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51 Here I come

Pennsic 51 was not as full as I would have liked it to be, but maybe it was what I needed. This year was weird and between the weather and a less than full schedule, I don’t know how I managed to still have an over full schedule to not spend much time in camp.

Pennsic this year was hot but manageable. Much more manageable than GNEW by a good 10 degrees or so. Spouse creature and I took 2 days to drive down instead of 1 which seemed to be a solid plan. We got there at a good time when there was no rain, which was huge! He doesn’t mind setting up in the rain, but alores alons, I am a princess.

Before we got to site, the vehicle above was spotted. This brought me a silly amount of joy. It became more joyful when I realized I knew the humans -inside- the vehicle. We were messaging directly for about 30-45 mins. It started to get the hype up for Pennsic in a way that it was going to feel like HOME.

This year we chose to camp topside with our Barony, Stonemarche. I have to give a huge shoutout to camp moms Julienne and her Excellency Dierdre. Camp was perfectly laid out, spacious and felt again, like home.

These flag-a-dos were great and our footprint was laid out for us. That was super nice. However, as mentioned before, I am a princess and do not enjoy hear. Can you tell by my face?

The rest of the day was uneventful. This was also the first year that we would be cooking all of our own meals for the whole 8 days we were there. In years past, I had camped with a group that had fed us the whole week so the only thing I needed to worry about was my medications, snacks and breakfast. I am picky about brekky and don’t really do solid food. Also, to be fair, there were snacks, but I have a specific diet I try to keep to while I am away at events. It helps keep me hydrated as well as within my needs for protein… which are high. However, none of you came here to read about my dietary needs. You can here for the tea on Pennsic and TEA I shall bring… or coffee. Hmm. I could use some coffee right about now…. anyways!

Saturday was my OMGWTFBBQSAUCE rehearsal day. I had 3 rehearsals and a performance today. Sleeping in is not a thing on the ‘getti. I learned this the same way I learn everything… sheer brute force and stubborness. Which… didn’t help. I was up-ish with the sun and spent a lazy morning in camp, drinking coffee out of “Mine-ick”. The cousin of Yorik. Rehearsals started at about 12:30 with my Laurel, Sabine. She is always warm and willing to work with my less than focused brain. We played through duets, trios. It was nice to just -play- with no judgement. My recorder site reading is rusty as I focus more on voice. We picked some pieces which we were going to play for incidental music for the Runnymeade dinner the next day and then off to my next rehearsal I went.

Just down the block, off I went to meet with my Apprentice “Niece” Adelissa. She plays a plethora of strung instruments and so I had asked her if she was willing to accompany me for one of my solo pieces that I was choosing to do. She’s is very good and a fast study. So we worked through that and then off to my final rehearsal with Amalie. She is another classically trained opera vocalist who I have been -dying- to make music with. If you have not heard her sing, you absolutely should. It was like we had always sang together. We blended well, our timbre’s were well suited for one another and we seemed to make good choices around breathing spots in a way that would not effect the music.

From that rehearsal it was time to look cute. Off to Opening ceremonies! I love the pomp that it brings. It really helps make the event for me. However, not much time to stick around as I was heading off to perform at the EK/MID Bardic Showcase.

This year the showcase was centered on stories. I don’t often tell stories because when I do I become a very different persona. Solveig the singer is very demure, well behaved and serious. Solveig the story tell is well? A goblin. I don’t know what does it to me, but telling stories, I want to get down on the ground, play with levels… tempos… emotions. Also, these days, when I tell stories, I tend to dress in more masculine presenting clothing. I can’t tell you why, it’s just what triggers in my brain. My Apprentice “Nephew” Phillipe is also a fantastic story teller. However, he was helping me “Run” this from the background perspective and wasn’t up for telling a story this year.

Thus ends my public post for Saturday.

Sunday was filled with a mix of items. My first group rehearsal for the KWP: The Reckoning By Master Lorcan, I was once again playing in the pit. No new faces this year until the slightly later edition of Phillipe. However, I was also serving as the vocal coach for the 3 performers who were in varying stages of vocal performance. I worked with them for about an hour to 90 mins and by the end of our time together, it appeared to me that they were confident enough to bring that piece to life. oh! and lots of rain

From there I hauled tush to a few tents over where I was teaching my Bardic 101 class. This class is so important for newer folks and I wish I had a class like this when I started. When I started in the SCA 14+ years ago, I didn’t really have a path or anyone I could super talk to about Bardic. I found some folks a few years later, but this class would have been a great guided tour and I am glad to keep offering it. I had 12 people attend this class and a few contact me after for more information. That is always a thrill.

