Fred Morrison
Encyclopedia
Fred Morrison is one of the world's leading pipers and is a globally renowned composer of music for the bagpipes
.
Morrison is known for his unique, powerfully exuberant, virtuosic and highly improvisational style which combines the Gaelic
piping tradition of South Uist
with contemporary and eclectic influences. One of the few pipers to have achieved success in both the competitive piping and folk music scenes, Morrison is a virtuoso
of the Great Highland Bagpipes, the bellows-blown reel pipes
, the Irish Uilleann pipes
, and the low whistle
.
Fred Morrison was born in 1963 near Bishopton
, Renfrewshire
, Scotland
where he grew up, regularly visiting his paternal family home in Geirinis, South Uist
. Taught piping by his late father - also named Fred - from the age of nine, Fred Morrison Junior became immersed in the rounded-out, driving piping style of the Outer Hebrides
. His father taught him through the traditional method of canntaireachd
, the sung vocables used to convey pipe music before notation came on the scene, and Morrison attributes much of his approach to that. "I hear that singing in my head every time I play," he told one interviewer.
His formidable prowess on the Highland Pipes gained him honours in the Scottish competition piping circuit (the most exacting in the world), including the gold medals at the world's premier piping competitions at the Northern Meeting
in Inverness
and the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban
, and he has taken the prestigious Macallan trophy at Brittany's Lorient Festival
seven times.
At a time when Scottish piping was broadening out into the burgeoning traditional music scene, Morrison was experimenting, taking on broad eclectic influences from elsewhere and developing a formidable technique that puts a unique spin on some of the most well-worn items in the repertoire. He was soon in demand as a solo performing artist, before joining the short-lived "supergroup" Clan Alba (with Dick Gaughan
, among others) before joining Capercaillie
for three years, during which time he played in and helped arrange the Highland group's music for the film Rob Roy
.
As his reputation spread, he took to the bellows-blown Scottish Lowland
or reel pipes, which have been experiencing a revival in recent years - their reeding conducive to the kind of cross-fingering and vibrato which Morrison employs in his playing. He has also become known as a virtuoso on the Irish Uilleann
pipes and low whistle
.
Morrison was voted "Instrumentalist of the Year" in the Scots Trad Music Awards
for 2004.
In 2004 he wrote a large-scale work with the orchestral composer Mark Sheridan. It was called "Paracas", as Gaelic word meaning "Rhapsody of the Gael". It was premiered at Glasgow's Celtic Connections
festival in January 2005. It involved several pipers, other folk musicians and singers, and an orchestra and chorus.
Until 2004 he worked mainly as a solo artist or as a session musician with other well-known groups. In 2006 he formed the Fred Morrison Band with Paul Jennings, Duncan Lyall, Douglas Miller and Innes Watson.
Morrison's album Outlands was released on 5 November 2009.
“ . . .playing on lowland and uilleann pipes that at times could have soundtracked the air guitar championships. Except, Morrison makes what these poor souls mime to sound tame by comparison . . . Morrison is as sensitive an accompanist as he is magnetic when leading . . . Go and be gobsmacked." Rob Adams, The Herald
(Glasgow)
“But it was Morrison who delivered the ‘coup de grace’ with a performance that was almost shocking in its mesmerizing subtlety and brilliance.” Alastair Clark, The Scotsman
Fred Morrison and Jamie McMenemy
Various artists including Fred Morrison
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
.
Morrison is known for his unique, powerfully exuberant, virtuosic and highly improvisational style which combines the Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
piping tradition of South Uist
South Uist
South Uist is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,818. There is a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The...
with contemporary and eclectic influences. One of the few pipers to have achieved success in both the competitive piping and folk music scenes, Morrison is a virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
of the Great Highland Bagpipes, the bellows-blown reel pipes
Reel pipes
Reel pipes are a type of bagpipe originating in Scotland. These pipes are generally a scaled-down version of the large Great Highland pipes...
, the Irish Uilleann pipes
Uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a...
, and the low whistle
Low whistle
The low whistle, or concert whistle, is a variation of the traditional tin whistle/pennywhistle, distinguished by its lower pitch and larger size. It is most closely associated with the performances of modern Irish musicians and groups such as Riverdance and Davy Spillane, and is increasingly...
.
Fred Morrison was born in 1963 near Bishopton
Bishopton, Renfrewshire
Bishopton is a large village in Renfrewshire, Scotland, a few miles west of Erskine.-Transport links:Bishopton sits a couple of miles from the southern end of the Erskine Bridge, which spans the River Clyde between Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. Part way along the B815 road is a computer...
, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where he grew up, regularly visiting his paternal family home in Geirinis, South Uist
South Uist
South Uist is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,818. There is a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The...
