Our next two Court Dance practices at fighter practice park (Bataan Park) will be this Sunday, January 28 and February 25th , from 12:00 to 2:00pm.  Bataan Park is at the NW corner of Lomas and Carlisle next to Walgreens.

There may be another court dance practice scheduled in February at fighter practice, please contact me for details.   Everyone, age 7 and up are welcome at our court dance practices. 

Court dance practices are also at UNM on the 3rd floor of the SUB, every other Monday evening with Lady Dovey, at UNM.

If you want more information concerning court dancing in al-Barran, please contact Lady Jayne at 293-7453 or krege@...  or join the al-Barran Music and Court Dance discussion list by going to   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alBarranMusic_Dance/     This free yahoo discussion list will give you the latest information concerning dance practices and Scorpion Scales music practices  in al-Barran.

Yours in service to the dream,
Lady Jayne Barber

Greetings to the dancers of the Outlands from Master Trahaearn ap
Ieuan, autocrat of Known World Dance Symposium 2007.

It is my joy to invite all those interested in dance within the
Society to come to An Tir this summer for the sixth biennial Known
World Dance Symposium. The event will be held June 28 – July 1, 2007
in Seattle's University District.

To register, or just to learn more about the event, please visit
http://kwds2007.earlydance.info/. Pre-registration is now open with a
special early discount through March 15. Proposals for workshops and
performances are now being accepted. An outline of the schedule is
also available. More information about the site and lodging will be
posted soon. We expect that registration for on-site lodging will be
available in March.

Already the dancers, musicians, teachers, and researchers who have
registered for KWDS represent seven kingdoms: Aethelmearc, An Tir,
Ansteorra, the East, Meridies, the Middle, and the West.

Please forward this information to your local dance lists - and when
doing so, please cc kwds.lists@... so I can avoid lists
getting multiple copies of the announcement.

Thanks for your support, and I hope to see you in An Tir this summer!

I use to have the music CD that was sold at dance colligium (I know I
spelled that wrong)a few years back and lent it out to someone who
never returned it :( So now I'm trying to replace all the standard
music for the dances we love doing here..... Does anyone have a copy of
that CD (or any other dance music) I could borrow or that could burn me
a copy or has some of the songs as MP3s I could download... I'm
teaching some of the dances to an acting troupe next month so I'm in a
pinch
thanks so much
Anora

Dear Anora,

I tried to send a reply, but apparently it didn't go thru.

Do you remember where the dance collegium was held that you got the CD?

What local group are you with?

What dances are you trying to find music for?


Lady Jayne
a court dance instructor in al-Barran
krege@...

*************************


-----Original Message-----
From: OutlandsDance@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Anora Marchaunt (Christa )
Sent: Wed 4/11/2007 3:33 AM
To: OutlandsDance@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [OutlandsDance] old dance cds

I use to have the music CD that was sold at dance colligium (I know I
spelled that wrong)a few years back and lent it out to someone who
never returned it :( So now I'm trying to replace all the standard
music for the dances we love doing here..... Does anyone have a copy of
that CD (or any other dance music) I could borrow or that could burn me
a copy or has some of the songs as MP3s I could download... I'm
teaching some of the dances to an acting troupe next month so I'm in a
pinch
thanks so much
Anora

Anora,

A lot of SCA dance music can be downloaded here:

http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/Music/search.cgi?s=&MP3s=List+all+MP3s

One caveat:  MOST of these are free for non-profit use, but a couple of them
(the "Joy and Jealosy" tracks, for one, if I remember correctly) request that
royalties be paid.  PLEASE make sure to read and follow the rules for use -- I
don't want anybody to get in trouble!

If you can afford to spend a little money, I highly recommend the "Musica
Subterranea" CDs.

http://www.musicasub.org/

You can also come talk to me or Guillaume at an event, and we can give you other
recommendations.  :)

Arwen


-----Original Message-----
>From: "Anora Marchaunt (Christa )" <anorathepain@...>
>Sent: Apr 11, 2007 3:33 AM
>To: OutlandsDance@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [OutlandsDance] old dance cds
>
>I use to have the music CD that was sold at dance colligium (I know I
>spelled that wrong)a few years back and lent it out to someone who
>never returned it :( So now I'm trying to replace all the standard
>music for the dances we love doing here..... Does anyone have a copy of
>that CD (or any other dance music) I could borrow or that could burn me
>a copy or has some of the songs as MP3s I could download... I'm
>teaching some of the dances to an acting troupe next month so I'm in a
>pinch
>thanks so much
>Anora
>
>
>
>Nobody cares if you canÂ’t dance well.  Just get up and dance. -- Dave Barry
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

"A lively tune... I'm inspired to dance!"

Starting next month I will be hosting a court dancing practice in
Raven Hyrst on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.
(which would be the 6th and 20th of May)

Here's what you will want to know!

Where: Miller's Dance studio
10841 S Crossroads Dr
Parker, CO
(NW corner of Parker Rd and Mainstreet)

This is not a free site, but I got a really good deal so we will be
putting out a brass bowl (sugested donation $2-$3)

When: 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month
6-8pm (So when you are done with fighter practice you can
change
grab dinner and head on down to Parker and get your groove on!)

Any questions feel free to drop me a line
Anorathepain @aol.com

Anora Marchaunt

I wanted to share this with other Artisans who are going to Estrella War.

I participated in this choir and it's choir practices at Estrella War a couple of years ago. 

It was a lovely experience, which I very much recommend.

Lady Jayne Barber

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--- In al-Barran@yahoogroups.com, "mattkatie2"
<mattkatie2@...> wrote:

REPOSTED BY REQUEST
Known World Choir Estrella 2008
Posted by: "Donald F. Harrington" lazarus@...
Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:49 pm (PST)

I've put up the music files for Estrella 2008 KWC. They may be
found under
the files section of KWChoir, the Yahoo Known World Choir
group, or on my
own website at

http://www.donharrington.net/estrella/Estrella
2008archive/index_08.html

If you have trouble with the URL, just go to
www.donharrington.net, choose
the Known World Choir menu and the Estrella 2008 menu item.

A lot of good tunes, fun to sing, many you already know. What are
you
waiting for - just join us at Estrella and enjoy the music!

April is in My Mistress' Face
Thomas Morley (1558-1603)
No concert is complete without Morley. April is in my mistress
face,
but in her heart... English.

Ahi, che quest' occhi miei
G.P. da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Wait, no concert is complete without Palestrina. I mean Morley. I
mean
both. Italian.

The Agincourt Carol
Anonymous - The best known of many songs written soon after
the famous
Battle of Agincourt in 1415. English.

Ce Moys de May
Clement Janequin (ca. 1485--1558)
A fun tune about green dresses, skipping, kissing and other
activities. Reprised from last year by popular demand. French.

Dindirin
Anonymous - 15th century. Some rhythmic adjustments and a
twist
ending. Polyglot French.

Follow Me, Sweet Love and Soul's Delight
Michael East (1580-1648)
One of the great passive-aggressive love songs. English.

Now I See Thy Looks Were Feigned
Thomas Ford (1580-1648)
A cautionary madrigal that might be at home in Nashville.
English.

Pastime with Good Company
Henry VIII (1491-1547)
It's good to be the King. English.

Springtime Mantleth Ev'ry Bough
Thomas Morley (1558-1603)
More Morley. You can't have too much Morley. Birds and beasts
are of
consort on that. English.

