Track 6: The Mill, The Mill O'

Описание: Album: "Cauld Wind Pipes" by Hamish Moore, Dunkeld Records 1985

From the album insert:

A tune played in 4/4 time on the keyed chanter, Accompanied by D. MacLean on guitar. This tune probably dates from the 17th Century, and is definitely another of the many tunes which Robert Burns made substantial efforts to preserve. We know this because he wrote at least three sets of words that could be sung to it. The first and most respectable is a lengthy piece in praise of the common soldier, called the Soldier's Return, and is found in the most reputable collections of his works. On the other hand the two untitled versions come from the 'Merry Huses' -subtitled Baudy Frolics in Earthy Exuberance from the secret collection of Robert Burns: this I think speaks volumes about the nature of the other 2 versions.

The mechanical rhythms and sounds incorporated into this piece were recorded at the Boardhouse Mill, Birsay, on the Mainland of Orkney. This is the only water driven mill grinding Orkney bere meal left in Scotland. Bere is a primitive type of barley grown in the acid soils of Orkney and is used to make the traditional bere bannocks.

Inspiration for the combination of sounds came to Hamish while he was visiting the Mill in Orkney. What we hear are the damsel clapping the shoe as it shakes the grain down onto the shelling stone and the quern or grinding stones which grind the bere to a rough grapp.