national compositions, rock, and Russian folk.
The Irish ulnar (air is pumped by the elbow) bagpipe is more virtuosic than the Scottish one and wider in range. By it, the musician performed "Yesterday" by The Beatles.
Evgeny also plays the duduk. He admitted, however, that the bagpipes and the duduk were enough for him. Playing too many instruments for a musician, according to him, is not always useful. You need to masterfully play those instruments that are closer to your heart.
The guest not only presented his creativity to the students, but also held a master class on playing the bagpipe for them.
There were also girls among those who wanted to try to play a bagpipe.
“Even girls can play the bagpipes!” Eugene encouraged them.
Alina Lunina, a third-year student in Linguistics, did not refuse such an opportunity.
— I heard this wonderful musical instrument live for the first time! Trying to play by myself as a piper is great! she said. — I really enjoyed today's seminar! Such events turn learning a foreign language into an exciting process.

Tatiana Krikunkova
Photo by Mikhail Gindin