(Video) Mark Saul’s new album ‘Praxis’ again pushes musical boundaries and draws crowds
Melbourne, Australia’s Mark Saul is well known to most pipers and drummers as an accomplished teacher, piper, bagpipe maker, reedmaker, composer, performer, and recording artist.
He’s just released Praxis, his third full album, this time with eight tracks that once again push the boundaries of Highland bagpipe music.
On the heels of the album’s launch, he’s been busy with his Mark Saul Band performing gigs in Europe, including music festivals in Italy and Sweden. They performed tunes from Praxis and his previous albums, Threnody (2023) and Myxolydian (2003).
As with all live performances, the unexpected will happen, and one of the concerts at Montelago, Italy, was met with some drama.
“In the past, I’ve performed live using my custom electronic pipes, which have the advantage of being fully chromatic, which my music requires, so no mic is needed and allowing me to move around the stage, with consistent pitch and sound,” he said. “However, things didn’t go according to plan; my electronic pipes died during a rehearsal, just two days before the first show. Luckily, I had a backup plan: a new special keyed chanter that I’d had recently made that is also fully chromatic. Switching from the electronic chanter to the acoustic involved relearning the fingering for D# and Bb, so some intense practice was required before the shows!”
As a piping instructor at Scotch College, Saul is used to teaching young students to strive for accuracy and detail. However, in his role as a stage performer delivering creative and original music that pushes the envelope, he needs to step back from the rigid and often clinical world of competing pipe bands.
“This is a completely different headspace to the competitive pipe band ‘perfect sound obsessed’ thinking that I’m usually in for my day job.” – Mark Saul
“The live performances went very well with the acoustic chanter, and although the electronic chanter has its advantages, performing with the acoustic chanter provides its own benefits; more expressive capabilities and a ‘raw’ live feel that adds to the excitement of the show. This is a completely different headspace to the competitive pipe band ‘perfect sound obsessed’ thinking that I’m usually in for my day job!”
Now that the gigs in Europe are complete, Mark Saul heads to Glasgow with the Scotch College Novice A and Novice B bands to compete at the World Championships on August 17th at Glasgow Green.
Praxis is available on Spotify, Bandcamp and most other streaming services.
Check out our interview with Mark Saul:
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