Patrick A. 'Patsy' Brown (1872 in Ireland – 1958 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States) was an Irish-American maker of the uilleann pipes. Originally from Killorglin, County Kerry, Ireland, he emigrated to the United States in 1892, making his home first in Chicago and then the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He may have made a living as a bricklayer and/or electrician. He made uilleann pipes on a part-time basis, out of his cellar, so his output was not huge, but his style is very distinctive. He may have made sets from about 1910 until his death in 1958. It is believed that, like many Irish musicians of his time, he played for dancers in the clubs around Dudley Square, Dorchester.
Patsy's house at 43 Clayton St., Dorchester, MA.
His earlier work was styled after that of the Taylor brothers, with broad rectangular keys along the back of the chanter, operated by small touches that wrapped around to the front of the chanter. The regulator keys at first resembled the Taylors' design, though Brown mounted them in wooden blocks, rather than between metal plates, as the Taylors did. His keywork is generally nickel-plated brass, though some are chromed (some chanters have both nickel- and chrome-plating ).
There is a story that he obtained the ivory used in the mounts from the elephant keepers at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo. They would trim the tip of the tusks, to make the ends blunt for the safety of the keepers and the other elephants. Those ends wound up in Patsy's hands, and ultimately in his pipes.
In later years his style changed to a more hybrid style, with Böhm-style keywork on all the holes at the front of the chanter, but broad, flat, Taylor-style keys on the holes at the back of the chanter. There is some speculation that he may have repaired classical flutes on a part-time basis too, which might have led him to experiment. Another theory is that it was simply an inventive way of dealing with the problems of age: arthritic fingers had an easier time achieving closure with keys. On some chanters, the keys are applied in the same manner as one would find on a flute: all of them pivot about a common rod that runs parallel to the chanter. On others, the style is really unique: each key pivots about its own rod, held in place by its own two posts, mounted above the tone hole, but transverse to the chanter. A number of his chanters are known, and not all of them share this distinctive style.
He is believed to have made only concert-pitch sets. It appears that he always used a popping valve on his chanters.
Other makers in the Boston area, who overlapped with Brown to some degree were Ned White of Roxbury, and Green. White's style was even closer than Brown's to that of the Taylor brothers, which may indicate that he was older and had personal contact with them. He is mentioned in O'Neill's Irish Minstrels. Some of his sets are still extant.
It is reported that Patsy Brown taught Seán McAloon to make reeds, by correspondence.[1]
Referencesedit
^Na Piobairi Uilleann – Patrons 2007-11-19 at the Wayback Machine
patsy, brown, patrick, patsy, brown, 1872, ireland, 1958, boston, massachusetts, united, states, irish, american, maker, uilleann, pipes, originally, from, killorglin, county, kerry, ireland, emigrated, united, states, 1892, making, home, first, chicago, then,. Patrick A Patsy Brown 1872 in Ireland 1958 in Boston Massachusetts United States was an Irish American maker of the uilleann pipes Originally from Killorglin County Kerry Ireland he emigrated to the United States in 1892 making his home first in Chicago and then the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston Massachusetts He may have made a living as a bricklayer and or electrician He made uilleann pipes on a part time basis out of his cellar so his output was not huge but his style is very distinctive He may have made sets from about 1910 until his death in 1958 It is believed that like many Irish musicians of his time he played for dancers in the clubs around Dudley Square Dorchester Patsy s house at 43 Clayton St Dorchester MA His earlier work was styled after that of the Taylor brothers with broad rectangular keys along the back of the chanter operated by small touches that wrapped around to the front of the chanter The regulator keys at first resembled the Taylors design though Brown mounted them in wooden blocks rather than between metal plates as the Taylors did His keywork is generally nickel plated brass though some are chromed some chanters have both nickel and chrome plating There is a story that he obtained the ivory used in the mounts from the elephant keepers at Boston s Franklin Park Zoo They would trim the tip of the tusks to make the ends blunt for the safety of the keepers and the other elephants Those ends wound up in Patsy s hands and ultimately in his pipes In later years his style changed to a more hybrid style with Bohm style keywork on all the holes at the front of the chanter but broad flat Taylor style keys on the holes at the back of the chanter There is some speculation that he may have repaired classical flutes on a part time basis too which might have led him to experiment Another theory is that it was simply an inventive way of dealing with the problems of age arthritic fingers had an easier time achieving closure with keys On some chanters the keys are applied in the same manner as one would find on a flute all of them pivot about a common rod that runs parallel to the chanter On others the style is really unique each key pivots about its own rod held in place by its own two posts mounted above the tone hole but transverse to the chanter A number of his chanters are known and not all of them share this distinctive style He is believed to have made only concert pitch sets It appears that he always used a popping valve on his chanters Other makers in the Boston area who overlapped with Brown to some degree were Ned White of Roxbury and Green White s style was even closer than Brown s to that of the Taylor brothers which may indicate that he was older and had personal contact with them He is mentioned in O Neill s Irish Minstrels Some of his sets are still extant It is reported that Patsy Brown taught Sean McAloon to make reeds by correspondence 1 References edit Na Piobairi Uilleann Patrons Archived 2007 11 19 at the Wayback MachineExternal links edithttp www uilleannobsession com diary 2005 html search for Patsy Brown Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Patsy Brown amp oldid 1194906130, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