Toss The Pot
Thomas Ravenscroft (1592-1633)
Just a fun drinking song. English.

Rehearsals are scheduled Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, all from
noon till 2:00 PM, all at the Grand Pavilion (except for the
rehearsal on
Saturday - location will be announced at the War).

Sunday Performance 2:00 at the Grand Pavilion. No clean-up or
competition,
just a good big venue for us.

Performers will be expected to attend at least two rehearsals to
be in the
final performance. We've spread them all over the schedule to
make it as
easy as possible for you to fit them in with all your other Estrella
fun.
Visit www.estrellawar.org for more information about locations,
times and
other fun events.

Contact:

Don Harrington
Lazarus Artifex

lazarus@...
donharrington@ msn.com [OMIT SPACES]

--- End forwarded message ---

Greetings to all Court Dancers and Musicians in the Outlands,

There will be a Grand Ball (court dance ball) on Friday evening, Feb. 15 in the Grand Court Pavilion.

For musicians wishing to play at this ball, there is sheet music available on-line and a schedule of the Estrella War Ball music practices at       http://members.cox.net/stephanie.reiley/

The dances planned for the Grand Ball are also available at the above url, however, no dance instructions have yet been posted at this website. 

In the past, most dances were also reviewed/taught before each dance was danced at the Grand Ball.

There is usually court dancing Saturday and Sunday evenings and court dance classes during the day as well.

In service,
Lady Jayne Barber

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: AtenDance@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Wesley Corder
Sent: Thu 1/31/2008 7:45 PM
To: scamusicians@yahoogroups.com; scadanceband@yahoogroups.com; SCA_courtiers@yahoogroups.com; atenarts@yahoogroups.com; AtenDance@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AtenDance] Estrella Grand Ball music available online

Please feel free to forward as you will, especially to other Kingdom lists.

Greetings to the musicians and dancers of the Known World!  Estrella War
XXIV Grand Ball will take place on Friday evening, 02/15/08, in the Grand
Court Pavilion.  The sheet music for the Estrella
Grand Ball is now online at the following address:
http://members.cox.net/stephanie.reiley/

Note that opportunites to practice will be available on site.  Open
practices for musicians interested in playing at the Ball are scheduled 10
AM - 12 PM in the Grand Court Pavilion on Thursday and Friday. There will
also be a Dress Rehearsal Thursday evening 5PM to 7PM.  Print outs of the
dance music will also be available on site.

For more information about the event go to http://estrellawar.org/

Wes/Wally

Everyone within driving distance is welcome to attend!!

This Friday the Citadel of the Southern Pass will be holding a dance
practice from 7 to 8 at the Desert Moon Academy of the Arts on
Belvidere at Westwind.

This week's practice is European court dance. Lady Aine will be
leading us through a selection of dances as we prepare for the Grand
Ball at Estrella.

Future dance practices will be held on Feb. 22 and Feb. 29.

We pay $15 an hour for the room, and split the expense among all the
dancers attending. It is an actual dance studio floor, so no street
shoes are allowed.

YIS,

Lilje

-----Original Message-----
From: AtenDance@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Michelle Welch
Sent: Mon 2/25/2008 9:01 AM
To: AtenDance@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AtenDance] New discussion group for the Estrella Ball

Greetings.  The musicians who played for the Grand Ball at Estrella
expressed an interest in communicating with one another about future
balls.  To this end I have created a new Yahoo group, estrellaball.
The purpose of the group will be primarily to discuss next year's set
list and get the music to the musicians well in advance, but I also
hope to have dancers and dance masters participate, and we can discuss
other relevant topics as well.  I invite anyone interested to visit
groups.yahoo.com/group/estrellaball and send a request to join.

Yours in service, and with apologies for duplicate postings,
Lady Jonete Malisoun

Good day, everyone; the end of February is nigh, and this Friday
evening is the last night that I have reserved the studio at Desert
Moon for dance practice. I would like to hear whether folks would like
to continue dance practice at Desert Moon for March, so I can reserve
the space.

Someone has floated the idea of having dance practice outdoors, in
conjunction with fighter practice, once the weather is more reliably
pleasant. Until then, should we continue where we are, Friday nights,
6:30 to 8:30?

I also would like to hear from those of you interested in ME dance and
drumming; if there are not enough of us "Middle Easterners" to share
the cost of the room, I would prefer to just meet every other week for
European dance practice. (Second and fourth Fridays, so those who wish
to come from Happy Valley won't have to choose between dancing and
business meetings?)

This is the time to throw in your two-cents worth. (Surely you can
spare two measly cents!)

ME dancers, we have the studio this Friday from 6:30 to 8:30, so bring
your drums, zils, CDs of your favorite dance music, and your happy
selves, and we'll see if we've got enough folks to keep the party
going four Fridays a month.

Danke,

Lilje

Greetings to all Court Dancers of the Outlands,

Citadel court dancers have been holding court dance practices, so that there can be some fun court dancing at the Citadel of the Southern Pass Baronial Investiture of Lord Nikolaus and Lady Aine. 

Lady Aine has invited all to join in their "peril" and below is a list of the court dances they have planned.

So if you are going to their Baronial Investiture, we hope you will join them for some "peril".

Anyone needing a brushup on the dances, please call your local court dance instructor,  or in al-Barran, please call me at 293-7453 for a private lesson or attend Lady Dovey's Blaiddwyn practice.  The next Blaiddwyn practice should be Monday, March 17 at UNM, Student Union Building, top floor, 7-9pm.

In service to the Dream,
Lady Jayne Barber
al-Barran

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


-----Original Message-----
From: Valerie Hearn [mailto:valeria_gazelle@...]
Sent: Wed 3/12/2008 10:21 PM
To: Barbara Krege

Lady Jayne,
  
  I hope you and the other many fine dancers can make it down to the Citadel for Investiture the day before your re-scheduled practice.  We will be taking time for European court dance (generally referred to in Citadel as "peril") at the event. 
  
  Ballo del Fiore
  Hole in the Wall
  Petit Reins
  Gathering Peascods
  Heralds in Love
  Quen Quer Que
  Heart's Ease
  
  Other possible dances:
  Amoroso, Circle Waltz, Korabushka, Maltese Bransle, Official Bransle, Trenchmore, and just about anything for which we have music and someone to lead.
  
  We hope to see all of you there for some fun and "peril" = )
  
  Lady Aine

Greetings to the Court Dance lovers and instructors of the Outlands, from Lady Jayne Barber, a court dance instructor in al-Barran. 

I am delighted to report that there appears to be a resurrgence of interest in court dancing in the Outlands in the past year. 

The college of Blaiddwyn held a court dance ball in October and has twice a month dance practices on Monday nights during the regular school year.
al-Barran has twice a month dance practices at fighter practice on Sundays.
Caerthe has active dance instructors and supporters in Mistress Arwen and THLord Guillaume.
Fontaine has shown an interest recently in renewing dance.
Citadel held dance practices prior to their recent Baronial Investiture in preparation for their dancing at the event.
Unser Hafen will have dance classes and a ball at their upcoming Baronial Investiture.
I know that in the past Dragonsspine held regular dance practices--I just don't know what they are doing present.
I think Caer Galen has held dance practices, again I just don't know anything current.

In preparation for adding court dance information to the Outlands website, I would like to hear from you to update the information you have regarding Court Dancing in the Outlands.  Below is the information I have so far.

