Lyr Req: SCA approved songs

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 27 Sep 05 - 08:19 AM

Yes, that sort of thing WAS part of the original Dream, but has been mostly buried by the 'pseudo-authenticrats'.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: GUEST,Seonaid
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 09:36 PM

Who was it that said: "SCA does *not* stand for 'Society for Compulsive Authenticity'!"

I've found that I can get free beer at most camps by singing almost anything reeking slightly of wantonness or silliness. People who would chafe sorely about others' attempts at serious bardery will laugh heartily -- or even sing along -- with ridiculous stuff like "Woad", or bawdy items from Robert Burns.

Hints to aspiring bards:

Find a couple of good all-purpose old tunes, then dig up some really old poetry (in or out of translation; you can even go for Greek and Latin). Put them together. Sing the result. It won't be any worse than a lot of the stuff that passes for Medi-Modern.

You might consider buddying up with a background musician and reciting your writings rather than singing them. It's a very ancient method of presentation, and you can ham it up happily. NOTE: This is an especially effective technique for those with "tin ears."

Consider writing praise songs about your hosts. This is an old bardic custom that can get you a full tankard and a spot closer to the fire. (Research the planxties of Irish harper O'Carolan.)

When writing, avoid verses that "mope", or that reflect introspective modern psychology. Rather, write about feuds, ghosts and drowned lovers. Leave the achy-breaky-heart pieces for your Nashville persona.

Meanwhile, did you know that you can sing "The Jaberwock" to the tune of "Greensleeves"?

Anything is possible!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 09:01 PM

LOL! That, and I just got tired of being always relegated to the Kitchen Dungeon just because I can cook. Oh well.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 06:29 PM

Well Val,

the only problem with taking that path is that one becomes so highly specialised, that one's material is no longer accessible to the majority, especially the peasants, both inside and outside the SCA!


BTW, I have to keep telling my spell-checker to ignore the SCA.... :-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: GUEST,Val
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 05:22 PM

Back when I was playing SCA, I used to sing pretty much whatever I bluddy well wanted, so long as it wasn't obviously "modern", plus a bunch of my own stuff and "SCA-Traditional" local pieces. The audiences liked it, although of course the purists looked down their noses at me. That's OK - I've found in SCA the peasants have better revels and are more generous with the libations than are the Royals or Laurels. But as Foolestroupe observed, I eventually got fed up with the negative attitudes and the growing disrepect from attendees at events (just speaking for myself here - your local group may be different) and left.

Anyway, one way to keep the "period police" happy might be to get familiar enough with the forms of various acceptable music & then write your own "in a period style".

Good luck

Val

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: Rutger
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 11:39 AM

Hello Owl -

I would suggest Owain Phyffe and the New World Renaissance Band as a rich source of material. You can find his albums on his website, the liner notes on his CDs are pretty complete.
He does the "old stuff" with authentic lyrics, melody lines, and flavor yet without the "this-is-Early-Music-so-it-must-be-stuffy-and-formal" feel that you can get from some other ensembles. Be prepared to learn material in languages other than English - it's good for you anyway.
If you email me directly ([e-mail]) I can suggest a few other sources.

Good luck,
Rutger

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 06:47 AM

Unfortunately, often the only thing that ignorant untrained amateurs have going for them is enthusiasm: thus, occasionally, the swine snuffles up a pearl, but fails to recognise it properly for what it truly is.

And of course - "SCA approved" is not necessarily always a positive recommendation.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 09:26 PM

Beware of Cantaria. The site is full of egregious errors and false "information". Most of the material is unattributed; just occasionally it's accurate, but that's the exception to the rule. To give them credit, they've removed their ridiculous misunderstanding of Rare's Hill in view of our comments on it here, though they still retain the bizarre, invented "explanations" of words mis-heard from Mary Black's already garbled recording of the song; and their suggested date for it (given without a shred of evidence) is probably too early by a century or so.

SCA is fairly useless as a source of authentic information. Greg Lindahl is the honourable exception; pretty much anything he says can be relied upon.

It must be said that the Mudcat also contains a great deal of nonsense posted by people who didn't know what they were talking about. At least, here, other people can add corrections that everybody can see; even if it can take years for the original errors to be corrected in the DT.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 09:12 PM

PS...I also have a large notebook of mostly dance tunes, but some songs too. PM me or e mail if you are interested.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: JohnB
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 09:08 PM

Step away from the filk music, there is a reason that "real old" songs are still in circulation. They are "REAL GOOD" not total crap churned out for the occasion, to be forgotten five seconds later.
Try to find "An anthology of English Medieval and renaissance vocal music" Noah Greenberg norton isbn 0 393 00461 9 that has some good stuff in it. The Oxford book of Carols has a great ammount of early material, there is also an Oxford book of Madrigals.
Wassail, JohnB

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: Chip2447
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 07:43 PM

There are pre 1600 songs and tunes here,Cantaria.com

Chip2447

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 07:05 PM

Most real 'folk' musos have left the SCA because of that mindset Owlkat... It's called the TMI (or TMA) factor.

You can't please all the people all the time...

but some people of little talent seem to be able to fake sincerity (ask any Political for hints!) and period authenticity with anything they write themselves.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: MMario
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 05:58 PM

Check out Greg Lindahls;s site as well - he has a lot of information on pre-1600 songs

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 05:35 PM

Go look at my Lot in the Auction...Early Music, mostly tunes but the Bard to the Bone one has lyrics. Period lyrics. Pasttyme in Good Company, etc....also check out madrigals.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 05:26 PM

Most of the folk songs that we think of as old aren't documented to be much more than 200 years old, if that. There have been numerous threads on this topic here, though. Try searching the threads on "renaissance," etc.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: GUEST,Owlkat
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 05:21 PM

Oops,
It's from Owl.
Cheers,
Mart.

Subject: Lyr Req: SCA approved songs
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 05:21 PM

Hi ya'll,
So here I am once again in the SCA and, being of bardic persuasion, I'm desperately seeking songs I can sing and play at tourneys, weekends, evenings spent over someone's homemade beer, you name it. And since I don't want to get in trouble with the cognescenti (you don't know trouble until you've said or done something that isn't period, accurate, and researched to the nth obsessive degree), I'm looking for usable sources of the real thing. I've got my share of parodies, but those don't cut it at more formal functions.
Thanx,
Cheers,
Owl