Later in the evening I would be orchestrating and performing in the Runnymeade Dinner. This is a gathering of all the landed Baronages of the East Kingdom. I was originally asked to bring “High Italian Aria” like feeling to their Excellencies. I had also recruited Amalie to sing a solo and a Duet with me. She sang “It was a lover and his lass”. As a duet, we did Machaut’s “Je Ne Cuit Pas”. This piece is in Occitan french so additional pronunciation research had to be done. And I finally finished with I’vo’ Bene. by Firenze The below picture captures 3 generations so to speak. My Laurel, Sabine, Myself and my student, Drustan.

This was also a chance for him to be exposed more and people could see him performing more. Covid killed a lot of folks desires to perform and be seen in public. He is working through this. So, he brought his guitar and a goose quill and he did a lovely job of playing for 20 minutes just as background music.

I had recruited about 8-9 performers to play and there was a lot of quick thinking as 1 of my musicians who I was counting on bowed out and the other did not show due to illness. So, re-organization needed to happen and quickly. I tried to make sure everyone had a chance to be seen/heard but of course, things never go according to plan. I think I should have made sure i had more reasonable backup plans besides “You go here now”.

We had only been asked to play until about 8 or so. From there, the instrumentalists packed up and made a quick stop at Bhakail’s boardgame and music night. I premiered my new song for the first time this week and I think it went well. We had stormed into camp like a flock of geese singing “Well Actually” by Her Excellency Emma Macalmone and then hailed Bhakail with a mighty “WAUGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”.

As dark o’clock rolled in we then hit VDK Bardic which is hosted by her Grace Caoilfhionn. Which, she, herself also has quite a beautiful voice. If you haven’t listened to the “Sing for the East” CD, she sings with Drake on “We are the East”. Anyways, I rolled in with the Bard Yard and once again, showed off my new song. This is important to me as I am super anxious about sharing my own work. I always feel like it’s never as good as anyone else’s. I know we cannot compare as all music is it’s own creation, but I want this piece in particular to be an anthem for “The Bards”. I can never tell if anything is well received or not, especially when the audience is small. So, I stuck around for a little bit, chatted with friends and again, back to N33 I went!.

Monday was my first instrumental Reckoning rehearsal, followed by running the annual Pennsic EKCOP meeting but nothing too flavorful for the day.

Tuesday was rehearsal, court and retaining and hitting up Silver Oak Bardic. I brought minstrels memory and a story as this was a group of select Bards who were performing for their own love and they were all skilled “Hand Picked” performers.

Wednesday was the same, but replace Silveroak bardic with the Holy Kingdom of Acre Bardic. Acre is a parallel game to ours. I have made many friends in their game and they are a lovely group of people so I try to make it to their Bardics.

Thursday was a big day for me. I would be teaching my intro to 16th century vocal technique and pedagogy. I am passionate about the voice and showing folks that there is more to singing than just opening your mouth. It is an Olympic sport with lots of research. I was only able to touch on a few key factors from key players into the 16th century for performance, who was singing and what ornaments were being used, but I was pleased that I had 6 participants come to my class, Thursday morning at 10:00 am ACROSS the battlefield.

Later that morning I had the joy of giving a private voice lesson from my camp. I had donated an hour of singing for voice lessons to a young human who had a passion for singing. It had been about 10 years since I worked with someone her age and it was really nice. Her enthusiasm and willingness to grow was so fresh and great to see. Her guardian was also a big support in her growth and I really enjoyed both of them. I do hope they continue to pursue voice with kiddo.

Friday Fri-yay! Just the reckoning on the schedule. A few pictures below, stolen from the beautiful Emeline (Phillipe’s Spouse and good friend of mine as well). Our performance was a performance. I don’t have much to say about it because it’s a pit performance. We weren’t meant to be the shining stars. The Stage actors and Actresses were and they did a phenomenal job.

Like I said… not much to report this year. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t amazing either. Hoping next year changes that.

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Boast for Tessa

Based -VERY closely on Chaucers 2nd speech from “A Knights Tale”

Video courtesy of Arlyanna van Wyck

Your Majesties, Your Highness,
And everybody else here NOT sitting on a cushion:

Today, today, you find yourselves equals.