Please help us spread and support court dancing in the Outlands, by responding to me and this list with the information you have about court dancing in your area--regarding events, A&S collegiums, dance instructors and dance practices.

Lady Jayne
krege@....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outlands Court Dancer Instructors – Names and Contact Information

al-Barran
Lady Jayne, krege@..., 293-7453
Canus Dragonsblood, canus_dragonblood@..., 280-7609


Blaiddwyn, college
Lady Dovey, alzarqa13@...


Caer Galen


Caerthe
Mistress Arwen and THLord Guillaume, arwen@...; smcclune@...; swashbuckler@...,


Citadel
Baroness Aine and Lilje,                   and heather_lea_fan@


Dragonsspine


Fontaine


Unser Hafen

Greetings to Dancers and Musicians in the Outlands,

For those of you who plan to attend Estrella War, below is a link with lots of information for the Court Dance Balls planned for Estrella in February 2009.  At this url below, there is a list of the dances planned and links for all of the court dance music, so that musicians can practice in advance of going to Estrella War.

http://members.cox.net/lejon/sca.html


For more information, you can join the EstrellaBall discussion list at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EstrellaBall
or join by emailing  to   EstrellaBall-subscribe @ yahoogroups.com

This discussion list is for musicians, dance masters, and other interested in the Grand Ball at Estrella War.

I hope you will pass this information on to your friends and other discussion lists.

In service, Jayne Barber
al-Barran

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


-----Original Message-----
From: AtenDance@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Jeanne Russell
Sent: Mon 10/13/2008 11:14 AM
To: atenveldt@yahoogroups.com; AtenveldtGoldKey@yahoogroups.com; atenshires@yahoogroups.com; TwinMoons-L@...; eredsul@yahoogroups.com; AtenDance@yahoogroups.com
Cc: madwrtr@...
Subject: [AtenDance] Fw: [estrellaball] Dance Music practice at Coronation

If you play, please come out and join us!  Lady Jonete is working diligently to make Grand Ball at Estrella War XXV *just that*!

Join us on the list:  EstrellaBall-subscribe @ yahoogroups.com and look to the suggested dance list music as prepared below:

Say, wouldn't that be ...

The Honorable Lady Jayne Barber?!?

Congratulations on your Stag!

{{hugs}}

Arwen

-----Original Message-----
>From: Barbara Krege <krege@...>
>Sent: Oct 14, 2008 5:23 PM
>To: Barbara Krege <KREGE@...>, Outlands@yahoogroups.com,
OutlandsArtsSciences@yahoogroups.com, al-Barran@yahoogroups.com,
alBarranMusic_Dance@yahoogroups.com, OutlandsDance@yahoogroups.com,
Blaiddwyn@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [OutlandsDance] Court Dance Music --Estrella War, 2009
>
>
>Greetings to Dancers and Musicians in the Outlands,
>
>For those of you who plan to attend Estrella War, below is a link with lots of
information for the Court Dance Balls planned for Estrella in February 2009.  At
this url below, there is a list of the dances planned and links for all of the
court dance music, so that musicians can practice in advance of going to
Estrella War.
>
>http://members.cox.net/lejon/sca.html
>
>
>For more information, you can join the EstrellaBall discussion list at:
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EstrellaBall
>or join by emailing  to   EstrellaBall-subscribe @ yahoogroups.com
>
>This discussion list is for musicians, dance masters, and other interested in
the Grand Ball at Estrella War.
>
>I hope you will pass this information on to your friends and other discussion
lists.
>
>In service, Jayne Barber
>al-Barran
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: AtenDance@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Jeanne Russell
>Sent: Mon 10/13/2008 11:14 AM
>To: atenveldt@yahoogroups.com; AtenveldtGoldKey@yahoogroups.com;
atenshires@yahoogroups.com; TwinMoons-L@...; eredsul@yahoogroups.com;
AtenDance@yahoogroups.com
>Cc: madwrtr@...
>Subject: [AtenDance] Fw: [estrellaball] Dance Music practice at Coronation
>
>If you play, please come out and join us!  Lady Jonete is working diligently to
make Grand Ball at Estrella War XXV *just that*!
>
>Join us on the list:  EstrellaBall-subscribe @ yahoogroups.com and look to the
suggested dance list music as prepared below:
>
>
>
>

Greetings to all Court dancers in the Outlands from Jayne Barber, al-Barran

The Calontir Dance List recently added two files regarding their upcoming Crystal Ball, which I am attaching.

The two files require Excel and Microsoft Word to open.

I highly recommend the Excel document, as it is an excellent resource listing the type of dance (bransle, pavanne, English Country, etc.) for each dance, the source for each dance (Arbeau, Playford, SCA, etc.), the year or century each dance was published, the number of dancers required to do the dance, the setup for the dance (line, circle, square, etc.) and the level of difficulty (easy, intermediate, advance).  There are 66 dances on the excel document.

The word document is simply the tentative ball list--from which the excel document was created.

If someone is teaching and/or leading court dancing in your local group, please send me their contact information.

Enjoy and happy dancing.

Jayne

oops, I was talking to a friend as I sent this and forgot the attachments.  Enjoy. 

Jayne

-----Original Message-----
From: alBarranMusic_Dance@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Barbara Krege
Sent: Wed 10/15/2008 12:55 PM
To: albarranMusic_Dance@yahoogroups.com; OutlandsDance@yahoogroups.com; OutlandsArtsSciences@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [alBarranMusic_Dance] Court Dance List--type, source, year

Greetings to all Court dancers in the Outlands from Jayne Barber, al-Barran

The Calontir Dance List recently added two files regarding their upcoming Crystal Ball, which I am attaching.

The two files require Excel and Microsoft Word to open.

I highly recommend the Excel document, as it is an excellent resource listing the type of dance (bransle, pavanne, English Country, etc.) for each dance, the source for each dance (Arbeau, Playford, SCA, etc.), the year or century each dance was published, the number of dancers required to do the dance, the setup for the dance (line, circle, square, etc.) and the level of difficulty (easy, intermediate, advance).  There are 66 dances on the excel document.

The word document is simply the tentative ball list--from which the excel document was created.

If someone is teaching and/or leading court dancing in your local group, please send me their contact information.

Enjoy and happy dancing.

Jayne

Estrella War Court Dancing

Greetings, dancers and musicians!    The final set lists for the two balls at Estrella War have been posted at:      http://members.cox.net/lejon/sca.html    
Any interested musicians are welcome to join us to play for the balls.  All the music is available at the above link in PDF format. On-site music practices will be posted as they are finalized. Copies of the music will be brought  to site as well.

Dancers are welcome at both the Friday night Grand Ball and the Sunday afternoon Caroso Ball. The Caroso Ball is a dancers' choice ball, drawn from the list published at the link above. There will be little or no teaching but anyone who knows a dance is encouraged to join in.  Spectators are also welcome. They are  working on "cheat sheets" for the dance steps and will post these as well when they are available.  Copies of the cheat sheets will also be available at the Caroso Ball.  Prior to Friday night, there are plans for court dance classes during the day to teach the dances for both balls.

Attached is  a two paged wordprocessed document of the information from the above website.  (However to actually view the sheet music, you will need to go to the actual website url above.)

