Message-Id: <01BDF481.E0F2A9C0.lnktheriot@csi.com>
From: Ken Theriot <lnktheriot@csi.com>
To: "'minstrel@pbm.com'" <minstrel@pbm.com>
Subject: minstrel: Cecily's ideas
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 19:12:08 -0400
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Just a couple of comments on your comments....

"...the more period the better, right?"  Well, not necessarily.  Remember 
though our SCA ancestors were (many of them, anyway) engaged in Medieval 
Studies, they were also engaged in pursuits ranging from writing sci-fi and 
sword-and-sorcery to recreational pharmaceuticals use, and they wanted the 
party to live their fantasy.  We don't really want the Middle Ages, we want 
the nice bits, but it should look better, smell better, sound better, taste 
better. And every member gets to define "nice" and "better" for themselves.

"...are we Recreating or just creating?"  Well, it is the Society for 
Creative Anachronism; I certainly didn't join the SRA!  In my experience, 
especially with A&S competitions, it's the "creating" that gets shorted in 
favor of the "recreating".

About opera...  I love opera (okay, I love Italian opera-Wagner gives me a 
headache).  My husband, who, because he loves me, has sat through not only 
Italian opera, but English as well.  He hates it.  He understands it, and 
he still hates it.  I can barely get him to sit through Gilbert and 
Sullivan.  On the other hand, he would crawl on his hands and knees through 
broken glass to see a decent production of Les Miz.  It's the style of 
music, and it's an issue of taste.  I listen to Hildegarde of Bingen to 
relax; he runs screaming from the room (on the other hand, Alanis 
Morrisette drives ME screaming from the room).  You can teach all you want, 
but how music touches someone is not an issue of education; it's in the ear 
and in the soul.

About bards and bardic circles... I don't want to open this can again, but 
"bard" is a good gaelic word and it means "poet", thereby implying WORDS. 
 I'm not surprised your instrumental caught the audience off guard; I'm 
sure they were expecting words.  The testosterone stories (they were known 
as "No sh*t, there we were..." stories when I lived in the West) are there, 
but there should be better stuff, too; if not, leave.  The only way to hear 
ONLY what you want to hear is to have invitation-only circles, and that 
could get pretty lonely (Elitists of the World.... Please forward your 
references for our consideration!).  And the best way for bards to teach is 
to slip it in when they're not looking.  Not "Listen to this, it's good for 
you!" but "Ooh, that was great, what was it?"  For some audiences, period 
music is like spinach-if you tell them about it beforehand, they'll hate 
it, whether they really do or not.  With enough hollandaise sauce, my 
husband will eat an old shoe, and with enough looking (and consideration of 
their audience) period purists can find pieces that will wow the socks of 
any bardic circle.

					Adelaide


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