For you are all equally blessed.

For I have the pride, the privilege, nay, the pleasure
Of introducing to you a woman about to be elevated, sired by generations of Pelicans before her,
A woman who can trace her lineage back to before the founding of the Society! Or, at least, to Master Harold.

I first met her atop the snow capped lands of Stonemarche, Palio if you will,
Working her hands in soil, mud, sweat and blood
Never asking for help, asking only for forgiveness that her flesh and bones could not labor beyond the bounds of human endurance.

Next, she amazed me still further at Harper’s
When she saved a lame duckFrom the would-be demolishment of a multi-remove feast.
Bashing away forks, knives, spoons all utensils with her bare hands
This duck? It may have been her own

At Birka, she spent a day sitting still, never moving an inch, or clattering an item
Just to better understand what stillness felt like.

And so, without further gilding the lily,
And with no more ado,

I give to you the Seeker of Service,
The Ambassador of Aide ,
The Matron of Maintenance
The One —
The Only —
Tessa Martini D’agnostino!

Start at 1:34- 3:41

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Allll by mysellllfffff

Sometimes you just need to sing. Living in the southern edge of NH means I don’t have a ton of folx I can be like SING WITH ME. Especially the night before an event. So, I decided to make some music with myself-ish.

Last year, I was honored to be able to participate in a concern hosted by my friend, Colette. We sang a mix of pieces, but I fell in love with a piece by Machaut which we performed. The version of the piece we sang was a duet. This could be done with 2 voices, voice and instrument, 2 instruments. We performed with 2 instruments.

Colette had sent everyone learning tracks (Being the amazingly kind human that they are). I still had access to these tracks so I grabbed the one for the bottom part so I could sing with it. It is Colette la Trouvere singing the bottom.

This was the result of boredom.

I hope you enjoy!

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Order of the Horse- Mikael Milrakki

Another scroll which I was asked to wordsmith for. I didn’t know the recipient at all but I tried to capture a regal form of his service for this scroll. This was for the Baronial Service award

Hear the mighty decree of Baron Muin to his fine flaming salamander kin! Loyal servant to the Barony, Mikael Melrakki epitomizes the essence of service to the Barony, his commitment unwavering, his dedication unparalleled. Offering his home as a bastion of camaraderie, he fosters unity through countless practices, where ranged warriors hone their skills and bonds are forged.

His abode doubles not only as a sanctuary for armaments but also as a repository for the Barony’s treasures, housing supplies essential for events and festivities. Yet, Mikael’s service extends beyond the confines of his dwelling. As the Minister of Lists, he ensures fairness on the field, meticulously maintaining records and overseeing tournaments with impartiality and integrity. His selfless contributions uplift the entire Barony, his passion igniting a flame of inspiration in others.

Let it be known throughout Bhakail and the Known World that Mikael shall be inducted into the Order of the Horse at the Waking of the Salamander, AS 58.

Calligraphy and Illumination done by Gretchen Schroeder

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Board Gaming Alliteration

The signet of Bhakail and I have become decently close. Having 2 peers connected to Bhakail, it is a second home to me (despite it being -across- the kingdom. Anyways, Bhakail takes their board gaming seriously. So, to counter that, I felt that a scroll with alliteration was in order. Nothing period about this besides the board games themselves but I have fun writing it.

Bhakail’s board gaming virtuoso, who brings brilliance, boasts breathtaking mastery beyond bounds and battles brainy opponents, is blessed with strategy, which baffles adversaries. They employ bewitching moves that bedazzle both beginners and seasoned players. Today, done by Baron Muin at Bhakail’s Tavern, ______________ is named Bhakail’s beloved Board gaming champion, where they also serve a beacon of camaraderie that binds the Barony together creating a bond that beautifully bridges generations and backgrounds. Brimming with benevolence, the Baronial champion shares boundless board game wisdom, fostering a bustling community of budding board gamers.

Scroll Calligraphy by Gretchen Schroeder Illumination Laura Louise

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Boast for Keziah Planchette, OL

My dear friend, Kiaya, was being elevated to the Order of the Laurel. She has been a peer to me in so many ways since I met her and her family. I was asked to boast her in. I asked her what type of boast she wanted. Her prompt was “Channel Ryou”. Challenge accepted. My original creation was 350 words… which… was a bit lengthy. This is what I was able to shorten it to and still have it capture their essence.

