ARTICLES

The Flute Band: an ULSTER musical tradition

There is nothing so stirring as a good part flute band, playing some of the best known flute band marches to the accompaniment of an effective drum corps. Anyone who has watched a parade in Northern Ireland will undoubtedly seen and heard a band of some sort. This being so, the band tradition, and particularly as it involves flute bands, is now regarded as having an important part in the cultural heritage of Ulster. The history of these bands goes back to the early part of the 19th century. The military bands of this period had,as an integral part of there music, a flute band. These bands used a "simple system" Bb flute (five and six keyed) and the F flute. As these flutes were relatively cheap to buy and wre readily avilable, the Ulster flute band slowly came into existence. These bands modelled their playing style on the army bands in that they initially played military style music. Not only was the music similar to that of the army bands, but they paraded in a martial style. Of course as they were seen with the Orange parades of the time and with other community parades, these bands soon became very popular with the general public. Some of the oldest flute bands in the Ulster today can be traced back to this period: bands such as Churchill (Londonderry, 1835); Hamilton (Londonderry, 1851); Johnston Star (Newtownabbey, 1858); Ballygowan (1876); Corcrain (Portadown, 1879) and Hunter Moore Memorial (Newry, 1884).      As time went by, the Eb flute and Eb piccolo were introduced into the band scene. Again, this is possibly the direct result of the military concert bands, which had now started to use the Eb and Db flutes.   The introduction of these flutes gave an added dimension to the sound of the Ulster flute band. With the later introduction of the Bb bass flute, the standard Ulster part flute band had reached the zenith.  The music used by the bands was, on the whole, arrangements of orchestral and brass band music, and military marches. The music of the famous German and American composers would also soon be heard in the streets of Ulster.  Some Ulstermen were inspired to compose their own marches, and here we would remember with the highest regard great men of the past such as W. B. Blythe, John Murdie, Harry Gillespie, Alfie Perrin, and William Love. These men provided music which to the present day is the backbone of the marching Ulster flute band.   With the introduction of the C and G system in the middle 1960's, the modern part flute band has come a long way since the early day of the old "simple system." An important part of the flute band scene today is the contest work which was initiated in 1907. With the modern range of flutes, the repertoire of the music is extensive.  Of course, the other type of flute band, better known as the " melody" or "blood and thunder"band, has also been around for a long time. These bands play rousing Orange music to the accompaniment of some excellent, and probably loud, percussion. "The Troubles" have seen an upsurge of these melody flute bands all over the country, and the style is deportment of most of these bands is now very commendable.  Of late the style of playing has also started to change. Many of these bands are going back to the old part music and some are actually playing in two and three parts. Maybe some day we shall see the introduction of concert flutes and piccolos into the instrumentation: only time will tell.  As we celebrate the tercentenary of the Battle of the Boyne, and begin the last decade of the 20th century. We can look at the flute band scene in Ulster and realise that fortunately it still commands an important place in the cultural traditions of Ulster and will continue to inspire and uplift the Ulster people for many generations to come.

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