minstrel: Bardic, Period, Etc.

[Sandi Augsburger]

Lily Rose wrote: 

> Reproducing period life is a goal I've been interested in for a long time
> now. And, if you want to have a period feast, a period event, a period
> experience -- why, period food, period music, and period clothing all
> enhance that experience.

So,...The more period the food clothing, music, etc., the better the
experience, right? 
> 
> But the folks in period did not give a rat's ass about documentation,
> authenticity, whatever. 

Actually, if you read some of the treatises written about music during
the Middle Ages and Renaissance, there was _alot_ of concern about
authenticity. People who wrote music that did not conform to the
Church's idea of correctness were often threatened with excommunication,
or worse. Think about the "devil's interval", for example. Or, the use
of troping, and melismas. The writer of the music often had to defend
what he/she had written, and this was often a big controvery between the
Church and the Universities (especially in Paris and Oxford). 
 
> And frankly, original music is
> perhaps the MOST period choice a bard can make.

Since improvisation and embellishment were definitely period techniques,
and were considered mandatory at times, I agree that original music
based on period techniques and social history would be very appropriate. 

However, I do not agree that it is the MOST period choice a bard can
make. There is a definite need, IMHO, in the SCA to search out and
reproduce, in performance, the original works as well. When I attend
Bardic Fires I hear alot of original works, many of which are
period-appropriate and very well done. Yet, I hear very little of the
_wealth_ of actual compositions from the time. Why should these not be
equally as important? Are we _REcreating_ the Middle Ages/Renaissance,
or only _creating_ them? There is so much BEAUTIFUL music already
composed and it cries out to be heard!!!
 
> Nor do I think that
> "competitions" should be the primary venue for the performing arts.

Right! Nor should Bardic Fires be the primary venue. Wouldn't it be fun
to have lots of households/encampments producing beautiful music all
times during the day while sitting casually around their
tables/campfires?
 
> anybody who tries to
> entertain should be judged PRIMARILY on how well they entertain.

But, isn't this a two-way street? For example, many people dislike (and
make fun of) European opera because they don't know enough about it to
understand how it "speaks". Yet, when I taught my "tough" high school
students the story of _La Traviata_ and helped them to understand the
music and the ways the music increased the emotions, they loved it. I
took them to see it and my toughest young men were _crying_ at the end.

This same idea can apply to the music originally written in the Middle
Ages/Renaissance. If we don't know it's "language" how can we expect to
understand what it is saying!

My point here is that I think another of the major jobs of a bard is to
educate the audience, so that they can understand and enjoy the period
compositions, as well as those new compositions written in period style.
This is where documentation comes in as well: it proves that the
performer understands the "language" of the music, and it helps others
to understand it, too.

This puts a little of the responsibility for the entertainment value
onto the listeners, not just the performer. The listener must be willing
to learn about the music s/he hears, and to have an accepting ear to the
sounds and styles that are not similar to styles of today. 

A modern-day composer writing in period style is going to have been
influenced as to his/her preference of sounds by the music of today.
S/he cannot help but be influenced since s/he grew up with the 20thC
sounds. The music written in the Middle Ages/Renaissance will have
sounds/styles not necessarily as familiar-sounding to our modern ears. 

So, we may have to stretch our definition of "entertainment" to
"entertainment and appreciation-education". In other words, the more we
know about something good, the more we appreciate it and find it
entertaining.

Of course, even great music done poorly is never entertaining. So, the
entertainer must be well rehearsed, no matter whether s/he is performing
a period piece or an original compositition based on period styles. And,
excess demand for authenticity takes the fun out of our game.

Just one closing thought: most of the Bardic Fires I have been to had
few original compositions OR period recreations. They consisted mostly
of bawdy tales based on 20thC concepts of humor, and usually having alot
of testosterone involved. These are fun, too, but there seems to be
little demand for performance music. 

In fact, when I have presented compositions from the time-period, the
response has been enthusiastic by some, especially parents concerned
with their children's "g-rated" ears, but most only provide polite
applause, and then perk up when another bawdy Norse story is told. Many
do not realize the hours of practice and research, and the "guts", that
are needed to produce an instrumental performance of music that is not
commonly heard or understood.

But' I'll keep trying!

Cecily Alys de Percy
Norland Household, Shire of Twae Linnes
(mka: Sandi Augsburger)

I am a fairly new member of the Society (in fact, the SCA headquarters
keeps sending my registration back for changes!). So, I hope I have not
stepped on toes (especially dancing ones!)- or repeated information that
has been posted so many times that you are all sick of reading it.

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