At Estrella, there probably will also be lots of classes in period songs, but that information is not yet available.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blaiddwyn Court Dancing in December

Despite final exams, Beibhinn says there will be Blaiddwyn court dance practice,  the third Monday in December at Blaiddwyn, 7-9pm, top floor of the Student Union.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Court Dancing and Intro to Period Songs 

There will be a Court Dance practice at fighter practice this Sunday, December 7 at Bataan Park, from 12:30 to 2:00pm.  Everyone, age 7 and up, is welcome at our court dance practices.  Please also join us before dance practice this Sunday, from 11am to 12:30pm for an introduction to period songs led by Anita.  Bataan Park is at the NW corner of Lomas and Carlisle.  

For more information concerning court dancing in al-Barran, please contact me at 293-7453, krege@...  or join the al-Barran Music and Court Dance discussion list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alBarranMusic_Dance/     This free yahoo discussion list will give you the latest information concerning dance practices and period music practices in al-Barran.

In service to the dream,   Jayne Barber

Greetings to all court dancers and musicians in the Outlands!

Estrella War will host two Balls on Friday evening (a Grand Ball) and Sunday afternoon (a Caroso Ball).  Traditionally there has also been court dancing on Saturday evening after Grand Court.  There are plans for A&S Court Dance (European Dance)  classes prior to Friday’s Ball, Wednesday thru Friday at Estrella.

The final dance set lists for these two Balls are posted at:  http://members.cox.net/lejon/sca.html.    Musicians are welcome to play for the balls.  All of the music for each of the Balls’ dances is available at the above link in PDF format.  On-site music practices will be posted as they are finalized and copies of the music will be brought to site as well.

 “Cheat Sheets” (a brief summary of the dance steps) for each of the dances for these two balls is available in two formats at: http://members.cox.net/lejon/sca.html#balls.  Copies of the cheat sheets will also be available at the Caroso Ball.

Dancers are welcome at both the Friday night Grand Ball and the Sunday afternoon Caroso Ball at Estrella. The Caroso Ball is a dancers' choice ball, drawn from the list of dances published at the link above. There will be little or no teaching at the Ball, but anyone who knows a dance is encouraged to join in.  Spectators are also welcome.  For more information about the Caroso-style Ball, please see      http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/articles/caroso.html.

Please forward this information to your local groups' discussion lists and chroniclers.

In service to the dream,
Jayne Barber


******************************************************************
******************************************************************

(Under the Regular Activities section of the newsletter)

Court Dance and Period Singing
There will be a Court Dance practice at fighter practice on Sunday, February 22 at Bataan Park, from 12:30 to 2:00pm.  Also on the 22nd, there will be an introduction to period singing led by Anita, anitahowitt@..., 610-9633 from 11am to 12:30pm.  Everyone, age 7 and up, is welcome at our court dance practices.  Court Dance and Middle Eastern Dance practices at Blaiddwyn are led by Beibhinn, miles-lora@..., 818-9762 (cell) and are held weekly (night to be determined) at UNM in the SUB on the top floor.  For more information concerning court dancing in al-Barran, please contact Jayne Barber at 293-7453, krege@...  or join the al-Barran Music & Court Dance discussion list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alBarranMusic_Dance/

Greetings to the Musicians of the Outlands,

If you are going to War, below is the musicians practice schedule for the two Estrella War Court Dance Balls.  Also there is the URL of the website, from which you can download the sheet music that will be used for each dance. 

The Grand Ball will be Friday evening and the Caroso Ball will be Sunday afternoon.  Please see the URL below for a list of which dances will be danced at each of the two Balls.

