Mi Contra Fa

Back to work

Ongoing project: Lyre tunebook.  It's slow-going, but it's going.

Upcoming Poeta stuff to get done:

Sapphire Joust: Should I write something? Clearly I can't enter my own competition, but I could exhibit.

Highland River Melees: Need to get tokens together.

Novice: Need to write heraldic bling

Pennsic: Need to find deputy for Known World Poetry

Birthday: Need reasonably-sized epic of Early Storvik history, in suitable (Norse?) meter

Personal Research stuff:

Learn to use the video recorder to make YouTube lyre tutorials

Make some more audio clips for podcasts.  Should do "Wulf and Eadwacer," post to lyre list.

Englyn Milwr

Poeta Atlantiae is sponsoring a challenge at Highland River Melees.  Since the event theme is Wales and warriors, the call is going out for the soldier's poem, englyn milwr, a Welsh form.

How do you write one? It's very simple!

This is a verse form for me!
Of lines, there only are three.
Meter is totally free.

Each line must have seven beats.
End rhyme will make it quite neat.
Englyn milwr, short and sweet!

It is known as soldier's rhyme -
Themes of war are quite sublime.
Let's write some - it's a good time!

Performer's Revel Report

Fun as always!  Heard many nifty new things, including a song about the Children's Crusade that should come with a content warning for young mothers and/or pregnant women.  We had some attendees who had come from afar, including Sir Axel from the south of Atlantia and Rathlaed duNoir.  (Well, when your hosts are Clam Chowder, I guess there's a certain pull...)

We had I'd say a good half-dozen entrants for the Poeta Spring Challenge, which we followed with the maypole.  Six dancers and nearly as many singers!  It was fun, and much more coherent than the Guppy Gala demo.  Still lacked something of the frission it seems like it ought to have, probably because we were all over 30, mostly married, and a little self-conscious about the whole thing.  I also neglected to psych people up to flirt. I'd still like to see it done with a high school/college crowd.

I did get to speak with Baroness Janina about Ye Olden Daies, and I have my nugget: Storvik's first seneschal and baroness divided those duties between them by coin toss.

Personally, I did all right.  "To Put the Devil Into Hell" was quite well-received, and "None Suffer" started a brief discussion on the nature of the pilgrims (Baron Igor picked up that if they were eating white bread and wine, they weren't especially ascetic...).  I trotted out "By Your Side" for I think the second time in public; a little wobbly at first, but it went fine.  I tried Bertran de Born again; people left the room.  Oh, well - I think I do well by it, but it's just a weird-sounding song.  More gratifyingly, I read the "Saga of Fishflinger" on a lark, during a lull when folks were snacking and talking, and heard a few "Sssh!"s because folks realized they wanted to hear it.  And after the room went on something of a gypsy jag, I hauled out Beggars to God.  Little wobble in the first verse, then my voice caught up with itself and it went very well.

After listening to a large number of minor key narrative folk songs on various popular tropes, though, I admit I'm tempted to try a few Scadian versions of Title of the Song.  Title of the War Song, Title of the Irish Song, Title of the Magical Song...

Performer's Revel!

Storvik hosts a small, friendly event called Performer's Revel.  It's at a member's house.  We sit, we perform, we eat an awesome dinner.  It's great fun, and it's this Saturday.  We have once again been able to score a visit from Nana so that our childcare is taken care of - the Revel is not so great for the easily bored under-twelve set.

As Poeta, I'm sponsoring a challenge on the theme of Spring.  I'll be giving out tokens to all who participate - I'm thinking about 2' of trim to make a fillet and a flower.  It was just going to be flowers, but then what do you do with them? Well, with a fillet, you can wear it.  The hard part will be sticking to my guns about having it be recitative.  Personally, I think the distinction between poem and song is artificial, but it's there.  And people who don't sing may feel that they're at a disadvantage vis-a-vis those who do.  (And there's something to that.  A tune can cover up defects in versification.)

As the owner of a maypole, I'll be bringing that along.  A large group activity isn't the norm for the Revel, but if there is an event in Storvik where I think it would have a good reception, this is the event.  I need to print out the lyrics for Official Month of Maying, Maltese Cuckoo and May Pease.

I'm looking forward to giving "To Put the Devil Into Hell" a wider audience, trotting out the Holy Pork Chop song again, and possibly debuting The Shining Time of Spring.  (It might be a good lead-in to the maypole.)  I have half a notion to try and whip the Bertran de Born into performance shape, but it's really close to the event at this point.

KASF 2009 Event Report

This will go long, so it's behind a cut.  As noted last night, I had a great time and learned a lot, but I wonder if I could have used my time better.

