I was asked several years ago to compose and athem for Stonemarche. I have had very little faith in my own compositions. The kingdom is filled with very many talented composers and who am I to try to be amongst them? It was brought up again that we needed an anthem and I finally got the gumption to write one. It’s not perfect and it’s a little quirky but so is our Barony.
Below is the recording of it’s first performance and the lyrics are below.
In the snow capped mountains From far away lands Dwelled the folks in 3 towers Who wear white and green bands
We fence and loose arrows We sing and we dance See the gifts that we offer Our love’s not a chance
We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead
Rolling lands rich with sheep Cross the grass covered hills A gift from lochleven We tend to their wills
Cross the grass spanning lands And as they wander and roam Our children do gather And bring them all home
We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead
If you come from the outside If you dwell in our tillage All around us are welcome Inside our family’s village
Paint us up a bright chorus Join our Bards in their song We fight and we dance No activity’s wrong
We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead
We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead We’ve a motto in Stonemarche, There’s no famine we said, In Stonemarche, Stonemarche Our home, our hearth, our stead
Úlfarr is another human who has been in my life for several years. He works hard and is an incredibly skilled story teller. When you see him in full blown Bard, it’s captivating. I’ve been lucky to also serve as a mentor to him for running events but also to see him grown in his own with service to the College of Performers as well as service to his Barony. When the scribe asked me to wordsmith this scroll, I was overjoyed. I hope he feels the same way.
Master of service and Skald we emplore, In the heart of Settmore Swamp’s embrace, Thy name resounds, esteemed evermore.
And never in adversity do we face
From northern climes and storied past, Thy voice like a beacon doth shine, Guiding the realm with tales steadfast, And lore that through ages entwines.
In halls where the minstrels’ voices blend, Thy contributions ring clear and bright, College of Performers, a chatelaine and friend, Thou art a beacon in the night.
With tireless hand and spirit bold, Thou hast nurtured as Seneschal through Settmore’s song, Fostering the craft with wisdom untold, Where bards and poets together throng.
Through stewarding gatherings, great and small, Thy service doth never wane or cease, For Settmore and the realm’s great hall, Thy deeds bring harmony and peace.
To each event and joyful fest, Thou bringest both cheer and grace, Uplifting all, thy gift expressed, In every heartfelt, joyous space.
Thus, we honor thee with verse, For thy service, so noble and grand, In Settmore and the East you traverse, Thy legacy in tale shall stand.
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.
In the 14+ years I have been playing in the SCA, I have yet to miss a GNEW.
This year was emotionally tough to get motivated for. Had I not had prior commitments, I had thought about skipping. It has nothing to do with the event itself as it is a wonderful event. It had nothing to do with the offerings or the people. It was simply “It’s hot, I’m tired and I don’t wanna”.
The weather until the day before had predicted rain. LOTS of rain. If you are not from New England, a lesson you should know is that, “If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes”.
So, I waited. The weather cleared for the entire weekend and that was grand.
Wolfgang, Child and I arrived on site about 3 hours later than I had planned, which worked out with the weather (heat).
We set up camp, but I was already full of anxiety. There were some things in my personal life plaguing me, but I won’t get into them here, plus the anxiety of teaching a new class, running an ensemble with very litter external direction from the coordinators and a performing a boast which I had written for a dear friend.
Thursday evening, we sat in camp and wandered about to see friends. Much of my memories for the evening was a blur, but I suspect it was due to my busy day ahead of me on Friday.
Friday am came too quickly and it was rehearsal time. 9:00 am is not my favorite, but it’s when we were all available. The rehearsal was for playing in the Deed of Arms. If you read my blog last year, we did the same thing.
This year we played an assortment of Duets and Trios from the Rosenbeck books (1 and 2) and some other gems I grabbed off the internet. All of the pieces we played would have been heard in the 14th century (So, 13th and 14th century pieces).
I am grateful for Ameline (Center) and Richard (Right) for their willingness to play and be flexible… and meeting me at 9am for rehearsal.
After we finished up, I was off to teach my brand new class, “16th Century Vocal Technique and Pedagogy”.
The class was attending by a few people, but their varying levels of background gave me a good sense of what was working and if anything had areas of opportunity for growth. I focus on a very niche topic and I am always concerned that there will be no interest in it. I am excited to present this class at Pennsic. This will be 1 of 2 class offerings that I will be bringing to Pennsic.
From there, I hid back in my tent until it was just time to change for the Deed. Part of the Deed was not only playing 14th century music, but also dressing. Apparently, my performers and I chose an unofficial uniform. GREEN FOR DAYS!
The Deed itself was wonderful to watch and each of my instrumentalists were a delight. Not pictured is our wonderful bagpipe player.
The rest of the evening was spent socializing and prepping for the next day.
The next AM, the true reason I was excited to be at GNEW were my friends, Tessa, was about to be elevated to the Order of the Pelican, Cedric to the Order of Defense and Matt to the Order of the Pelican.
Tessa is my deputy for Harper’s retreat 2024 (COME! IT WILL BE A GREAT TIME). I had been told about her elevation and was asked to boast/herald her in. Who was I to refuse this great honor to celebrate my friend. She and I were doing a site walk and had stayed behind to do some follow-up discussion from the site-walk. I had a stroke of genius… or perhaps just a stroke, but I figured out how I was going to get what she wanted for a boast (Mind you, she has no peer, no ICOP…just friends desperately trying to not ruin the secret).
“Hey Tessa… I’ve got a friend down in Atlantia who’s going to be elevated to Laurel in September. They’ve got a 14th century Italian Persona and they -love music/performing arts. Any idea what they might like for a boast?”
“Solveig, you should do it based on Chaucer from “”A knights tale””. His speeches are *chefs kiss*”.
There… that is what I was going to do. I watched all of the speeches and settled on his 2nd speech. Separate post coming with the boast and information.
After she was taken to Vigil (and I had shot a little archery with Wolfgang) I went to go visit my friend, Tessa. (I did not visit the other two as Cedric lives 2 miles from me and had a mile long list of visitors and Matt also had a mile long list of visitors.) I went in by myself (though, I typically take Wolfgang in with me, I wanted this to be a private moment between us.
I’m not a peer, but I always try to bring some words of wisdom and support to candidates I am talking to. I never rehearse anything and only speak from the heart. It is, however, my goal to make them cry. Cry from being touched, from feels… whatever.
Anyways, I walked in. I shared with Tessa that information. I shared with her that I did the wordsmithing on her scroll (But would not share it at that time) and also that I was who was going to be boasting her in. I gently reminded her of our last Harper’s walkthrough. I explained I wanted to share her boast with her now as she would likely be too wrapped up in emotions to be able to hear the boast (Despite my crystal clear diction and projection ^_~). As I started to read it to her, her face lit up.
“You bitch!” said in the most loving way possible.
We laughed for the last few minutes and I left her with a hug.
From there I ran off to go to practice read through the scrolls at court. Audrye runs a tight and well oiled machine and I am always thankful to work under her. I read scrolls and found out I got to spend some delightful time sitting with Wolfgang and Erik (We share a Peer…actually all 3 of us do but anyways).
It was time for the Silver Wheels to be called up. I knew 5/6 of the recipients. I…. made a medallion for each of them. I care for them all and they have all touched me in different ways that this was just something small I wanted to do for them. I suspect many may be passed down or given away, but I wanted them to feel cared for in the moment.
I had not realized that there was only 1 recipient that I didn’t know. I wish I had so I could have gifted her one as well. The schtick of this court became “Is there a medallion?” “Yes, your majesty” *Hustles up to the front of court* “Is there a legacy?” “Nope…. I made it” and some form of variation for each of the 5 I made.
Finally, it was time for the boast. An adult beverage consumed before hand to “Take the edge off” and then here we go!
This was my first truly “Heroic” style boast. I was trying to channel Paul Bettany but still make it my own.
I could not do a better set of timing because I had a parade of folks behind me, but I still tried to do my best. I feel like I at least nailed the timing for the finish.
I heard some snickers, I saw folks reacting in pictures. I watched the video that Arlyanna van Wyck had taken (Thank you as always, Arlyanna for all your hard work and the gift you give to the kingdom with your videography. You capture so many memories).
It wasn’t perfect, but it was perfect for the moment. I, as a performer, am mostly content with it, but the fact that it did make my friend’s day, is all that mattered.
My heart is full and I feel somewhat revitalized. I am still taking the rest of the summer easy as I have responsibilities at Pennsic and Harper’s and in October, my royals step up and I work more for my Largesse coordination.
Please check out the boast video and the scroll words when you get the chance.
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.
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.
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.:
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:
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.
When I met Corotica, they had barely set foot into our kingdom and yet, it felt like they had been here since its inception. I walked into their life and they bounded into mine. They shared themselves, their art and their shoulder. I would see them soaring from working on their art to adorned in full armor as if invisible wings would carry them effortlessly, but with expediency. I saw fire in them around them. The true passion of the artist and the fire of a fighter, emblazoned in battle. The fighter that is the protectorate with the playfulness of a goblin… nay… a cryptid paladin, ready to fight for the downtrodden, the ignored and forgotten. They were ready to fight the good fight.
However, I am not here to speak of Corotica and how truly amazing of a human they are. I am here to speak of the inspiration that Corotica has bestowed. I would be remiss to only speak of my experiences. When you stand on the dias with other champions, you start to build new bonds. One of those bonds is with the person we are championed to. Inspiration is not just about words, it is about actions as well. Ryan MacWhite shares the story of an arrow. It was a super heated match, if you had not had seen it. The only noise was the sound of bows loosing and arrows making contact with the target. Ryan’s second to last arrow shattered into what felt like 1000 pieces. Only a small section survived. When the round was decided, he took the arrow fletching, which had survived, to her Excellency, Indrakshi and the tip to Corotica. He stated “This is just the first of many arrows I would break in your name”. The finals came and another arrow was shattered. This time, Ryan had presented the fletching of the arrow to Corotica to make their arrow whole, so to speak. Corotica advised how this moment of the event had made their day. Later, after safe travels home. Corotica sent a picture of the arrow parts in a vase in their home. Most folks would say “oh, a broken arrow” and throw it in the garbage but it MEANT something to them and that’s just rare and special.
I bring words from the co-populace, Lady Seigne Ruadh, Woman of the SCA, Archer, artisan and friend. Seigne spoke to me as a woman of the SCA. She spoke, with joyful tears in her eyes, of Corotica, who is female presenting. Seigne spoke of Corotica as a fighter who is a voice for women in the SCA. Corotica has spoken out for the underprivileged genders and continues to speak out for them. Corotica has made it known that things need to change for women and those who do not fit the mold for the male gender. Corotica has spoken publically about how male presenting fighters were treated and the disparity of the treatment Corotica received when they said the same thing just a moment before. When Corotica became consort, they stated that a change was coming. That our world would change. That is influence. Seigne states “ I am not a fighter, I but am an archer and I am a woman. I think it’s really important that Corotica made it known that you need to listen to people, not a gender and I appreciate them for doing that. I was inspired to create a coat to make them stand out. I did a large documentable piece of research because they had a stunning personality, a warrior and who would appreciate a warm gift.” This is power. This is inspiration. This is the voice that Corotica has given the populace.
To all those assembled today, Corotica is a Rose with thorns. They are a defender of the weak, inspiration for the artist, muse for the warriors. They have long since been a peer. I, a member of the populace, was given a voice today thanks to Corotica. I can recommend no one more than I do them.
It was finally time to step down. Although I have been serving as Consorts Bardic champ since only May, it still had a major emotional impact on my life. This is not a negative reflection serving as champ, but quite the opposite.
When I was chosen to serve as consorts champ, I was overwhelmed with pride and plans. I was going to make a change and I was going to change the world, minds, judgements. I was going to make people feel welcome. New Bards, Old Bards, those who didn’t like Bards and those who loved bards. I had plans.
I put out monthly challenges, trying to inspire folx to capture the history of our kingdom, to capture to memories, to challenges themselves and stretch themselves and mayhap try something new that they hadn’t done before. I taught classes in whatever capacity I could. I ran the ad hoc choir, I ran impromptu rounds circles. I taught privately and I shared my knowledge with anyone who would have me and would listen. I served on the A and S team and I showed the deep breadth of knowledge and information that went into preparing a single piece of performance. I performed at their majesties whim and I filled time in court. I continued to run EKCoP (East Kingdom College of Performers) events and helped established a budget for the college so we could spread our reach. I took a new student.
I created a rubric to support the kingdom and have a more fair overview of bardic judging and how to be fair about the review when comparing apples to dolphins.
I traveled down ahead of time with my best mundane friend, Jena (Going by Faelinn in the SCA). In introduced her to Rein’s, in Vernon, CT as a treat. Unlimited pickles and just a gosh darn good sandwhich. She was originally going to compete, but health got in the way. She still went down with me to support me. We may have also stopped at the fabric mecca, the $2.99 fabric store.
After the drive was completed, I spent the next few days with family. My sister lives about an hour from the event site, so I spent a few days of quiet with my Sister, B.I.L, nieces and their elderly dog, Beaujolais.
Friday night, Wolfgang (Husband) flew down and I picked him up from the Philly airport. He wanted to support me running the competition and stepping down. He’s a good egg that way and the best partner I could ever ask for.
The next day came….
It was time to turn over the sash. I worked diligently with my co- champ, Leyli Shirazi to concoct a fair competition. I worked with her on the wording and we split up the work to spread the word. I worked with the amazing Event Steward, Alison Wodehalle and she made sure the performers would everything they needed and more.
Day of, it was time for the sash to go. Had I done enough? Had I served my kingdom enough?
I was in my wedding dress. It fit a lot better now since it has been taken in 4 clothing sizes. I had transformed since I had taken this job. Physically and mentally. My hair was gone, I had seen things but I had my armor. I think I was ready for the day to begin. My best friends and my family surrounded me. The Bardic community is that. Family. We are not in competition, we are there for one another, all just trying to get the same job.
About 2 weeks prior, my friend… my -dear- friend, Isabeau was taken from us. It hurt. She was going to be there. She was going to sit beside me… us… and help us bring in the new kingdom champs. She was taken from us. It wasn’t fair. She was too good to have been taken. The world still needed her music, her gentle beauty, inside and out. I was anxious trying to find a way to serve her memory.
At the end of court, I spoke these words… This… this is what happened.
Greetings your majesties, highnesses, excellencies and all in attendance. Welcome everyone to the 2023 Bardic Championships! I want to thank each and every one of you for joining us today. Although this is a day of competition, this is also a day of celebration. We are a community of music, story, theater, magic and pure joy. Today will be a day in which we continue our legacy and find the newest successors for the crown. As we support our community, I am saddened to note that we are without one of own. Mistress Isabeau d’Orleans was taken from us a couple weeks ago and the loss of her music and joy is felt amongst us all. Isabeau was a pillar of the music community in the East Kingdom and beyond. She served as Consorts Bardic Champion in 1996 and always there to be found performing, teaching, and sharing music. With the permission of the competitors, I would like to dedicate the day to her.
In addition to the dedication, instead of a moment of silence, I think it would be more befitted to Isabeau to have a moment of song. I’d like to ask everyone to join me in singing for Isabeau. Dona Nobis Pacem is what I would call the summoning of Bards. Feel free to sing a long.
I figured if I had read it aloud, it wouldn’t be real and I could get through it.
The room was full of song. It started and ended naturally. Did I do enough? I hope so. She deserved the best.
We had 11 competitors. All of varying skills. We had singing, poetry, stories and magic. Pieces ranging from Eastern to Western Culture and from early to late period. Every performer shared a piece of their hearts and was vulnerable. We were all vulnerable that day. Performers are vulnerable because not only are they working hard on their craft, but they are sharing a piece of their heart with you… a stranger, friend, in between. I didn’t want to have to cut anyone from the competition. Each individual who competed would have made an excellent champ.
For the final round of judging, we, the non royal judges, recused ourselves and let the royals pick their final choices. I didn’t want that responsibility. I’m glad they agreed with us and allowed me to just listen to the final competitors for who they were.
Left to right
Aneleda, Leyli, Estgar, Ian, Eithne, Myself and Taliesan
We had recommended that their majesties and highness choose a challenge based off the competitors resume so if there is something they wanted to see each of them do that they hadn’t seen yet, they had that option.
Estgar was given the task of boasting the outgoing champs. See the video below:
Before the last court I finally got to sing with my people. We had an impromptu rounds sing along. People swarmed in like a flurry of … flurried things to sing. We sang old rounds and new ones.
Court began, I held the sword of state one last time (I had the privilege, 3 times during this reign, to do so) At the end of the day, Estgar was named Consorts champion and Taliesan was named Sovereign’s champion.
At that point I thought the day was over. I got to rejoin my husband, sitting in court, my friends who were not on the Dias and friends I had not met yet. I was sad I didn’t get to see the new scrolls given out in court. I was always so overjoyed when I got to see the scrolls as they were being read. I got to hear the speech between the recipient and the royal and now I would be sitting back with everyone else. It was really nice feeling special and seen for the last 9 months. I still got to pop up to greet those in the orders I was a part of, but somehow, it wouldn’t be the same.
Court was soon coming to a close and then something strange happened. My name was called. Maybe an additional thank you for running the event? Who knew?
Her Majesty, Corotica, who I had known since about her time moving to the East started speaking about my term as her champion and still, nothing sank in. You can see how still I am sitting in the video below as I am trying to listen to every word she is saying. Heck, maybe she is giving me a cypher. Usually those happen at decoronation but you never know.
This is the aftermath:
Calligraphy by Mistress Collette D’Avignon, Illumination by Mistress Camille des Jardin Words by THL Agnes Marie de CalaisMedallion by Baron Muin maqq MinainBrooch by Master Roibeard Mac NeilMy one eyed emotional supper jerk and I love himmmmmmm
This has been a long journey for me. One I never thought I saw despite how much love and passion I put into my music. I love my art. It is literally what has kept me alive for all these years. It gives me the adrenalin. Brain weasels are a thing as well. Do I belong in this group? Some day it will settle in.
All I really remember from that moment was Audrey reminding me not to cry on the scroll. I was greeted with a flurry of hugs. It was incredible to say the least.
My friends came all the way from New Hampshire to be there. To support me. Baron Keziah, Ástrídr Sægeirsdottir, Alric the Younger, Wolfgang (husband), Agnes (from MA), Damhan (from MA) Audrey (from MA), Cecelia (from MA), My student, Eithne to compete (Also from MA), my apprentice cousin Adelisa and my Pelican, Rowen. All to support me. My poor Laurel, Sabine would have been there as well, but this stupid plague got her.
Dinner and camaraderie afterwards and then the voyage home. I have the best people in my life. (Also, look how cute my emotional support husband is!)
I’m sure there is a lot more to process and a lot I missed, but this is what a couple days and coffee have gifted me for brain.
You never know where a spark of inspiration will come from. A funny story about the humble beginnings of this song. When Wilhelm and Vienna were on the throne, I had been thumbing through some awards, writing some folks in. I had seen this one award, called the “Gold Lyre” and from that moment I decided I wanted it more than anything. I had this grand plan to compose a song about inspiration and then corner Vienna and sing it for her. This would hopefully spark her to grant me the golden lyre award. Fast forward, I chickened out. However, I still had the humble beginnings of the song.
Fast forward a few years later, I had completely forgotten about this song and it was sitting in the depths of my google drive, never to see the light of day. A friend of mine, Roiberd Mac Neil had just received his writ to join the Order of the Laurel. As part of his “In Case Of Peerage” was to have me make music. He requested that I write a song for the Laurels. He spoke about the knights having “Weight of the Chain” by Aneleda Falconbridge but he wanted something for the artists. Who was I to compose for the peers? I myself simply have AOA level awards. Aneleda is an incredible composer of whom I respect her work immensely. I couldn’t see my work standing up to hers. I, however, would do anything for Roiberd, so I agreed.
I knew what I wanted the subject matter to be, but the words just wouldn’t come out. I sat on this for months before creativity struck. I was digging through my google drive and stumbled upon the above musings. I started to write and rewrite. This went through atleast 9 revisions before I was somewhat happy. Then, the music…. the music just wasn’t flourishing as it should. I spent the next few weeks listening to some of my favorite symphonic metal, folk metal and general Euro metals bands until the melody hit me.
As the melody sank into my soul, it was time to rewrite the words yet again. Below, is the final text:
The Spark– By Solveig Bjarnardottir (MKA Ren Haywood)
All our senses spark the drive Of A kinship for all to see A new life blooms, breeds skill to thrive Which ignite the flames with ease
Passing knowledge, hope all will hear We press forward, now back to see The growing paths becoming clearer All our dreams run wild and free
Each has a muse, a burning fire Our labors ne’er seems to cease A moment more drives our desire The spark that lights the East
We made a path, dragged more along Surpassing all our wildest dreams The journey’s harsh, but you’ll grow strong Your treasured art shines as it gleams
Spent countless hours, late at night Just to watch each pass our skill Climbing mountains, reach new heights A sense of pride, is deep instilled
Each has a muse, a burning fire Our labors ne’er seems to cease A moment more drives our desire The spark that lights the East
Each has a muse, a burning fire Our labors ne’er seems to cease A moment more drives our desire The spark that lights the East The spark that lights the East The spark that lights the East
Meddlings of the Minnesinger 