Good gentles, peers and nobles all …Behold the illustrious Keziah Planchette, Baron of Stonemarche, Member of the order of the Maunche, Member of the order of the Silver Crescent, Tygers cub, Recipient of the Consorts order of Courtesy, whose valor echoes through the annals of history! Who  stands as a beacon of hope in the darkest of times!

With quill in hand, she is swift as lightning, eye as sharp as the keenest blade. 

With brush, conjures visions of unparalleled beauty, capturing the essence of life itself! 

Keziah fearlessly defends the innocent and upholds justice in the face of adversity. Her valor knows no bounds.Therein beats a heart, overflowing with kindness and empathy. Known far and wide as a champion of the unseen. From the newest babe to the highest crown, all find solace in the benevolence of Baron Keziah.

let it be known throughout the land that Keziah Planchette is not merely a Baron, but a paragon of virtue. inspiring generations yet to come to strive for greatness and embody the virtues of bravery, kindness, and creativity. Long may her legend endure!

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Tyger’s Cub for Genevieve of Lochleven

There is nothing period about the way I composed this piece. However, I knew I wanted to make this scroll special for this little velociraptor. I wanted it to be whimsical and also capture who this mighty cub was. I was so lucky to work with this blossoming scribe, Octavia. Enjoy

In the Barony of Smoking Rocks, amidst cobblestone streets and whispered legends, there resides the charming Genevieve. She waltzes through life’s melodies, her heart tuned to the rhythm of society’s gatherings. With a twirl and a flourish, her laughter echoing across the lands.

Yet, beneath her graceful steps, Genevieve harbored a whimsical spirit, one that found joy in the simplest of pleasures. Amidst the bustling events, she immerses herself in finding any way she can help. Her favorite activity is tending to the children’s toybox. She makes sure no youth is left empty handed. 

But Genevieve’s kindness knows no bounds. While others revel, she slips away, sleeves rolled up, to aid in the tidying of the village square and counting points. From battles to challenges, she does this with diligence and a smile. For her, happiness lay not just in the glimmer of the dance floor but also in the warmth of community and in the satisfaction of a job well done. 

With this, we Matthias and Aesa Feillinn, Crown and Consort of the realm, with the power vested in our hands, do induct Genevieve of Lochleven into her rightful place as a member of the Order of the Tyger’s cub. We do so with joy March 2 AS 58 at East Kingdom Arts and Science Championshop.

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St. E for Excellent

I often stray away from arts and sciences competitions. It’s hard enough as a vocalist to show prowess in an ephemeral art. It is also difficult to convey information to this art as it simply is it’s own language. Music is a refined language, spoken by many, but felt by all.

How do you judge something that cannot be touched or smelled or tasted? How can you judge a feeling? How do you judge something that you cannot describe? Did you miss something? Why was this good or bad?

“I don’t like this because (Insert genre here) is boring”. “Gross it’s in ( insert foreign language)”. “No one likes vibrato” “I hate straight tone” “Too many notes for the royale ear!” (Bonus points if you can name that movie).

Taste plays a lot into performance. To break out objectivity into a performance is completely impossible. How could we add objectivity to it? That was my goal with this grouped up project. I wanted to show my research and why my performance choices were period, while explaining my aesthetic choices and provide examples of each objectively to prove a point.

The first linked paper below is regarding the overall performance of Downland’s, “Flow My Tears”. However, there is a controversial discussion regarding one specific performance technique. So, I decided to research it and show why -I believe- that, although the word “Vibrato” did not exist until the 17th century, it was likely an active performance technique, used as an ornament as opposed to being completely expunged.

Flow My Tears-Overall Performance

Vibrato Defense Paper

If you are music illiterate or don’t want to read my entire defence, here is an abridged version:

Abridged Documentation

I then chose to make 2 seperate comparison recordings. They are not perfect, but they are there to serve as references to my points.

Recording- No Vibrato/Straight Tone/No Ornamentation

Flow My Tears- With Vibrato/Ornamentation

Points to anyone who reads my paper and understands why “The GOAT”.

I didn’t expect to win as my project didn’t meet the rubric at all but there was a challenge. I entered as a chance to receive some feedback to see where I was on my A and S journey. Out of 25 points I scored a 21 and a 22. I will take it.

The other proud moment for me was I -almost- won populace choice…. WITH A RESEARCH PAPER. Not many thoughts on this but I figured this was a good start. More research to come.

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Heading home…back from the longest town run.

