"Pipes Solo - Lark in the Morning", Cillian Vallely & Alan Murray

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"Pipes Solo - Lark in the Morning", performed by Cillian Vallely & Alan Murray (www.vallelymusic.com) in concert at the Institute of Musical Traditions (www.imtfolk.org), Rockville, Maryland, USA on October 1, 2012.
Cillian is accompanied by Alan Murray on guitar.
Niall and Cillian Vallely learned their music the old-fashioned way - from their parents Brian and Eithne, who founded the Armagh Pipers' Club, a group that for over three decades has fostered the revival of traditional music in Ireland's north.
His father Brian plays the Uilleann pipes and mother Eithne the fiddle, but Niall instead took up the concertina, an instrument not usually associated with music from Ulster. His fearless exploration of the concertina's undiscovered capabilities has helped redefine its role in irish music. Based since 1988 in Cork City, Niall was a founding member of the well-known group Nomos. He also played a prominent part in Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin's River of Sound television project and has performed in recent years with piping great Paddy Keenan, bluegrass mandolinist Tim O'Brien, and singer Karan Casey, his partner in life as well as music. Niall's solo recording Beyond Words was released in 1998 to much critical acclaim.
Cillian took up his father's instrument and polished his skills with tutelage from the late Armagh piper Mark Donnelly. His mastery of chanter, drones and regulators, and of all the accents and moods of the traditional piping idiom, place him in the first rank of today's Irish pipers. Cillian now tours with the group Lúnasa, and has also performed extensively in America with groups such as New York's Whirligig and Paddy O'Brien's Chulrua, and has appeared with fiddler Seamus Connolly, Riverdance on Broadway and Tim O'Brien's The Crossing.
Sound: Jessie Stern, Ash Welsh, Dave Eisner, Dave Richardson, Paul Blotkamp
Camera: Emily Whiting, Laura Christoplos, Ralph Lillie
Editing: Ralph Lillie
© 2012, Institute of Musical Traditions

[@elizabethdanon8705]

My mom’s funeral is tomorrow. This is the only comfort I have. Remembering her free spirit and Irish soul.

[@mydogsareneat]

Hello lovely human, don't forget to catch the sun today. ❤

[@maurosanchez2514]

acompaño en sentimiento. Saludos desde Buenos Aires, pueda Dios dar descanso a su alma.

[@spectrum99122]

As I get older, other types of music just fade away, but this speaks to my very soul.

[@geraldneary1948]

Brilliant

[@karenemery7844]

very well said,sir.

[@willcondon5879]

Well said and very true

[@markranfone6393]

yes

[@seanmallon2210]

Its because your irish, this music is in our blood frm generations past..its in our ether.

[@EriksGarden]

My Mom passed a year ago. I played this imagining it was the freeing of her spirit. I still get tremendous comfort listening to it.

[@ilcondottierocartografo6770]

Condolences, I pray her soul is in peace

[@robertpirsig5011]

Mine too. She loved trad music. Beautiful tune.

[@howardlavine6827]

That's very sweet. Made me cry.

[@kenyonhomfray-ph2kf]

This is the best. It is, and will be, such rembrance of my soul that maybe.

[@nicholaspetersen986]

Sad but beautiful ❤

[@TheSavageB]

As a Newfoundlander, I cant help but stomp my foot. We share a very similiar culture, the pipes in any form will always speak to me.

[@francefradet2116]

Your ancestors.

[@griffinc9071]

It's easy to forget how amazing Cillian really is. The thousands of hours he's put into this instrument is hard to comprehend. We're watching something that, in the old days, people would travel miles to see and hear. I can only speculate that some of those ornamentations are not easily done, yet he does them so flawlessly. There are few like him.

[@shaundavin3640]

Incredible talent.

[@ilcondottierocartografo6770]

Well said

[@USMC_BABE38]

Man I never get tired of hearing this

[@jimburdin]

i know how you feel.. i play this at least once a week first thing in the mornin...it gives me a feeling of well being and positive energy.. i then go out to get some of my wife's honey-do list done..lol

[@shihantemplet]

Me too, I have played it a thousand time and it just continues to amaze me.

[@cisium1184]

Nope. Not ever.

[@jimburdin]

@@SC-hk6ui funny you should say that.. i have a studio here with drums, bass, keyboards, 6 and 12 string guitars and vocals...i like to play the pipes over my sound system too bud.. it's really awesome.. do you play as well?

