minstrel: Fw: [Mid] Song lyrics for popular dances

[Faulconess at aol.com]

<<There doesn't seem to be much of a singing-while-dancing tradition in the
period we do dances from; what sung dance music we have seems to have been
sung by someone not
dancing, for others to dance to.>>

This is especially true in the Celtic countries---where social dancing was
popular, but instruments and accomplished musicians to play them were
frequently in short supply.  The style that evolved to compensate for this was
called "piert-a-beuil", or "mouth music";  also called "diddling" (Scots) or
"lilting" (Irish), depending on which country you lived in.   

Simply put, it was like a Celtic style of "scat".  :D :D :D  A singer, or
singers, would perform a series of sung phrases, sometimes nonsense rhymes in
either pseudo- Gaelic or English.  There's evidence to support that these
phrases were particular to one performer, and passed down through generations
orally---recalling the older Bardic traditions in those countries.

There's a wealth of modern recordings of "mouth music" by Bothy Band, Jean
Redpath, Sheilas, and Capercaillie (incidentally, their lead vocalist was the
Ceilidh singer in the movie "Rob Roy"--rememember her cameo????)  in case
anyone is interested.

Anyway, to the point.  Surely other countries had a period quivalent for this,
that we could adopt, or bastardize, for SCA use?  The way Italian pieces would
go on fa-la-la-la-ing for hours at a stretch, seems to suggest that there
was!!!!

Just my two farthings, and some change.  :D :D :D

^v^  Fionna ni Caisidhe of the Firebrand
House Celestia, GDH, Aethelmearc

"I have animal magnetism.  Whenever I go outside, squirrels stick to my
clothes."

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