Pensic 50. I DREADED it. I’m not huge into parties, covid is rearing it’s head again and I just don’t want to make the 10.5 hour car ride there and 12.5 back (I make a detour to visit the cutest kiddos and favorite middle sister on the way back). We have done a lot of work on our house and I was just a bit traveled out, but my husband wanted to go, so I made sure to head to Pensic.

Friday am arrival. Fastest gate I have ever processed through. I waited maybe 10 minutes in line total before we were seen and out completely. Then, rolling down to the Bog. HOME. MERMAIDS SONG. Like the name sounds, we are all Bards or some type. The best part of our Bardic Mayhem group is that none of us specialize in the same artform. We have a magician as “Camp Dad”, A harpist, a shanty-man, a vocalist who specializes in period works, a story teller and the rest provide us with libations and support. Friday night was just a night in camp to enjoy friend’s and reconnect. It would not be Pensic without random bursts of music and such to which we did.

Saturday came around quickly, but not the worst for timing. I once again decided to join my comrades from ACROSS the kingdom for another Song Byrds Concert. I believe we hailed from 6-7 Kingdoms between us and only 2 lived in the same kingdom and they were partners (so that made sense). Bird, Aibihilin, Colette, Geoffrey, Robbin, Leaf and Mathias and of course me. This set list was almost entirely new to me. The only piece I had some inkling of was Ecco La Primavera. However, every piece we performed was period. It was so much fun to do an immersive period concert since that is my focus. 5 completely new pieces to me and 1 I knew and 1 which I had conducted but never sang (and I ended up learning Soprano and Alto for different performances)

Set List:

Now Wolde Y Fayne, Mors Sui, Se Je NE Vous Vois, Je Ne Cuit Pas, Ecco La Primavera, Doulz Viaire Gracieus, The World an Illusion , Il Est Bel Et Bon.

In between each of the pieces we each had a chance to perform a solo. I chose to do my Landskneckt piece which has only been performed for an audience once before, a year ago. It’s a persona accurate piece for me and a joy to do in persona garb. This performance comes later in the week but rehearsals needed to happen. We had folks shifting parts as well as participating because of illness and commitments. This group was incredibly flexible in their abilities to switch parts at the drop of a hat. I am 1 of 2 professionally trained musician’s in the group and the rest just have an overabundance of passion for performance and they are all absolute joys to work with.

Later that evening I had been cordially invited to perform at Duchess Caoilfhionn’s Bardic. This is an invite only performance set. This Bardic is special to me because VDK is a fighting household and to see that their warrior queen supports the arts, performs herself and child performs, is very near and dear to my heart. I used to fight armored combat for a period of 6 years but my body decided it wasn’t right for it but typically you fight or art. It’s nothing more than a time dedication. People who focus on more than 1 activity can struggle to keep up with both or will burn out. I chose to sing about love and loss. This year has been such a full of those I could think of no better subject than that. My ladino piece was bitter sweet, La Prima Vez. The rest of the night was full of other incredible performers, old and new to me. oh! Another point to note, I am a huge advocate of “Clothing changes how you move/perform”. I chose to wear male presenting clothing because I’m still having difficulty knowing how to gauge my body temperature changes. La prima Vez felt new and almost foreign. I interacted in new ways than I historically do. It was so interesting to feel the drastic change.

Sunday… the doom day. I had promised my Pelican that I would not overbook myself. Originally when I had booked my schedule it was only 2-3 things a day…. here we are 5 commitments. Heck. Welp! I started the day bright and early in rehearsal to play in the pit of Romeo and Juliet. This is the first time I have played in any form of a pit since 2004. I’ve been a long time recorder player, but not my main focus. It was like falling off a wobbly bike. I got back on but still wobbled. It was joyous though. My soul -needed- this. I have been dying to be part of an ensemble instead of the solo performer or conductor. I got to play with varying levels of skills and make music. I got to play -harmony-. I NEVER get to do harmony. It made me so happy. Also, my super amazing awesome Laurel, Sabine was our concert mistress which always makes for a supportive and awesome good time.