[@allandunn1431]

I can't stop listening to this. What a piper!

[@WildBoreWoodWind]

You're not alone,

[@marc7865]

Music for peace, music from Ireland the green country. Davy Spillane is one of best representative of irish traditional tunes. Sensitive, virtuose, poetic and open to modern sounds musician. A totally accomplished uillean pipes and low flute soloist.

[@MrIanWarwick]

The fluttering fingers, the flashing triads in perfect compound time, hitting all the triplets in effortless gracing he played to us a very old stream of sound. To be set free is to sit still and listen.

[@dukadarodear2176]

Probably the greatest single piece of Uilleann Piping, ever, by anyone, anywhere.

[@howardlavine6827]

Agree

[@davidpainterreilly5686]

Something about Irish uilleann pipes that it gives your soul and being Irish myself love it

[@petrastrobach9593]

Best music video EVER! I’ve heard it hundreds of times over the last 8 years and never get tired of it. If anything it gets better all the time! Thank you so much Cillian and Alan!

[@shaynewheeler9249]

Irish whiskey

[@yukselzengin7921]

Meine Seele freut über solch eine tolle fülle von tönen und Harmonie!!! Es gibt doch noch lebenswertes in all dem Chaos auf verrückten Erde

[@geoffreycharlton3160]

That Capo shift - wow!

[@richgouette]

right????

[@michellemurphy658]

Genius. One of the best pipers I have ever heard.

[@claudiawarhus9031]

awesome

[@bustedfender]

Superb. What about some thumbs up for that fantastic and sensitive accompaniment?

[@rowlandchapman9981]

Great guitar player

[@nickkalogeresis8036]

Cillian is definitely one of the best uillean pipers in the world today. That Lark in the Morning was something!

[@philippe.]

LOVE for ALL to my IRISH BROTHERS and SISTERS!!! AMAZING MUSIC , SO, SO, SO SPIRITUAL....

[@patrickodonnell4109]

I never tire of hearing this. Cillian is truly a Top Class musician. He makes his pipes sing 🎶.

[@lostirish405]

I never tire of hearing this. It's on the nose.

[@dakornblum]

Cillian Vallely is one of the few, true masters of the uilleann pipes and a longtime member of the great traditional Irish band Lúnasa. (If you ever get a chance to see them post-Covid don't even think about it - just GO.) I never tire of listening to this gorgeous performance of The Lark in the Morning (jig) and Gorman's & Kiss the Maid Behind the Barrel (reels). Hats off to Alan Murray for his tasteful guitar accompaniment too. Thanks to IMT for posting this and a great big howdy to all of the good folks at HMT in Takoma Park. 💖

[@janbiribiara]

Absolutely amazing! Peace for the soul...Thanks sooo much!

[@tonyhawkes2040]

Absolutely brilliant,,,put on your dancing shoes!

[@mikezimmer999]

The piper is great, but the guitarist CRUSHES it!!!

[@deltakilo3391]

One of the most beautiful performances on the uilleann pipes ever. Cillian Vallely (Lunasa) is a true virtuoso!

[@DAOFB]

I can hardly guess what the guy who once invented the uilleann pipes was thinking... "Hmm let´s see: We have a chanter you have to use both hands to play it. We have that left elbow pumping the bellows, the right elbow to controll the bag pressure to switch chanter octaves. The right knee to place the chanter on, where you have to (of course) occasionally lift it up from. So, how could I make this instrument any more difficult to play? Oh I know! Let´s invent some extra pipes you have to play with your right wrist and make them nearly imposible to keep in tune!" xD What a diabolic genius!

[@madhousetoobah]

That's the truth!!

[@Hastrica]

The pipes are actually not meant for human use. They are a relic from a time when three-armed aliens walked the earth - if you've got an extra arm, all the regulator work is a lot less demanding =P

[@eddiefitzgerald5198]

And then he said,where in the World will i get a race of people who could manage all of that..... Then he said I know..... IRELAND......

[@reneetardif5436]

gillé goko vil ville gosselin

[@o0dominic0o]

+DAOFB This made me laugh. Thanks! It's odd enough for someone to invent it, but for people to consequently (to try and) play it even more so. You must be a bit mad, or in love with the sound, or better yet both.

[@franksabatino7576]

The chirping and yipping sounds amaze and delight me!