Jayne Barber

~~~~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: sca-dance-bounces+krege=aps.edu@... on behalf of Michelle Welch
Sent: Wed 1/28/2009 9:07 AM
To: sca-dance@...
Subject: [SCA-Dance] Estrella War Ball music practices

Greetings musicians,

The practice schedule for the Estrella War Balls is now available.

Thursday 2/12, 10am - 12pm: Grand Ball music practice
Thursday 2/12, 7-9 pm: Grand Ball dress rehearsal
Friday 2/13, 10am - 12pm: Grand Ball music practice
Friday 2/13, 1-3pm: Caroso Ball music practice

All rehearsals are in the Grand Court Pavilion.

The two morning practices are shared with the dancers, either in
different halves of the pavilion, or with the musicians accompanying
the dancers, depending on how the rehearsals go. The Thursday evening
dress rehearsal is a combined rehearsal for musicians, dancers, and
dance masters.

The Collegium schedule indicates that there are two back-to-back music
practices on Friday, 10-12 and 12-2. I will go over the music with
anyone who shows up at 12, but the main practice for the Grand Ball
music will be at 10. I'm hoping that anyone who can play for the
Caroso Ball will stay to practice the music after getting some lunch.

All the music is available at http://members.cox.net/lejon/sca.html

Please contact me with any questions: jonete_malisoun@...

IS,
Jonete


     
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I am passing this infomation along to all Court Dancers of the Outlands.

Jayne Barber

~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: sca-dance-bounces+krege=aps.edu@... on behalf of Craig Shupee'
Sent: Wed 1/28/2009 4:44 PM
To: sca-dance@...
Subject: [SCA-Dance] Dance Book Online

Howdy All -

If you check out Google Books you can find a copy of "Fifteenth-Century Dance and Music: Twelve Transcribed Italian Dance Treatises and Collection in the Tradition of Domenico da Piacena: Volume 1: Treatises and Music" by A. William Smith.

If you didn't know - then check it out.

~Philip

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To all court dancers in the Outlands!

Please note, that there will be court dance classes and practices at Estrella -- But  the info will Not be in the Gatebook.
You will need to check the info published at the A&S Collegium area and on the grand schedule
Practices we know of now are:
Wed, Thur, Fri  10-noon, Grand Pavilion dance practices in the Grand Pavilion
Also Sat & Sun, places to be determined
Thur. nite, Grand Pavilion  at musicians'  rehersal

For more details, see below.  Feel free to forward this to your friends and other lists.

Jayne Barber
al-Barran

~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: AtenYouth@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Jeanne Russell
Sent: Sun 2/1/2009 5:03 PM
Subject: [AtenYouth] Dance! at Estrella

Greetings Unto One and All!

I have just been notified that dance fell off the face of the Gatebook!  Fear Not!  There will be dance practices each day at Estrella War and the information will be published at the Arts and Sciences Collegium area, and on the grand schedule but it's not in the Gatebook.

Each day, beginning on Wednesday, from 10:00 AM until Noon, we will have dance practice under the Grand Court pavilion.  On the days we are able to coordinate with the musicians, we'll practice ~those~ to dance along with them once they are ready with the music.  On the days we may be interupting music practice, we'll just dance our way round under the Aten Sun.  Come Saturday and Sunday, we'll be most likely be in another area because of already scheduled activities under the Grand Court pavilion but dance details WILL BE POSTED at the A&S Collegium area.

Remember, too, we are invited to dance at the musicians practice on Thursday evening, GRAND BALL on Friday evening, and we'll be practicing for the Caroso Ball on Sunday afternoon.

To view the dance lists the musicians are preparing for see Lady Jonete's notes at:  http://members.cox.net/lejon/sca.html  Don't forget your dancing shoes (think tennis shoes as we may be on concrete and/or grass) and most of all,

Good War to You!

jeanne

Hi there:

Arwen and I intend to go to Known World Dance this year.  Obviously, we haven't
made detailed plans yet (we'll probably fly).  If anyone else is interested in
going, let us know!  Maybe we can plan an Outlandish get-together?

If you have any questions about what KWDS is like, we'd be glad discuss it.
We've been to four of the previous six (missed New Orleans and Australia).
There's lots of dancing, lots of classes, and lots of dancers from all over the
Known World (what else would you expect?).

Keith / Guillaume  S:}>

-------- Original Message --------
From: David Learmonth <david.a.learmonth@...>

For those who haven't heard, we have just received word that the Known World
Dance (and Music) Symposium VII is now Fully Approved!

It will be running from about 6 pm Thursday July 2nd, until about 5:30 pm
Sunday July 5th, 2009, at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario
(between Toronto and Niagara Falls).

Pre-registration should be opening shortly (by mid-Feb), at which point
we'll send out more info.  But at a glance, pre-reg for the weekend will
cost around $50, not including food or accomodations.

Otherwise, the dorm beds are actually Comfortable this time around, and the
dorms are by far the closest place to stay to the class buildings.  You're
looking at around $55 per night for a single room, or around $45 per night
per person for double occupancy.  Otherwise, there are hotels a short drive
/ transit ride away (and they aren't too expensive, since we aren't right in
Toronto), or there are potentially people to crash with around town, though
we are still coordinating this.

For travel, you can fly into the Hamilton airport, or to Toronto, or you may
wish to fly to Buffalo (may be cheaper for people in the US already), but
I'm not sure about transit from Buffalo (you may need to rent a car for that
one, but you shouldn't need to for the closer airports).  Of course if you
are driving, then you will want to cross the border into Canada either at
Buffalo for those from the east, or at Sarnia or Windsor for those from the
West.

PASSPORTS!!!   If you are not from Canada, You will need a Passport for each
traveller to be able to attend the event.  (unfortunately, these rules are
set to come into effect just before our event date).  Oh, and one tip:  When
crossing the border with a car full of SCAdians, try to make sure you know
everyone's Mundane names, and that the driver knows where you each are
coming from.  It looks a little weird when you don't know this info.  :)

Other than that, we'll be getting more info up on the website (And the
pre-reg info) over the coming days.  Here is the address again:
http://www.kwdsvii.org/
However, my host has been having some issues just in the last few days.
Should be resolved shortly, but here is a backup address in case the first
one doesn't work:
http://www.kwdsvii.plcengineering.net/
(sorry, I'm not trying to advertise businesses or anything.  That company
name is out of date / inactive now regardless)


I'll be sending out an email to all the teachers I have on my initial list
shortly.  (We have quite a few)  However, feel free to let me know if you
would like to teach, and I will add you to the list.

I hope this helps everyone's vacation plans.  Yay Dancing!
Darius

Greetings to all court dancers and musicians in the Outlands from Jayne Barber (al-Barran)

Below is the announcement about the Kingdom A&S and Kingdom Queen's Prize event that will be held on Sat. April 11 in al-Barran (Albuquerque, NM).   I have also included a one page word processed document that is a copy of the event annoucement below.