For KASF Winners

Loud the lyre    louder the cries
Sodden, glad shouts  of sloshed soldiers
Wine-drunk the words   of women soused
Praise one, praise all   peerless producer
Bold fair brewer   best of them all
Sorcha Prechan,  Storvik's own prize
Her honey ale   full honors took
Atlantia's Brewer  Lady now is
Red-nosed the royals  Rich brews they drink
And add to this   Order of Owl!
Janina and Rorik   rightly recognize her

Nor forget either  other prize-winner
Bold fair baker  best of them all
(Give bard a break  The words worked well)
Tirzah MacCrudden   Her tartlets so tasty
Royal Baker believed    No better were found
And prize of fine pots   will put she to use
More food to fix   with flavor so fine

Artisans of Storvik   Sing I of them
As war-band like wave   washes over foes
So our artisans   all odds overcome
In combat or quiet   Cry out all -
Victory Storvik!   Vivat one and all!

KASF 2009 Quick Notes

It is late (for me) and I am beat, but some things I want to jot down before I sleep and/or forget them:

Advice from Lady Orla: Writing documentation with the assumption that the reader is a judge whose field of expertise is not yours; using a photograph of oneself to help people associate face with work (since so many of us are bad with names).

Okay, so if the last time I tried to hit higher notes at full volume didn't work so well, what made me think it would work this time?  I coughed and squawked my way through "The Armed Man."  On the other hand, people heard me in a noisy hall with a padded ceiling - I was damn loud.  Lesson: Stop it with the high notes already.  Save them for the quiet bardic circles.

On the other hand, at least one person expressed an interest in learning "None Suffer" for her own performance.  That one is definitely the Win among the current translations.

Display looked lovely.  I doubt many, if any, people looked at it.  There is so much to see at one of these things that, unless You the Artist park your butt by your exhibit to talk to passer-by, and unless your Art is right up their alley... you get skimmed or skipped.

You can use boxes to create height to help with displays.  You can modify the basic science fair poster into a gothic cathedral cutout.  (OMG the awesome "Gloria," I shall report tomorrow.)

10 business cards gone.

Oldcastle Memorial Challenge was awesome fun.  Great stuff all around.  "To Put the Devil Into Hell" needs to become a regular performance piece for me, IMO.

The New Storvik Arts Juggernaut continues to roll.  Vivat to Sorcha Prechan, Royal Brewer and latest Companion of the Owl, and to Tirzah MacCrudden, winner of the baking competition.  And FL was a runner-up in... Heart of Atlantia?  One of the competitions.  And we were well-represented in the Inter-Baronial, the Persona Pentathalon (3 entries, I think, out of a total of 10), the PA&S and just everywhere.  Storvik

PowerPoint Slides

Yeah, I went there.  What can I say? It's the tool I'm most used to for arranging text and pictures in a pleasing fashion.

Also, I was able to incorporate a photo of a straightjacket into the poster.  That's a bonus.

Close to done.  Materials for poster complete and printed, just need to arrange and adhere.  Everything else is gravy - do I make folders for the maypole report and the Wulf and Eadwacer documentation?  Put together a binder of class notes? 

My usual Friday plans are canceled, so probably... heck, why not? 

KASF progress

Got a lot done last night:

• Community Performance section of display mostly done
  • Uses stock maypole photos, would like to get a picture of my maypole if possible before Sat.
• Made nice cover and funny (if I do say so myself) intro for GTP binder, slotted in what printouts I have
• Put "Yo me soy" HIP folder together
• Printed out maypole documentation for display
• Much better idea of what has to get done today and tomorrow

To wit: tonight, I hope to return to too-expensive glossy business cards to Staples and get cheaper matte ones; print out the GTP scores plus write/print translation notes for 'None Suffer' and 'Wulf.'  Trying to decide whether or not to include the de Born, since I didn't do the translation.  Should put in Robin Hood, even if I don't have it scored.  Do I?  That finishes that.

Print out documentation for "Blind King John" and folder it.  That completes my HIP examples.

Still have to finish poster sections for HIP and Anglo-Saxon performance.

Binder of original work? Probably a yes.  I have many of those printouts already.  Make a cover page, call it good.

Then the takeaways.  GTP first (it's done) and then, time allowing, maypole.  Finally, time allowing, pictures.  Otherwise, use manuscript illos and copyright-free images.

Know what else would be good? Small blank notepad or book for comments.  Get one at Staples.       

And oh, in performance news... everything's going swimmingly.  I will not, not, NOT use any instruments.  The songs are good.  The fabliau is good.

Snow Day Progress

Woo, snow day!

Four new scores for I, The Dark Woman, The Armed Man, None Suffer, and Wulf and Eadwacer (all PDFs).  I was a little reluctant to score "Wulf and Eadwacer" because of the whole improvisational/oral composition thing, but I'll just note that it's a snapshot of the performance at present (which has mostly reached an equilibrium).

Put the scores into a program/handout for KASF.

Redoing the Great Translation Project (GTP) webpages into "project pages" that contain links to the PDFs and other information, rather than trying to fit all of the links onto the Original Work page.  Completed one for None Suffer and one for I, The Dark Woman.

To Do:

• Finish poster
  • May include taking pictures: instruments, maypole
  • My arms, in construction paper
  • Actual content!
• Create binder for GTP, complete with notes, originals, etc.
• Create binder or folders for Historically Informed Performance selections
• Print out GTP take-aways
• Print out maypole take-aways
• Organize class notes into binder
• Print business cards
  • Possibly jury-rig business card holder