[@bernardbarry4258]

Reminds me so much of the late great Liam O Flynn RIP.

[@thomasgillespie1029]

I'm an intermediate Uilleann piper and started playing Lark in the Morning after being inspired by this video. It's a difficult tune; getting the rhythms right in the 3rd part is very hard. Kudos to Cillian for this sterling performance!

[@WildBoreWoodWind]

Simply superb, the best performance of Lark in the Morning, Gorman's and Kiss the Maid Behind the Barrel, I've heard. Buiochas

[@adelazaneta]

Every day I bless KZbin I can listen music from each corner of world. I wisch it would exist earlier.....

[@jimburdin]

well, at least you can enjoy it now.. i too find joy in music from all corners of the planet..

[@peterconway361]

,pllk degree ujk

[@franciscoborras]

BeautyfULL

[@cynthiacronin2794]

Wow! I think this is the best Piper I have ever heard!!🍀🇮🇪

[@dukadarodear2176]

👍 👍

[@laurencet2841]

Virtuoso performance, worthy of a wide audience! Fantastic sound and musicianship!

[@gabrielkeown38]

Impeccable piping and impeccable guitar playing lve never heard the likes of them both

[@richgouette]

Has to be some of the happiest piping tunes I've heard..

[@marinajuin6609]

J'adore, merci pour ce merveilleux moment

[@patagio1373]

Fantastici....from Italy

[@USMC_BABE38]

One of my favorites on Irish pipes

[@davidpainterreilly5686]

Uillean pipes just lift your very soul

[@totalwartitan5118]

Uillean Pipes, Great Highland Bagpipes, each special, each amazing to wake up to.

[@dukadarodear2176]

@@totalwartitan5118 Go h-íontach ar fad.

[@rhonatolchard4552]

I listen to a lot of pipe music on KZbin and this is one of the best. It's got the wildness of Seamus Ennis and the sense of a breeze blowing through it. Magical - musically accomplished without losing its connection with the Celtic spirit.

[@quikie1984]

This is going to be my outro after my wedding ceremony this year. Soooo many emotions attached to these instruments.

[@MrBagpipes]

A very cool set to have playing you out of the chapel.

[@guyericpaterson6476]

Hands down the best version of lark in the morning i have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I tip my hat to you! Bravo!! wow!

I LOVE YOU Cillian!!!!!

[@patrickmoloney6001]

Absolutely beautiful it goes straight to your heart beautiful music.

[@johncorrigan8366]

Beautiful

[@Nckgdmn]

wowsers, a privilege just to watch

[@dawnmcniven4981]

You're just amazing

[@johncostelloe743]

She's a smooth clean player

[@juliewasney9540]

Thanks for the music!

[@jean-claudesalin6247]

Certainement le plus beau solo de pipes que je connaisse !! Absolument fantastique !!!

[@ivtch51]

Fanatic piping. Woow!

[@glaubs65]

Magnificent

[@DaddyMandM]

Just heard my first lark of the year today. This is really a fitting and masterly way to honor the beautiful music from the sky. Wonderful

[@deanmcconville8408]

Was at a tekno party Saturday night. Here I am Monday hearing this piped music and it so good 😊 these guys are amazing 🤩 top of morning 🌄

[@richgouette]

this tune does not get any less amazing each time I bring it up..

[@wendyballi468]

Mystical Irish aye aaaahhhhh

[@jacobsgranddaughter]

Ullean pipes - such a sweet sound here!❤️❤️

[@Jules-ju4mu]

I just happened to hear a version by Fairport Convention that I wasn't too keen on...I knew that I've heard and I could find better. Immediately thought of Lunasa and wondered if they had a version out... alas couldn't find anything...stumbled upon this video that was filmed near my old town so I thought I'd click to support these "boys"... needless to say I melted at the Quality... only near the end did I look at the screen and comments and title and realize who I found after all! ♡ Haha the heart and ears know!

[@spmish]

in addition to the incredible musicianship, I love how Alan handles the key change at 4:13 by taking only a couple of beats to move the capo

[@richgouette]

kills me every time!

[@mrpotato442]

Love Uileann pipes and I'm delighted i got this video recommended to me. Cillian is incredibly talented and this solo is a masterpiece

[@AlyxCoe]

love love love this

[@estremp]

Always in exile. Wherever I am. Soul of a piper...

[@thomasjohnson7871]

Superb!