In the past, both Kingdom A&S and Queen's Prize had performance categories, which included court dance.  Many years ago, I had a group of six enter Queen's Prize, where we performed Whirligig.

For Kingdom A&S, per the Kingdom A&S website the performance categories are: 
V. Performing Arts
1.      Dramatic Reading
2.      Poetry
3.      Prose
4.      Instrumental Music
5.      Vocal Music
6.      Dance – court, ethnic, etc.
7.      Miscellaneous Performances

For Queen's Prize, no categories are listed.  However, the info on Queen's Prize, states that it welcomes all levels of artisans in all categories.

So if you would like to perform in either competition and need a partner, individuals to fill out the places in your set, or help with dances or music, please contact me at krege@....



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: blaiddwyn@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Snobunny0@...
Sent: Tue 2/24/2009 2:12 PM
To: outlands@yahoogroups.com; al-Barran@yahoogroups.com; blaiddwyn@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [blaiddwyn] Kingdom A&S/Queen's Prize Event Announcement!!!


Kingdom A & S and Queen's Prize Event  Announcement
Hosted by the Barony of  al-Barran
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Site Opens at 8:30 am and Closes at 5  pm
Autocrat:  Lady Kimberly Blackwood (Kimberly Graham)  (505) 872-2994 email:
snobunny0@...
Kingdom A&S Contact: M. Tana a l'Esprit Fort (Tana  Rebar) (505) 265-3142
email: artsandsciences@...
Queen's  Prize Contact: THLady Emery de Futton (Kimberly Butler) email:
emerydefittun@...
Crash Space Coordinator: Baron Christopher Blackwood  (Chris Graham) (505)
872-2994 email: ChrisGraham01@...
Radisson Hotel, 2500 Carlisle Boulevard NE, Albuquerque NM  87110
Site Fees: Adult $8 (17+), Child $3 (10-16), Children  under 10 Free
Non-member surcharge $3
Please make checks payable to "SCA Inc. -  al-Barran"
No pets; Site is Dry
Website: http://kmoas.outlands.org/

Calling all  Artists and Scientists to the Kingdom A&S Event in 2009, hosted
by the  Barony of al-Barran on Saturday, April 11, 2009.  Since this is
holiday  weekend for some, Their Royal Majesties wish to make this a day event only.
 By combining two separate events into one, Kingdom Competition and Queen's 
Prize, this event makes a wonderful opportunity for all artisans to compete
and  or display their craft.  There will be no  feast for this event to allow
people travel time but there is a restaurant  on-site where participants will be
able to grab a bite to eat along with many  other restaurants near-by/walking
distance.  Pre-Registration will be required for both  Kingdom A&S and Queen'
s Prize by Sunday, March 29th by  midnight. Rules for Kingdom A & S (subject
to change) can be found along  with the list of division & categories and
pre-registration forms on the  Kingdom A & S web page   http://kmoas.outlands.org
The Kingdom competition and Queen's  Prize will each have their own registration tables at the event in addition to  gate. 

Directions to  Site: From I-25 - Merge onto I-40 via Exit 226A toward Santa
Rosa.  Take the CARLISLE BLVD Exit  160, Turn LEFT onto CARLISLE BLVD  NE pass
over I-40 and take a right into Radison Hotel  Parking Lot, 2500 Carlisle Blvd
 NE.  Hotel waterslide may still be under  construction.

Kingdom A&S  Competition
    *   Research  Papers must be completed and emailed to the Kingdom
Minister of Arts and  Sciences by the competition pre-registration deadline.
    *   Entries  must be on site and checked in by 9:00 am and ready to be
judged by 10:00  am. 
    *   This year  only, entrant does NOT need  to be present to enter, but
is highly encouraged. 
    *   For all those who are  entering Kingdom A&S competition for the very
first time will be required  to have a sponsor.  
    *   The sponsor must have  participated or judged the Kingdom A&S
Competition in the past.  The  sponsor will be required to guide the entrant by
providing information about  the entry itself and pros and cons of competing. 
Further guidelines will  be introduced at a later date. 
    *   Documentation is  required. 
    *   Entries must be at a  completed state.

If you have any questions, about the event please  contact M. Tana a l'Esprit Fort, Kingdom A&S Officer.  
Further  information this event and Kingdom A&S Competition Rules will be
coming  soon.  If you have any questions, about the event please contact M. Tana a  l'Esprit Fort, Kingdom A&S Officer. 

Queen's  Prize
Queen's Prize  Tourney is a mentoring and learning opportunity for artisans
in the  Outlands.  All categories are welcome and all levels of skill are 
encouraged to enter.   

Entrant's  Duties
    *   Must be sponsored by a  Master or Mistress of the Laurel, Lady of the
Rose or Flower of the  Outlands
    *   Minimal Documentation is  required
    *   Entrant does NOT need to  be present to enter
    *   Entrant is REQUIRED to  enjoy the learning and creative process

·        
Sponsor's Duties
    *   Aid the  entrant in getting their project completed and assisting
with  documentation
    *   Ensure  that the entry is set up at the site if the entrant cannot 
attend.
    *   Bring a  nice gift ("prize") for an entrant.  One gift per number of
person(s) you  sponsor, you will be gifting to someone you have not sponsored.
    *   Be  available at some point throughout the day to admire the entries
and provide  feedback to the artisans.
    *   Be  available at some point throughout the day to admire the entries
and provide  feedback to the artisans.

-As this is  not a competition, you will NOT be judging.  Commentary sheets
will be  available to share thoughts and idea, but assigned commentary will not
be  provided.  If you have  any questions, about Queen's Prize please contact
THLady Emery de  Futton
-In order to  enter into the Kingdom A & S Competition - being held on April
11, 2009 -  please fill out the form below or access the proper forms on the
Kingdom A &  S web page:  http://kmoas.outlands.org
and send to artsandsciences@...

Artisan SCA Name:
Artisan Modern Name:
Artisan E-mail Address:
Artisan Phone Number:
Artisan Membership #:
_Division   (http://kmoas.outlands.org/
_Category (if  Known)   (http://kmoas.outlands.org/ 
Item Being Entered:
Item description:
Additional space needed or special needs for  entry?:
Are you entering for overall Kingdom A & S champion?:
Is this the first time entering Kingdom A&S  Competition?:
If Yes, Name and contact information of your  sponsor:

In order to  enter into Queen's Prize Tourney - being held on April 11, 2009
please fill  out the form below or access the proper forms on the Kingdom A
& S web  page:   http://kmoas.outlands.org   and
send to   artsandsciences@....
The deadline for registration is Sunday, March 29, 2009  by midnight.

Artisan SCA Name:
Artisan Modern Name:
Artisan E-mail Address:
Artisan Phone Number:
Sponsor's SCA Name:
Sponsor's Modern Name:
Sponsor's E-mail Address:
Sponsor's Phone Number:
Project being entered:
How much display space is needed?:

Good  Luck!
In order to  register to be a Judge for the Kingdom A & S Competition - being
held on  April 11, 2009 - please fill out the form below or access the proper
forms on  the Kingdom A & S web page:   http://kmoas.outlands.org and send to   artsandsciences@...

SCA Name (include title and Order):
Modern  Name:
E-mail Address:
Phone Number:
List of Categories/Subject(s)  you're qualified to judge:
Number of times have you judged a Kingdom A&S  competition?:

Greetings to the great populace of the Outlands from Jayne Barber, al-Barran

We want to provide some resources to the court dance instructors of the Outlands.

Please let me know at krege@..., if you know of any court dance instructors (SCA name & email address), who are not included below. 
Also please let me know of anyone else in your local group, who is interested in teaching court dancing. 

