The McPeake Family: Will Ye Go Lassie Go

I came across the McPeake family through the obituary of Francis McPeake. He was its third generation of celebrated folk musicians, so was known as Francis III. His grandfather (Francis I) and father (Francis II) are playing the pipes here, and his uncle is one of the harpists.

The obituary gives some family history:

The first piping McPeake was Francis I, who learned to play from John O’Reilly, a blind piper. Francis I won competitions and in 1910 attended the Pan-Celtic Congress in Brussels. At this time, there were very few pipers in Ulster and Francis’s rarity was enhanced by his unprecedented practice of playing the pipes to accompany his singing of traditional songs.

Francis I taught his son, Francis II, to play the pipes, and in 1952, Peter Kennedy, working for the BBC, recorded the father and son playing and singing. This led to a performance at the English Folk Dance and Song Society’s annual festival at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1953 where they were enthusiastically received. Although the instrument was rare in Irish traditional music, the London visit prompted the acquisition of a harp, which was played by Francis II’s brother, James. The trio visited the World Youth festival in Moscow in 1957, followed by first-prize success at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

This recording dates from 1960. Will Ye Go Lassie Go was written from some scraps of traditional Scottish verse and music by Francis I as a tribute to his wife after she died. It has become a folk standard under the title Wild Mountain Thyme.

I love the harmonies here. The way they wash over you reminds me of the psalm singing on the Outer Hebrides.

And I'm sorry about the sound quality, but that's authenticity for you.