[@kathleenkeane4364]

Best ever

[@niurkacastillo4822]

Beautiful!

[@closedaccount5278]

This is an awesome piece of traditional Irish music played at a high level of perfection, that ignites ones spirit performed Cillian Vallely and Alan Murray

[@williamkelly9859]

Well bravo

[@justin2308]

My mother’s family came to the US from Ireland. I usually don’t think much of it until I hear music like this. It’s amazing how much simple blood heritage can make you long to see a place you’ve never before seen with your own eyes. All it takes is JUST the right trigger.

[@dukadarodear2176]

Many of our greatest musicians and singers moved to the USA.

[@nadiamarsile3049]

👍🕯🕯🌟🌟💕💕thank you..Happy St Patrick...

[@haryburtoiu5111]

WHAT AN AMAZING MUSIC ! TO BE SURE THIS IS THE MUSIC OF HAVEN.

[@margaretmaher8146]

Marvelous! What a joyous tune! And I love the pipes!

[@emiliomanuelramos5850]

Bravo 👏👏👏

[@Eriador1979]

Simply spectacular! Perfection!

[@fivetwoeight528]

Beautiful 💚

[@noracurran2762]

The best ever

[@radiohifimadnessjuanantoni4358]

Joder, Que BONITA...!! Gracias...!!

[@gabrielkeown38]

Bold attacking guitar style Just whats needed Perfection

[@sherbear9452]

I came across this randomly like two weeks ago and now i listen to this like everyday.

[@dukadarodear2176]

This is part of the music of the spheres. It carries your spirit to the end of the universe and back. Here in Ireland when we had no material wealth we had this and this kept us alive.

[@geraldneary1948]

Muhammad the deceiver.

[@dukadarodear2176]

@@geraldneary1948 Don't be nasty. Here we're listening to music - a universal language.

[@sherbear9452]

@@dukadarodear2176 even after 2 years of not listening i had to come back to this. Definitely had me coming back for sure

[@maysheridan9119]

Mighty music great lads

[@talloolahmoon]

Very special 🤍

[@christopherfleming7505]

I keep coming back to this. It was the first time I really listened to the uilleann pipes, and I fell in love with them. This piper is amazing! His mastery of the pipes is astonishing and his sense of rhythm is perfect.

[@whackfoldeediedo1]

Wow this man is a master of the Uileann pipes. Beautiful and moving

[@petercane6890]

Absolutely classic. Fabulous playing boys. I keep replaying it. The pipe sound is awesome. Don't pay attention to the 110 down thumbers. They are clearly not musicians and do not deserve the pleasure of listening to you. Either that ir they play the Moron pipes and badly.

[@petriheinonen1116]

Simply adorable, just saying. One glitch, and it was magnificent and probably intended. If not: Still magnificent.

[@StefanMcShane]

The little glance of an eye at the end signals the end love that.

[@eleonorer.6503]

Now I want to hear anyone say that pipes aren't as beautiful as any other instrument

[@slevinslevin5700]

I would go as far to say that the level of skill involved here is up there with anything else known to man.

[@Martin-tn5lm]

Yes, Yes, Yes, He's simultaneously playing with all 10 fingers, his right wrist while filling the bag with air using his left.

[@stephenoneill8411]

I love the Uilleann Pipes. I like the sound of the pipes

[@gabrielkeown38]

Brilliant piping heart warming

[@gabrielkeown4620]

Great great piper Johnny Doran be proud to hear such great piping

[@celticdistortion]

Fantastic mate,😎😎😎🔥🔥🔥

[@TheSnakeCharmer]

How wonderful!! Uillieann pipes takes you to another zone!

[@hendrixplek]

yep, not like fucking electrinic pipes. you suck!

[@TheCactusjack1]

Yes, the Freedom zone!

[@massimogiuntini1]

True. I have been talking from that zone for the last 30 years 😂

[@fractode]

Wow.

[@kathycuster1714]

Pipes make my toes tap!

[@gordonstuart5800]

Brilliant music and musicians.

[@user-ew7rw8wu7g]

Sit here, in the morning, sun 🌞 on my back, eating simple good food, listening to simple good music ..aaaahhhh, life is good. Thank you.

[@ryanfindlay599]

Looks quite a intimidating instrument those uillieann pipes .....away to see if there's any lessons around my area

[@GeorgeAlexander3370]

This music made an impact to the World

[@wakou222]

Bloody lovely!