Fans of traditional Irish music will love this selection of videos from legendary uilleann pipe player Séamus Ennis.
Ennis is widely considered to have played a big part in the revival of the uilleann pipes during the 20th century. He was a co-founder of Na Píobairí Uilleann, which is an organisation dedicated to promoting the instruments.
Many Irish songs and dance tunes may have been lost to history forever if it hadn’t been for Ennis’ tireless work. He is credited with preserving up to 2,000 pieces of traditional Irish music.
Ennis released nine albums of Irish music during his lifetime. There are also several recordings of him playing the pipes that have been released posthumously, following his death in 1982.
Here we will take a look at a few videos of the great man in action.
The first video is simply called ‘Séamus Ennis, god of uilleann pipes’. The description calls him the world’s most famous piper and says: “Séamus seen here demonstrating his genius ability to play the most difficult uilleann pipes.”
Take a look below.
The next video is called ‘Séamus Ennis plays a reel’.
It begins with Ennis introducing the piece of music. He says: “There’s a reel I’d like to play for you – a reel composed by my father in 1913/14.
“I found his manuscript at home and I learned the reel from the manuscript. He was delighted to hear me playing it.”
Take a look below.
The third video sees Ennis playing ‘An Poc Ar Buile’.
In this video Ennis plays in front of a small, intimate crowd.
Finally here is a video of Ennis playing ‘Have You Been to Carrick’
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Great videos from Séamus Ennis – master of uilleann pipes
