I don’t know if any of you knew Bill Fitzgerald, a musician from Cambridge who played all sorts of instruments including pipes. He lived in Dublin for a while way back, and took lessons at NPU - he was a very clever man and very well liked. He sadly passed away from a brain tumour in April of this year, and I have the task of selling his uilleann sets.
I am working through them to get them into excellent playing order, and I’m putting photos and sound samples up on the website at http://www.hunterpipes.co.uk/ForSale.html as I complete them.
There are 4 sets; a 3/4 C of mine, a Van Daal half set, as tasty plumwood 4 drone 3/4 Rogge B set, a 1976 Froment full set.
So far only my set is up, so Froment fans wipe away your drool. I’ll update here as I get the other sets up, timescale depends on how much my impending baby sleeps!
Hello Sam, !976 is a very early set. Is the date engraved on the stock and is it brass or stainless steel. I thought Froment didn’t start making pipes until the early eighties.
Now, I’ve actually got the set out and had a look at them, they are from 1996, and in stainless. I simply misread the number, and hadn’t yet got the pipes out for a look at them…
Those early ones are barely recognisable as Froments work. Huge big end mounts on drones and regulators, very decorative regulator keys that would cut the wrists of you. Brass rather than stainless.
I believe that there isn’t many of those early sets around. Alain had replaced quite a few of them with his new design over the years.
I notice the Froment was made for Kieron Concannon. Unless he had more than one Froment that he sold over time, the set was sold within the last three to five years or so. And he was looking for a hefty price as well I seem to remember. A good bit beyond the ‘offers over..’ price that is put on it now anyway.
Sam, that’s a beautiful looking C set of yours and no doubt it sounds as good if not better than it looks.
I’m sorry for the unfortunate circumstances that led to the sale but hopefully the few bob from the sales can take a bit of pressure off the family after their loss.
The Rogge set is a lot of fun to play, it is possible to switch the 4th drone in and out whilst playing, as can be heard on the recording. Lovely hum from the drones, if you’re a hum person.