Shortly after this rehearsal I was speaking to one of the fellow instrumentalists. We we sharing our backgrounds and she had admitted that she was going to be auditioning for one of the Pensic choirs. She seemed nervous. I asked her if she’d like me to find a place for her to sing it to me to get her jitters out. She happily accepted and off we went to an empty A and S tent. As we got there, I asked her what kind of feedback she wanted. I asked “Do you want to hear THATS GREAT or GOOD” or did she want “That was flat” or did she want fixes. I find it’s really important to asked for feedback consent. You can really destroy someone if they aren’t in the right headspace or ready Sometimes folx don’t want feedback at all. Sometimes folx want to hear if it was “good enough” and sometimes they want you to rip them apart as long as you can tell them how to fix it. I was lucky enough that she did want feedback and how to fix it. I was pleasantly surprised by her timbre and skills she came in with. An absolute delight to listen to. I had her sing the piece through and then I gave her 1 piece of feedback each time she sang it for me as not to overwhelm here or give her too much information to process at once. I think we did it 3 times through. She exclaimed that she felt more confident and more ready for this audition. She was thankful and we enjoyed the rest of our Pensic times together.

From there I hustled over to Geoffrey of Exeter’s class. He was teaching basic vocal technique and using this class to teach his piece “The World an Illusion” so I could support him, but also I would be conducting this piece for his procession as he was to be elevated to the Order of the Laurel in court on Tuesday. I wanted to scope out what additional voices we might have and figure out if they would need more Sopranos or Altos (Any other voice part would be out of my very Soprano range).

From there I immediately hustled back to EK Royale as I was running the East Kingdom College of performers meeting. I decided we should be able to include folks from home as it’s not fair that folks who cannot afford or physically make it to Pensic could not have their voices heard. I made a hybrid meeting where we had 2 people remote in and 6 in person. Not bad for a Pensic meeting. They are always hard and there is -never- a good time.

I had a few hours in between there and went to camp where it then began to POUR. I’m sweet but not made of sugar so the rain never bothered me anyways. As the rain let up, Husband and I hauled our way up “The Hill”tm to go speak to our speccy boy, the vigilant. It is my goal, when I speak to vigilants, that besides to present them with a gift (which is usually a composition for them) is to speak from the heart and make them cry. Poor now, Master Speccy Pants, there were tears I tell you.

The final stop for the night was Bhakail Boardgames and Bardic. A glass of “Nerds Wine”… made from freshly squeezed nerds, singing and more camaraderie happened. Bhakail is a second home to me. My Laurel is Bhakaili and my Pelican used to be/still really is Bhakali. Nothing much to note besides heading home for Bog shenanigans.

Monday was more Romeo and Juliet rehearsal for several hours. I then head down to the Casa where my apprentice “Niece/cousin/somehow SCA related because weird things” where we jammed out for a little bit on her brand new citole. Her other one met its demise earlier in the week so this was as good of an excuse as any.

Tuesday was another Song Byrds rehearsal and full run through where we ironed out the details, set list order and set everything for day of. Then, EK court. As I had mentioned earlier, I was concert mistress for Geoffrey’s elevation as he processed. I herded everyone to our performance spot, recruited another singer a few minutes before. We were set… except the court order changed so HERE WE GO. Rapid singing. Not only was I conducting, I was jumping between singing both parts and coordinating the Harpists (who were fab, btw). I am unsure if anyone recorded the performers and if any of you readers find one, let me know so I can add it to here. Geoffrey, amongst all of his emotion said it could be heard from the back of court and was exactly what he envisioned. I’ll take it

Wednesday was the Song Byrds concert. Most everything went off without a hitch. One piece was moved and we added a piece last second because we under scheduled ourselves (which is better than last year in which we had to cut things. Such is life. However, I do want to make another point about our amazing and diverse set of vocalists were all LGBTQIA. So, in a world that is so scary right now for us, we wanted to make a statement. I requested that we all wear some form of a rainbow for our performance uniform. Check out these speccy duds!!!! (Also, Period appropriate hoes/stockings…. just saying)

Thursday was a new adventure for me. I had been asked to serve as a judge for the Pensic A and S. Typically there is a war point involved, but this year, for the safety of all, there were no war points. So, this took some of the pressure off of me as a first time judge. The coordinators/generals provided training on the rubrics and we were given documentation ahead of time to review so we could formulate and ask intelligent questions about the projects. I was given 2 physical items to review. If you have never had a chance to judge an A and S competition, you absolutely should. You get the pleasure of hearing the passion, the process and the whole scope of some ones project in a way you don’t get from a display. I got 40 minutes to hear a shpiel about some ones work for 20 minutes, ask 20 minutes of questions and then feverishly try to score someone. Although this can feel like a pressure chamber, I genuinely got to ask the artist so many questions about their art that I wouldn’t have ever thought to ask. I didn’t ask anything regarding why they didn’t do a thing. I tried to ask questions with genuine intent to learn and clarify items in documentation and creation that I may have missed. All in all 10/10 would do again.