~~~~~~~
Unser Hafen    --  Elena of Glastonbury  and Lord Soren Thorvaldsson    

Caer Galen  --  Roismaire    and Lord Friedrich Wilhelmssohn   

Citadel of the Southern Pass  --  Baroness Aine inghean Cormac
  
al-Barran and Blaiddwyn  --  THLady Jayne Barber  and Beibhinn   

Caerthe  -- Mistress Arwen and THLord Guillaume   

Dragonsspine -- Master Alwyn, Mistress Elaina and Lady Ursula  

I am looking for an email address for Master Alwyn, of Dragonsspine.

Please email me "off-list" at krege@...

Thanks, Jayne

I thought this was very interesting.

Jayne Barber
al-Barran

~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: CalontirDance@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Carol O'Connell
Sent: Mon 4/13/2009 3:48 PM
To: CalontirDance@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [CalontirDance] Outline from Orchestration Class

Thanks, Christian! And happy belated birthday!
Conna


On Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 11:48 PM, Christopher Mortika
<c.mortika@...>wrote:

> Last weekend, at the Bellwode event, I presented a lecture on
> "Orchestration under Fire".  The first half hour described a
> hypothetical group of musicians who answer a call to be a local music
> group, as a basis for a discussion of various facets of local music
> group dynamics.  The second half hour addressed organizing musicians
> at events.
>
> I had many more people sitting in on the lecture than I had prepared
> handouts, and some people asked me to post the outline here.  With
> some emendation and explanation, here's what I talked about:
>
>
> The hypothetical performers in question are an autoharp player, a
> 'cellist, her 15-year-old sister who plays viola, three people with
> soprano recorders --one of whom is a novice, another of whom really
> loves Celtic music--  and a trombone player.  (Honestly, when I first
> started a music group in the SCA, the collection of people who
> gathered were just about as motley!)
>
> The goal of the discussion is to provide guidance in how to run a
> standing musical ensemble in a volunteer organization.
>
> Our first question: Who's allowed in?
>
> 1) My experience has directed me to allowing people to join a group
> whether or not they have appropriate or period instruments.  If
> someone can play a saxophone or beat out chord-riffs on a guitar,
> welcome them and let them know that there are Renaissance analogues
> for their instruments.  But first, find something that they can do, to
> their satisfaction.
>
> In particular, I think it's silly for me to shake my Yamaha plastic
> Baroque recorder at somebody else and say that their instrument isn't
> period.
>
> A more serious issue might be instruments that are beyond your skill
> at orchestration.  For example, in our hypothetical ensemble, the
> autoharp player is going to need somebody to write out chords; the
> violist is probably going to need music written in that bizarre "alto
> clef" notation, and the trombone is likely to be louder than all the
> rest of the ensemble combined.  Consider this your opportunity to
> learn about chord theory, alto clef, and mutes for brass instruments.
> Don't let this overwhelm you.  One good resource is "The Essential
> Dictionary of Orchestration", ISBN 0-7390-0053-5, published by Alfred
> Publishing Co.  It's designed to help composers write for different
> instruments, but it's great for arrangers, too, and that's essentially
> what you've become.  Another good resource is the other members of
> your ensemble.  We'll discuss this later under the subject of
> leadership, but for now, just bear in mind that the group needs to
> figure out how to work all these instruments into a coherent ensemble;
> you don't have to do it alone.
>
> 2) I've also been happy to include people who have, initially, limited
> musical skills.  We've all be beginners, and there's a lot of music,
> authentic to our period, interesting to play, attainable by people
> with modest skills, and commercially available.  I like the advice,
> "If you think you can judge someone else's level of ability, then you
> bear responsibility for finding them something within that level that
> they can do to be successful."
>
> A good source for playable, simple music is a music education company,
> Sweet Pipes.  I recommend their titles "Songs and Dances of Olde
> England", "Renaissance Time", and "Piper's Fancy".  I'll also point to
> the SCA dance arrangements by  Lady Phaedria d'Aurillac (Kristina
> Pereyra) http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/phaedria.html<http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/%7Epraetzel/phaedria.html>and Mistress
> Arianna of Wynnthrope (Karen Kasper) http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/Arianna/.
>  Most of their arrangements have a very simple 2nd-soprano line,
> intended to be practical for beginners.
>
> Limited musical skills can also be addressed by giving people a chance
> to practice music before rehearsals.  This is a judgement call; some
> people think that an ability to sight-read music is an essential skill
> for an SCA musician, and require it of anyone who joins their group.
> That's not my position: if a new musician needs to take music home and
> "woodshed" it for a week before he's comfortable playing the pieces in
> a group, then I think it's my job to allow for that.
>
> One other note: I've found it useful to implement the following
> custom, which some people have taken to calling "Christian's Rule": if
> you're trying your best, you aren't allowed to apologize.  Everybody
> flubs notes and rhythms; sometimes this stuff is hard.  Do your best,
> and don't apologize for it. (On the other hand, if you haven't
> practiced, and you're not as familiar with the pieces as you should
> be, then perhaps an apology would be in order.  But only one.)
>
> 3) On the other hand, I *have* refused to seat people in a local music
> group, based on their levels of maturity (or professionalism, if you
> like) .  The group I founded in the Twin cities, named the "Warwick
> Consort," was built on an expectation that everybody would actually
> practice and improve from one rehearsal to the next.  If someone asked
> to join, but was interested in just treating the rehearsals as a
> recreational activity, we recommended other performance opportunities
> that were closer to that expectation.  (For example, we made sure to
> come to weekly Baronial meetings and toodle in a corner, welcoming any
> who would join us.)
>
> I think this extends to other personality issues.  The Warwick Consort
> gelled as a group of friends who trust one another, and there have
> been people who insisted on joining but whom we felt would bring
> unwanted drama or a lower level of trust to the group.  So we
> declined. (But we had a certain freedom in doing this.  See the
> discussion on "Naming the Group" below.)
>
> Second question: What are the ensemble's goals?
>
> 1)  It helps to start an ensemble with an expected performance with a
> due date.  "We're going to enter Kingdom A&S".  "We're going to play
> background music at feast for the upcoming Coeur d'Ennui event."
> "We're going to sing two madrigals before court at Coronation."  It
> helps focus people's attention. At least for me, I don't want to have
> a rehearsal that's mostly people just chatting or filling each other
> in on current events.  A looming deadline is an excellent means to
> focus the mind.
>
> What kind of performance venues are available in the SCA?  Honestly, I
> would avoid spotlight performances at feasts.  People are there to eat
> and talk with their friends, and asking everybody to shut up and
> listen to a performance is an imposition on a captive audience.
> (There are ways of minimizing the imposition, and if you're smokin'
> hot, people will consider it worthwhile, but it's a risky sell for an
> up-and-coming ensemble, and if people near you *don't* shut up, the
> rest of the hall won't be able to hear you anyways.)
>
> Instead, there's ambient background entertainment: during the day,
> before court, during feast.  There's playing a processional or
> recessional for court.  (Check with Their Majesties' chancellor and a
> court herald first, of course.)  There's the music pit for dance
> balls.  The Warwick Consort decided to work with some event stewards
> and have small "house concerts" in quiet areas of events.
>
> What do you do with members who can't make the performance?  Well, you
> want to keep them coming to rehearsals; if you tell them, "See you in
> six weeks," you probably won't.  So, put them to work providing
> solidity for weak parts, or listening to a run-through to check for
> things like balance and coordinated articulations.
>
> Eventually, you'll end up with a series of cascading short-term goals.
>  You'll have a ball coming up in a month, and something fancy at a
> court two weeks later, and a competition a month after that.  That's
> terrific; if an ensemble member can't make one performance, they're
> still involved because they might be able to make another.
>
> Remember the hypothetical recorder player with a passion for Celtic
> music?  How do you accommodate that interest into your group's
> short-term goals?
>
> 2) You should have at least one long-term goal: developing a healthy
> group.  By this, I mean an ensemble with a good group dynamic:
> everybody feels welcome, they have an interior motivation for
> practicing and performing at their best, they all trust one another.
>
> Part of this might be an extended effort at recruiting.  Some
> ensembles, for example the DragonLion Consort in Ansteorra, or the
> Lion & Lily team in Atlantia, are really not looking for new members.
> Other ensembles are.  It's not a cut-and-dried issue. Any new members,
> even those ho get along great with the current roster, will change a
> group's social dynamics, and might require a change in orchestration
> or repertoire.  This might be a good thing, but it shouldn't be a
> *surprising* thing.
>
> (Being open to recruiting new members is sometimes a good barometer of
> the pressures the group has on the local SCA environs.  If there are
> musicians in the local chapter who don't want to have anything to do
> with your group, there's something going on that you might want to
> address.  This might be a canary in a mine shaft.
>
> One problem with recruiting new members into an established group is
> that, with any luck, you've all gotten better as the ensemble has
> practiced and rehearsed.  If everybody's ready to tackle Byrd's
> Fantasia a 6 #2, or a crazy Spanish ensalada, what do you do when
> somebody wants to join ho is just learning her instrument? The Mighty
> Jararvellir Music Guild is the ensemble out of the barony in Madison,
> Wisconsin, and their solution was to require everybody to play out of
> their comfort zones during the first hour of the rehearsals.  So,
> veteran players would be learning alto fingering, or bass clef, or new
> instruments, or such, during the first hour.  New members felt right
> at home.  And then they brought out the heavy-lifting pieces during
> the second hour.
>
> Eventually, your ensemble will develop a group identity.  You'll want
