Scottish Bagpipe Maker Chooses to Work in Bulgaria

Scottish bagpipe maker Douglas MacPherson has chosen the village of Cherven, Ruse, to practice his craft in Bulgaria.

MacPherson has been living in Bulgaria for two years now, using part of the old house he and his wife Jan inhabit as a workshop, BGNES reported.

The Scotsman has equipped the premises with the necessary machines, which he has brought from his homeland.

MacPherson, the last apprentice of the legendary Bert Gillanders, has been making bagpipes for over 40 years.

While his first pipe took him about two years to make, now he needs no more than 4-5 days.

"To make a pipe you need African Blackwood other colorful types of wood, as well as nickel, silver, imitation ivory, coconut, etc. I buy pre-cut standard-size pieces of wood- the Blackwood comes from Germany or Spain, and the other types from Turkey. The textile material is from Scotland. I dent the pieces of wood, I shape them and leave them to dry. After that, I finish off with the lathe. The textile part of the bagpipe is nowadays predominantly made of synthetic materials.", McPherson explains.

He has made around 300 bagpipes so far, which can be ordered online, and boasts customers form all over the globe, including Australia.

McPherson himself used to play the bagpipe, but he no longer does it. He knows that bagpipes are also a typical instrument for Bulgaria, he has heard recordings of local bagpipes, but he has never tried to make one. As a specialist, he explains that the structure and the sound of the Scottish and the Bulgarian bagpipe differ substantially.

He says he would gladly visit the Rhodope Mountains to hear Bulgarian bagpipe music live.

Cherven, McPherson`s current place of residence, is located in northeastern Bulgaria, in the Ruse District. A town of the same name used to exist near the village during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The old town of Cherven, which used to be a key commercial and military hub between the 12th and the 14th centuries, was destroyed after the Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars.

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