After my brain was fried from new artforms, back to my camp, in the bog to teach my rounds class. This class serves 2 purposes. 1) To sing period music 2) To make a safe space for new and old singers. This is a judgment free zone that should, in theory, allow folks to have a safe learning environment in which they can explore a period topic. I teach this class similarly to when I was teaching youth. Depending on the duration or language of the piece I would do the following process: 1) Sing the entire song for people to hear. 2) If the piece was short enough I would sing it, ad nauseum, until they felt comfortable enough to jump in 3) When the majority started singing I would “chase” them to give them an idea of how the round sounds with it while creating some minor part independence. The only change of process is if the song was longer or in a foreign language I would break the son into smaller chunks. Id do one phrase at a time then connect 2. then the next one and repeat until the song was whole. In this particular session I had a HUGE variety of skill levels and confidence. I had someone who hadn’t sang since high school and never sings in public, I had someone who appeared to have some musical background and finally a music teacher who is going deaf. My assorted camp mates came in and out to sing with us as well which is always a joy.

After my class, the individual who had not sang since high school and never in public approached me. They advised that this was an amazing class. They said they felt safe and secure and that it was a good place for them to make music. They appreciated my corrections being subtle, non aggressive and not pointing them out at all. My heart was overjoyed to hear this. Not to mention that they have a beautiful singing timbre as well.

If you are interested in downloading my book, here it is. Just please credit me for use. With this link you will get updates to my book as I add them.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PvID7hHNG2gvJjWctuWdpQiK-OyhmB_GlVLQhHqEcI8/edit?usp=sharing

Friday was the last day. Usually I am leaving on Friday so I can have a nice leisurely drive home for visits with the family. This year I was staying behind to play in the pit of Romeo and Juliet. This was going to be a super unique situation as we were playing “Under The stars”. What this means is a change in light availability as well as sound reverberation (or lack there of). Tent walls are hard and provide additional bounce. Bodies eat bounce and the sky is a nebulous black hole. We were a small but mighty group and we could do it. We got to play through at least the stage warming music. No more than 30 minutes in did the sky open up and we needed to move inside. This again changed dynamics but we made it work. I had forgot to mention earlier all the music I learned for R and J was new to me as well and all period music. We played Heart’s Ease, Amoroso, La Doune Cella, The Hunts Up, Chi Passa Per Strada and Where Griping Grief. Where Griping Grief comes from the original score of R and J and I actually got to sing that instead of play it. I did with Chi Passa Per Strada as well.

All in all, Pensic filled my heart in ways that I wasn’t sure it could this year. I had a leisurely drive home after which included the cutest 11 year old and 4 year old you’ve ever seen, my ever patient Pelican, friends for lunch at the best Jewish Style deli in CT and washing off the Pensic tan.

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GNEW 35! Same name, new stuff!

GNEW has been one of 2 events I have never missed since I started in the SCA in 2010. It has seen me at my worst and it has seen me at my best. This year I was in charge of running -all- performance related items as well as had separately been in charge of all performances for “The Deed of Arms”.

The weather was not anticipated to behave and it was also looking to be excruciatingly hot. I had apprehension about attending, but I know I had duties to complete. I had recruited a deputy to help alleviate some of my commitments as well as additional help for one of the classes I was running, but life happened.

Thursday, Wolfgang, Smöl and I arrived on site to realize we had forgotten some things, so off to ye olde Walmart I went. Upon return, I started with a rehearsal for the Deed of Arms. For anyone who doesn’t know, The Deed of Arms is a 14th century immersion battle scenario, inclusive of a gallery. One of my vocalists had dropped last minute and another did not make it back to site. I had created a contingency plan to make this all work. I was lucky that we worked through several quirks of the music and was able to create a more comfortable situation for each of the performers. The music was all 14th century homophonic or polyphonic and to a level that individuals who were not deeply immersed in music could manage in a short period of time. For vocalists we did “Miri it is”, “Sumer is icumen in”, “Dona Nobis Pacem” and “Ecco la Primavera”. Our Bagpipist played “Douce Dame Jolie”, “Stella Splendens” and “Quant je sui mis au retour” and our poet did a 3 minute poem”. In addition, Aalina sang ” Ego Humilitas” from Ordo Virtutum by Hildegard von Bingen and ” Ut Queant Laxis”, an 11th century Gregorian chant. However, I only rehearsed with the vocalist ensemble.