. Taught piping by his late father - also named Fred - from the age of nine, Fred Morrison Junior became immersed in the rounded-out, driving piping style of the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
. His father taught him through the traditional method of canntaireachd
Canntaireachd
Canntaireachd is the ancient Scottish Highland method of noting classical pipe music or Ceòl Mòr by a combination of definite syllables, by which means the various tunes could be more easily recollected by the learner, and could be more easily transmitted orally...
, the sung vocables used to convey pipe music before notation came on the scene, and Morrison attributes much of his approach to that. "I hear that singing in my head every time I play," he told one interviewer.
His formidable prowess on the Highland Pipes gained him honours in the Scottish competition piping circuit (the most exacting in the world), including the gold medals at the world's premier piping competitions at the Northern Meeting
Northern Meeting
The Northern Meeting, established in 1788 in Inverness, Scotland, is best known for its bagpiping competition in September. These competitions are among the most prestigious solo events in the piping world. The most famous competition is the pìobaireachd competition, which is organized in three...
in Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
and the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
, and he has taken the prestigious Macallan trophy at Brittany's Lorient Festival
Festival Interceltique de Lorient
The Festival Interceltique de Lorient or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971 by Polig Montjarret...
seven times.
At a time when Scottish piping was broadening out into the burgeoning traditional music scene, Morrison was experimenting, taking on broad eclectic influences from elsewhere and developing a formidable technique that puts a unique spin on some of the most well-worn items in the repertoire. He was soon in demand as a solo performing artist, before joining the short-lived "supergroup" Clan Alba (with Dick Gaughan
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
, among others) before joining Capercaillie
Capercaillie (band)
Capercaillie is a Scottish folk band, founded in the 1980s by Donald Shaw and fronted by Karen Matheson. They have seen four of their albums placed in the UK Albums Chart, and continue to perform and record to the present day.-History:...
for three years, during which time he played in and helped arrange the Highland group's music for the film Rob Roy
Rob Roy (film)
Rob Roy is a 1995 historical drama film directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Liam Neeson stars as Robert Roy MacGregor, an 18th century Scottish historical figure who battles with feudal landowners in the Scottish Highlands. Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, and Jason Flemyng also star...
.
As his reputation spread, he took to the bellows-blown Scottish Lowland
Border pipes
The border pipes are a type of bagpipe related to the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe. It is perhaps confusable with the Scottish smallpipe, although it is a quite different and much older instrument...
or reel pipes, which have been experiencing a revival in recent years - their reeding conducive to the kind of cross-fingering and vibrato which Morrison employs in his playing. He has also become known as a virtuoso on the Irish Uilleann
Uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a...
pipes and low whistle
Low whistle
The low whistle, or concert whistle, is a variation of the traditional tin whistle/pennywhistle, distinguished by its lower pitch and larger size. It is most closely associated with the performances of modern Irish musicians and groups such as Riverdance and Davy Spillane, and is increasingly...
.
Morrison was voted "Instrumentalist of the Year" in the Scots Trad Music Awards
Scots Trad Music Awards
The Scots Trad Music Awards celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and public attention.-2010:...
for 2004.
In 2004 he wrote a large-scale work with the orchestral composer Mark Sheridan. It was called "Paracas", as Gaelic word meaning "Rhapsody of the Gael". It was premiered at Glasgow's Celtic Connections
Celtic Connections
The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international...
festival in January 2005. It involved several pipers, other folk musicians and singers, and an orchestra and chorus.
Until 2004 he worked mainly as a solo artist or as a session musician with other well-known groups. In 2006 he formed the Fred Morrison Band with Paul Jennings, Duncan Lyall, Douglas Miller and Innes Watson.
Morrison's album Outlands was released on 5 November 2009.
Quotations from reviews
"Morrison’s formidably virtuosic playing on bellows-blown Border pipes – with some dexterous interludes on uillean pipes – comes as close to jazz as you’ll hear in piping.” Jim Gilchrist, The ScotsmanThe Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
“ . . .playing on lowland and uilleann pipes that at times could have soundtracked the air guitar championships. Except, Morrison makes what these poor souls mime to sound tame by comparison . . . Morrison is as sensitive an accompanist as he is magnetic when leading . . . Go and be gobsmacked." Rob Adams, The Herald
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
(Glasgow)
“But it was Morrison who delivered the ‘coup de grace’ with a performance that was almost shocking in its mesmerizing subtlety and brilliance.” Alastair Clark, The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
Discography
Solo albums- The Broken Chanter (1993)
- The Sound of the Sun (2000)
- Outlands (2009)
Fred Morrison and Jamie McMenemy
- Up South (2003)
Various artists including Fred Morrison
- Celtic Colours (1998)
- Piping Up (2000)