Thinking the other day about Alain Froment. Sad. What has happened to his workshop, lathe and pipemaking equipment and material? Are there makers of uilleann pipes in Brittany making use of Alain’s tools and material? Is there any written documentation of the instruments that he made?
Marc Guilloux, Paris Pipers Club may know what happened to his equipment and whereabouts of at least some of his sets
Hi, his workshop stuff is still in service in the hands of Ronan Olivier, in Britany.
Ronan learnt pipemaking with A Froment.
http://www.ronan-olivier.net/
Regards.
Gael
Thanks. Ronan has a very nice website there that’s new to me. 
It’s good that he is carrying on the tradition. Geoff Wooff is also an engineer I believe who became involved in pipemaking. Ronan’s pipes look good. I assume they sound good too.
This kind of stopped me right in my tracks.. has anyone here played or heard his instruments? about to youtube search his name and see what pops up, but I really wanted a Froment set, something indestructable… but now what key? D or C… (already have a D and B)
“has anyone here played or heard his instruments? about to youtube search his name and see what pops up,” piperhahn.
Alain Froment playing his own set:
http://www.na-piobairi.fr/videos/micketalain/stagemick2.mpg
Here’s Alain himself in this potpurri, about 2 mintues in:
http://www.na-piobairi.fr/videos/micketalain/stagemick1.mpg
Mick O’Brien playing I believe a Froment C set
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z71B7n8kuOo&feature=related
Cillain Vallely playing his Froment set (chanter may not be a Froment?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt61Zmx5w5A&feature=related
Steve Turner & Froment set
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/Audio/non/CoppersandBrassSteveT.mp3
Looks exactly like Froments work. I once owner a Froment D Chanter, this looks the very same. Looks great.
Ballygo
“Looks exactly like Froments work. I once owner a Froment D Chanter, this looks the very same. Looks great.” Ballygo.
Good, I wasn’t sure. Cillian’s chanter looks like the windcap is made of brass and the even the keys, whereas the rest of the set looks typical Froment with the stainless steel metalwork. Also the bottom ferrule on the chanter looks different to the usual standard ferrule design I’ve seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tdZk2rzJuY
Here’s Christy O’Leary playing his Froment with “Boys of the Lough”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmGojOfEZXw&feature=related
It seems like Piperhahn and Ballygo are talking about Ronan’s instrument, while Steampacket talks about Alain’s… right?
Ronan’s instruments do look very much like Alain’s (which were based on a Rowsome design). The use of stainless steel for the metal parts was a hallmark of Alain’s work, although I have seen earlier sets made with brass.
Cillian’s chanter looks very much like Andreas Rogge’s work.
“It seems like Piperhahn and Ballygo are talking about Ronan’s instrument, while Steampacket talks about Alain’s… right?” Michael Loos.
Yes, I’m talking about Alain’s instruments. Cillian’s chanter could be a Kohler & Quinn judging by the windcap and bottom ferrule?
Yes Im talking about Ronan`s work. Im guessing the Cillian one is Koehler/Quinn or Koehler.
Ballygo
Cillian’s chanter is 100% Koehler.
Also, Ronan’s drone reed design has been in the back of my mind for the past few days… It is quite interesting, having the drone reed actually a part of the drone. Has this technique been used by anyone else? It seems slightly familiar to me for some reason.
Yeah. really more interested in Oliver’s work than Froments.. I’ve played a Froment set before and so has almost every professional piper in the last 10 years. They look great on stage and you never have to polish them… but I am more curious to hear what a set based on Froment’s design made by Ronan Oliver would sound like, and how it plays. interesting to note that almost everyone plays a different chanter with the Froment drones and regs though.
Really? I’ve never noticed this. Which pipers?
so has almost every professional piper in the last 10 years.
That’s a rather large overstatement, as is the one about ‘almost everyone’ playing discarding Froment chanters.
There are sound samples on his site.
http://www.ronan-olivier.net/#/multimedia-d-sets-2/3800285
RORY
“interesting to note that almost everyone plays a different chanter with the Froment drones and regs though” piperhahn.
Works the other way too: Eion Ó Riabhaigh, for example, plays a Froment chanter with his Taylor set.
Here Eion plays the Fox chase: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQcVrvWo2_Y&feature=related
Billy McCormick plays an O´Briain chanter with his Taylor set
Its a nice website but why on the links page does he have a “stars & stripes”/“union jack” in front of the NPU link ?
RORY
looks like the flags just indicate what language the website is in (english or french)
Understood,but I think it would be better with some other way indicating language. To some Irishmen the unionjack in front of the NPU site is like a red rag to a bull.
RORY