To help my vocalists prepare, I created learning tracks for each of the songs and voice parts.:

Ecco Both Parts

Ecco Top

Ecco Bottom

Sumer is Icumen In

Dona Nobis Pacem

Miri it is

Friday am started with a youth Bardic circle. I only had 2 youth who showed up, but heck did they sing their little hearts out about unicorns everywhere and pandas everywhere.

Rehearsal 2 and I found out that my 4th vocalist who was supposed to double the bottom of Ecco with me was in a car accident and would not be attending for the rest of the day so PLAN B.

A short break and then off to teach my rounds class. I had a women come who asked if she could just listen. I coaxed her to sing with us anyways and she was a very welcome addition. All of my attendees did a wonderful job. One of them was BRAND NEW to the SCA and I got to listen to his beautiful voice as well.

The Deed of Arms came and my amazing vocalists joined me (Plus my student who was fighting in the Deed) and a resounding applause. It seemed we were well received. More planning for next year to see if we can obtain a larger ensemble and more music can be made.

Saturday and back at it. I was not really anticipating anyone would show up to my recorder jam. This was a class to be a supportive measure for newer recorder players and a way to give out resources so they could obtain free music and also music transcribed by other scadians. Much to my surprise, I had 3 attendees. We worked through one of the Carmina Buranas from Al Cofrin’s books. We have varying level of skills in the group but great attitude. This is what we accomplished:

Recorder Class

I ran off to Tiffan’s vigil to present them with a Taranus wheel I had made them but forgot to take a picture. Whoops. Oh well.

Then after I ran an adults Bardic Circle in the Barn. This was unusual. We typically imagine Bardic during the night. We wanted to try to create an accessible bardic space. If you think about those who cannot camp, those who have difficulty seeing in the dark, dealing with flickering lights and those with families, bardic at night can be difficult. We had about 10 of us over 2 hours but everyone got several turns, new friends made and all in all a delight!

Over both days I also organized having a puppet show for the youth each day.

Finally! Reprive! I get to sit for court. I knew many people receiving well deserved awards. Little did I know, one of those people would be me. We were getting towards the end of court and the smöl was still there despite me having offered to let him head back to camp. 4 hours for a 10 year old is ROUGH. I was so proud of him that he sat with us. Then, I had lost attention for a breif moment as a friend was asking about Bardic for the night. I had to sadly admit we were heading home because of the weather when my husband started pulling me up to the Dias. My name was called. Why? I missed who was up there. What did I do?

Apparently, it was time to join the order of the Silver crescent. This is an award for your dedicated service to the kingdom. I do what I do because I love this game, the people, events happening and I can’t watch things burn. To hear I was receiving an award for it blew my mind.

Here is the scroll I received:

Now you all know this bard and their song.
While hours do go by, I’ll keep you apprised.
For the deeds of Solveig should be heard ‘cross the East.
Let all hear my words about the service and fight.
Let’s sing the bard’s song.


Chatelaines are all work and play, welcome us home.
Newcomers will always know her name.
But the bards’ service will remain.
Her hard work will set the stage where performers play.
Their fame lives on due to her service strong.


There’s only one song left to be sung.
Tale of a brave bard called before the throne.
Now the Order gathers to welcome them near.
No one need ask you how they serve the Kingdom.
We’ll tell their story.

So is the fame sung of our bard, one Solveig Bjarnardottir, by Ardri Brennan and Ardrígain Caoilfhionn, who proclaim her inclusion into the ranks of the Order of the Silver Crescent. Their words are received by beloved populace and joyous companions alike upon the field of the Great Northeastern War this fifteenth day of July, AS LVIII (58).

Scroll by THL Lily Aubrey, Words by THL Eleanor Grey

Beyond that there was one more item. The medallion I received belong to my mentor, my Pelican, Rowen Cloteworthy. This was his. My first and only legacy piece.

As a bard, this is the best gift you can receive. There is a story. A story is how someone lives forever. Thank you, Jedi, for this most precious gift. The cord, also beautifully and lovingly crafted by the amazing Astridr Saegersdottir. I feel truly loved.

#FallDownGoBoomNow