For the past 2 years at the Irish Arts Week at East Durham, NY, Mary Bergin has played a brass Sindt D for all occasions. Other maker’s instruments (e.g. Copeland) are used for the alto keys but always a Sindt for the high D. (She doesn’t play “low” whistles)
It was the same this year – classes, concerts, ceili band gigs, and sessions, with a Sindt brass D until the final concert on Saturday. Sitting in the audience, her whistle seemed very shiny and reflective, and I figured that she had a “concert” whistle which she’d polished. (Her regular whistle had it’s normal brass patina earlier that afternoon). After all, John only makes his whistles in brass (!).
Saturday night after that concert, Mary joined a late night session at a local meeting place (read “pub”), and she was playing her shiny whistle.
As I first found out from a mutual friend, then later having John himself sitting by me at the session, here’s the scoop. Mary (and John Skelton) had just received their (pardon the all-caps, but I think it’s deserved) STERLING SILVER Sindt D whistles !!! According to John, they’re “a bit quieter” (but they cut through the session’s fiddles, guitar, and bousouki (sp?) just fine), and John says they have a “purer” tone.
All I can say is that they are gorgeous whistles, both in sound and appearance.
Don’t look for them soon at your local drug store.
And no prizes for guessing which former prominent member of this board with a penchant for silver gave JS the idea of making whistles in this metal by commissioning one from him (and supplying the tubing for the commission and another one he made for himself).
On 2002-07-21 22:43, BruceW wrote:
For the past 2 years at the Irish Arts Week at East Durham, NY, Mary Bergin has played a brass Sindt D for all occasions.
Actually during her classes last year she reverted to a Generation on several afternoons when there was a breeze, since it was less sensitive to wind.
I was playing my nickle copeland D in
a session after the Mississippi Celtic
Fest and the fellow next to me
was playing a silver one. He let me
play it–mine is really wonderful,
his was better. Very robust and
without shrillness. A silver Sindt must
be ‘a beaudiful ting,’ as mafiosa
say. I worked in silver once, really
liked the stuff, the least ostentatious
of the precious metals.