> to come up with a name.  If your ensemble takes it's identity from the
> local SCA chapter, say, "The Ivory Keep Singers" or something, what
> does that suggest about "Who's allowed in?"
>
> One more thing: try not to apologize when naming your group.  If you
> feel you want to name yourself something that boils down to "Don't
> expect too much of us; we kind of suck", then I'd recommend you go hit
> the rehearsals some more and come back when you're ready to ask people
> to pay attention to you, without apologies.
>
> Third question: What does an effective leader do?
>
> I'm a big fan of Max DuPree, the author of "Leadership is an Art."
> His thesis in that book is: "The first responsibility of a leader is
> to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two,
> the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the
> progress of an artful leader."
>
> Essentially, the job of leading an ensemble is team-building. (a)
> Identify your members' strengths.  Who's the best at keeping a
> consistent tempo?  At counting long rests?  At coming in with a clear
> voice and rock-solid pitch?  At knowing music theory?  At knowing
> music history?  At keeping the atmosphere light when it needs to be?
> At congratulating other musicians at their personal triumphs and
> achievements?
>
> Then (b) revise your goals based on those strengths, as well as the
> members' individual goals.  (Remember that Celtic-music enthusiast?)
> Every member of the ensemble  should feel like he or she is
> contributing his or her A Game, both musically and socially.  And
> everybody should feel like he or she is getting something important
> out of the group.
>
> There are other, important aspects to team-building.  How will you
> decide to celebrate your group's achievements?  Why does the Grimfells
> music group have potlucks?
>
> I've had success with teen-agers who've wanted to sing in the choirs
> or play in the ensembles I've run, but there have been unexpected
> aspects.  Acting mature is usually not an issue, but expect crises.
> Reliability is an issue because a teen's life is outside his or her
> control; even if she swears that she will certainly be at next week's
> rehearsal and the performance on Saturday, she might get grounded, or
> her family might decide to keep her home for a grandparent's birthday
> or something.  In general, it's useful to get the parents / guardian
> "on the team" for the ensemble as well as the teenager.  One other
> note: general life experience will be an occasional issue that needs
> addressing.  There are "common sense" matters that a 16-year-old, no
> matter how mature he is, has yet to deal with, and about which he'll
> be ignorant.
>
> What musical considerations will an ensemble have to address?
>
> 1) Voicing.  Much of the ensemble music repertoire from the
> Renaissance is not specified as being for one type of instrument or
> another.  Praetorius didn't write string quartets or recorder
> quartets; he wrote quartets, and let the musicians determine what that
> meant.  If you have a vocal piece, you could decide to sing all the
> parts, play all the parts on instruments, double some lines with voice
> and instrument, or mix-and-match however you please.  Will you add
> percussion? Will you change the arrangement as the piece progresses,
> so that it changes texture?
>
> 2) Range.  Clearly, if all you have are soprano recorders, you don't
> want to be picking pieces that require a fuller range between parts.
> This can be tricky with some sheet music, where the arranger thought
> it simple to write the soprano and tenor lines as if they were in the
> same range, instead of an octave apart.  Squishing lines like that is
> a simple way to foul up good music.
>
> Here's a tricky question: the viola plays in the same range as which
> recorder?  Answer: the bass.  (I refer you again to the Alfred book on
> orchestration, which details every instruments concert-pitch range.)
> One observation: if you have recorders and bowed strings playing
> together, recorders get softer at the bottom of their ranges, but
> strings don't.  So where your piece moves into its higher registers,
> the recorders will be more present, and where the music is near the
> bottom of its range, your sound will be more "stringy".  Make sure you
> use this as a "feature" of your sound, rather than suffer it as a
> "bug".
>
> Is there a problem using a 'cello in an ensemble with recorders?  Not
> usually.  The 'cello doubles the bass line an octave lower.  This
> extends the range, which should likely sound fine.  But be careful of
> putting violins on the melody/soprano line, where they'll sound below
> the alto recorders, that's part of the "squishing" (or part-crossing)
> that you'll want to avoid.
>
> 3) What to do with that autoharp, or any other chording instrument.
> Medieval music (for my purposes, pre-1470's compositions) doesn't use
> chords the way modern music understands them, and it's likely that
> chording instruments won't work right.  16th Century composers don't
> talk about chords in the same way we do, but Renaissance music
> certainly seems to have a clear chordal harmonization.  Chording
> instruments are great for filling in staid middle parts, and provide a
> nice pitch stability for choirs.
>
> 4) In addition, there's all the normal aspects of musicality: making
> sure everybody comes in together, articulates a passage the same way,
> keeps the same tempo, stays in tune, and so on.
>
> 5) Finally, you get to address the question: "Is [the piece / the
> instrument / the technique / etc] period?"  For my money, if I'm going
> to expend the energy to master a piece, I think it ought to be
> appropriate to the SCA, which usually means composed in the Middle
> Ages or Renaissance.  Your mileage may vary.  As I said up above, I'm
> pretty flexible when it comes to the authenticity of instruments:
> authenticity is a journey, not a destination, and I try not to tell
> other people where they should be on their journey.  As for
> techniques, I try to research and encourage period techniques.  Why
> exert the effort to sound good, if through that effort you sound like
> a modern jazz ensemble or folk-music group?
>
> That was the first half of the course.  The second half dealt with
> Very Short Term music groups, assembled at events.
>
> For example, people getting together to play music and deciding, after
> a half-hour, that it would be fun to continue noodling in public or
> maybe to work up a couple of pieces for some simple performance later
> in the day. Mistress Gwyneth's "Wavering Consort" is a good example of
> this; she carries music to events in case people want to gather and
> sing.
>
> In brief, almost all the issues that the first half of the class
> addressed, are also dealt with for such an ad hoc group, in miniature.
>  You still need to decide on repertoire, you still need to make all
> the musical decisions, and somebody has to "define reality" and lead
> the ensemble.  (And at the end, that person should still remember to
> say "Thank you.")
>
> Here are my sources and resources:
>
> 1) The Choral Public Domain Library
> http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page has thousands of
> arrangements of period pieces, usually a couple of slightly different
> versions of popular pieces.
>
> 2) The IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library for instrumental works
> http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page does the same thing for instrumental
> works, albeit with a smaller collection.
>
> 3) Sheet Music Plus http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/  is a commercial
> site with previews of the pieces.  It's a large collection that allows
> you to buy PDFs and download them immediately.
>
> 4) For mail-order, I can recommend Honeysuckle Music.
> http://www.honeysucklemusic.com/  Jean Allison-Olson runs the company
> out of her house.   She has an enormous collection of great music,
> concentrating on the Renaissance, and she's wonderful to deal with.
>
> 5) One of the publishers Honeysuckle carries is London Pro Musica
> http://www.londonpromusica.com/  hich is mostly just one guy: Bernard
> Thomas.  But Dr. Thomas is prolific in his arrangements of period
> pieces, judicious in his choices as to which pieces to arrange (very
> little of his work is spent polishing turds), helpful in his editorial
> comments, and downright gifted in making his arrangements sparkle with
> the intent and sensibility of the original composers.  (His duFay
> arrangements sound like duFay, rather than like Bernard Thomas.)
>
> 5) If you're going to be working with recorders, you really need The
> Recorder Book by Kenneth Wollitz  (see
> http://www.amazon.com/Recorder-Book-Kenneth-Wollitz/dp/0394749995)
> It's bounced around among a couple of publishers, and I undestand he's
> at work revising the book.  But it has *everything* you'd want to
> know: how to play the recorder (he assumes his reader is an adult,
> playing an alto recorder), how to practice, how to arrange a concert,
> how to ornament a piece in different traditions, how to play outside,
> et cetera.
>
> 6) Medieval and Renaissance Music, a Performer's Guide by Timothy
> McGee  (See http://www.librarything.com/work/211430)  Unlike the rest
> of the theory books here, this is written by one person.  It's a great
> book, moving in and out of print from the University of Toronto,
> providing historical backgrounds and contexts for period musical
> developments.  How would a Renaissance musician have placed a
> Krummhorn into an ensemble: McGee explains how and why.
>
> A Performer's Guide to Renaissance Music, edited by Jeffery
> Kite-Powell  (see
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Performers-Guide-Renaissance-Publications-Institute/dp/0253348668
> )
>  I didn't realize this book was in print again.  It's a collection of
> chapters by professional performers about orchestration of their
> particular instruments.  So a harpist will talk about how to use a
> harp in Renaissance music, a percussionist will talk about period
> drumming practices, and so on.
>
> A Performer's Guide to Medieval Music edited by Ross Duffin.  (See
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Performers-Guide-Medieval-Music-Scholarship-Performance/dp/0253215331/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b
> )
>  This is yet another collection of essays, written by scholars and
> performers, for performers.  It specializes in Medieval, as opposed to
> Renaissance performing practices.
>
> A Companion to Medieval and Renaissance Music, edited by Tess
> Knighton.  (See
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Companion-Medieval-Renaissance-Music-Knighton/dp/0520210816/ref=pd_sim_b_3
> )
>  This is a great book, again a collection of different scholarly
> essays.  The writing style is down-to-earth and engaging.  You can
> read each of these essays in a half-hour and just feel *smarter* and
> better informed about what we're trying to do.
>
> Christian d'Hiver
> Companion of the Calon Lily, Companion of the Saltire
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


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