His music moves people

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This article was published 28/08/2004 (7725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Historians are divided about how bagpipes came to Scotland — some say they were brought by the Romans, while others say the instrument came from Ireland.

According to one source, the first written mention of the Scottish Highland, or “Great Pipes,” was in 1623, when a piper was prosecuted for playing them on Sunday.

Good thing they don’t do that anymore, or Dr. Keith MacDonald would be in big trouble.

MacDonald is Winnipeg’s only church piper. He plays six to eight times a year at Ness Avenue Baptist Church, where he is a member, as well as at numerous weddings and funerals. And he doesn’t just play Amazing Grace, the hymn most people associated with bagpipes. “It’s a beautiful song, but any piper can play it,” he says. Instead, MacDonald can call upon any of the 1,500 hymns that he has arranged for bagpipes.

“I have a passion for the pipes and a passion for hymns,” MacDonald says. “I’m constantly striving to make hymn arrangements for pipers to play in church settings.”

MacDonald, who retired nine years ago after a 42-year career in optometry, traces his love for hymns back to his mother, who used to sing them to him when he was a child. It was also his mother who, after hearing him play hymns many years later in a church, suggested that he share his hymn arrangements with other pipers.

He took her advice to heart. Altogether, he has published 10 books of hymn arrangements for bagpipes, including the most recent, Wondrous Love, which was released this month. All told, over 6,000 copies of his books have been bought by pipers all over the world, mostly through stores specializing in Scottish-related items, and on the Internet.

“They’re all self-published,” he says. “I tried to get church publishers to do it, but they all sent me polite and respectful letters that said no, they didn’t think there was a market for hymn arrangements for bagpipes.”

MacDonald finances each new volume from sales of the previous book. “I’m not getting rich on it,” he says. “I just want to break even.” Not that making money from the books was ever his goal: “This is my ministry,” he says.

He also uses the books to share about his faith; each volume contains short essays and devotional materials on a variety of subjects that are designed to help readers deepen their relationship with God. “You just can’t play the hymns and expect to lead a congregation in worship,” he says. “You have to also know Christ in your heart.”

MacDonald, who plays the Highland pipes, admits that some people find it strange to hear hymns played by bagpipes, given their “emotional, weird and haunting quality.” As well, since bagpipes tunes are often played at funerals, or in the form of laments, they are usually associated with sad occasions. As Scottish poet Robert Burns said of one particularly sad bagpipe song about lost love: “That’s a fine song for a broken heart.”

But for MacDonald, it’s that very uniqueness that makes playing hymns on the bagpipes such a special thing. Hymns played on the pipes are “even sadder than it was meant to be, or happier, if the music is joyful,” he says.

But arranging hymns for bagpipes is a challenge, due to the bagpipe’s limited range. “I have to fit the hymns to that range, sometimes switching keys to make it work,” he says. “I call the process ‘selective compaction.'”

It takes him several hours to arrange each hymn for the bagpipes.

He enjoys publishing the books, although being arranger, publisher, financier, marketer, accountant, mailer and warehouse manager can be time consuming. But it’s playing that MacDonald really lives for; when he plays in church, he dresses in full Scottish regalia and marches up and down the aisle. “It’s a piping tradition to march when playing,” he says.

His listeners appreciate the effort. “His arrangements are so well done,” says Ness Avenue Baptist Church pastor Bob Shepansky. “The tunes are very recognizable. His music is a welcome addition to our services.”

Shepansky admits, however, that hymns played on the bagpipes can sometimes “take visitors by surprise. When bagpipes are played in a small building, like ours, it can really be intimidating.”

Along with publishing books and playing at his church, MacDonald also helped found the Fellowship of Christian Pipers and Drummers, which seeks to encourage and support Christian involved in piping and drumming around the world. “I’ve been privileged to meet a lot of Christian pipers and drummers around the world, and they’ve become my special friends,” he says.

Curiously — and sadly, for Macdonald — he’s sold very few of his books in Winnipeg. “It would be wonderful to find another church piper here, who wants to lead a congregation in worship with his or her pipes. But right now there doesn’t seem to be any interest.”

MacDonald, who plays in the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Unit 60 pipe and drum band, is also in demand to play hymns and other traditional bagpipe tunes at funerals in the city. “I play at about two dozen each year,” he says, adding that he also plays at weddings.

The last time MacDonald played at a service at Ness Avenue Baptist Church was on Good Friday. “I played Were you there?, Jesus paid it all, and My Jesus I love thee. When I finished, all the sadness that had accumulated in my lifetime passed over me. I think it did the same for everyone, for there wasn’t a sound.”

Copies of MacDonald’s books of hymn arrangements for bagpipes can be purchased by calling him at 832-5475, or by sending an e-mail to krmacdon@mts.net.

John Longhurst is a Winnipeg writer and Faith page columnist

PHOTO PHIL HOSSACK/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS