It’s that time of year again, friends, where music needs to happen!
As you saw in my previous post, I had gotten the bid to make the tokens for Ozurr and Fortune for their coronation. Helium hand strikes again. However, my true passion, if you haven’t guessed it by now, is making music.
4 weeks prior at K and Q Bardic, I was approached by the queen’s bard and asked if I were would be at coronation and if I would sing. It was to be a late period Italian coronation. I have a fair bit of late Italian in my repertoire, so, I agreed.
Shortly after gulf wars was over, I received yet another message from the queen’s bard asking for my musical expertise to assist her with repertoire as well as asking me to conduct the choir and run rehearsals. This is my wheelhouse after all. However, with this only being just over 2 weeks until coronation, I’ll admit I was a bit apprehensive. However, we hunkered down and got to work.
Over the next 2 weeks, I made sure music had gotten to folks, ran some rehearsals out of my home, made sure there was online rehearsals for those who wanted it and diligently reviewed the 3 pieces we had to perform.
Conducting is not just getting up there and waving a stick or your hands. There is a lot of time reviewing the scores, knowing where difficult parts may fall, how to fix them, appropriate changes in tempo, dynamics and knowing where there might be blend issues and vowel issues. In addition, if the piece isn’t in English, getting your performers all on the same page on that.
Day of we only ended up doing two of the pieces. That’s ok. Stuff changes. I also managed to sit outside for the sitting in state.
Here is a clip of ” The World an Illusion” by David Yardley (Lord Geoffrey of Exeter).
This is a direct quote from the composer:
It’s Anon 15th C, English. I adapted the words of the last stanza to make the song. You might find it useful to also look at my whole first album that was professionally recorded and released – the entire thing is about staying true to period while composing and re imagining the medieval.
And if you want to check out my first album with loads of examples of what you’re talking about, it’s https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nIpq88PwzSeo9PFMyePKtVkNKhTkjBhz0 This will be on my second album of compositions.
Here is the sheet music for it:
The world an illusion EK coronation version
David Yardley, (B. 1978- )
We also performed a second piece:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eSyHaNQJNXMyrOXFgEWXrga0Pn5pwsSt
Là ver’ l’aurora, che si dolce- Palestrina
Madrical- Published in 1555 in Il primo libro de madrigali a 4 voci, no. 8.
Là ver’ l’aurora, che si dolce l’aura
al tempo novo suol movere i fiori,
et li augelletti incominciar lor versi,
si dolcemente i pensier’ dentro a l’alma
mover mi sento a chi li a tutti in forza,
che ritornar convenmi a le mie note
The dawn is there, that the aura
is sweet at the time wind wont move the flowers
and them augelletti will start their verses,
he gently thought into his soul
I feel to those who put them all together,
that I return to my notes.
Meddlings of the Minnesinger 