From: helm@garnet.ucdavis.EDU
Subject: Period Music, Bad German?!?
Organization: The Internet
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 02:42:10 GMT


Nein nein nein, Aryk.  Nicht das gut ist.  Es ist nicht "er hat
das Wort humpty-dumptiet."  Es ist: "er hat das Wort humptlichdumptiet."
Schuld...

And now returning to our regularly scheduled venacular...

Ok, ok, I too will stomp boldly where angels not only fear to
tread, but them there angels are smart...they took the bus to the
next county days ago!

I will pick some nits (but remember, one must wait until those
nits are really ripe before picking  ;-)  A period song for me
is one that was written in period, both words and music.  This
means, folks, that there are damn few around.  I would dig out my 
sources (some of which Sarra already posted), but I haven't the
foggiest which box they're in (no, I'm not unpacked yet...I've been
sloughing, ok?  Anything wrong with a little leisure?  I can't remember
the last time I've ever been able to just sit around and do NOTHING).
I myself really go in for the minnesinger stuff, some of which is
very satirical and toungue-in-cheek  (Ruthenthal comes to mind as
an example...hope I spelled that right)

The thing is, period melody sounds different.  Much of it is modal
or pentatonic, without a certain tonal center.  Melodies resolve
stangely to the modern ear.  Modern melody, on the other hand,
sounds "right" (for the most part...I'm not going to confound my
own argument by mentioning someone like Ives...)  Modern melody
is mostly characterized by equel temperment, harmonic progression,
has a defined scale type, and (in the case of folk melody) usually
resolves to a third, fifth, or tonic of the key.  (How's that for
gross generalization?!  Before you break out those flame throwers,
I'll warn you that I have my Piston's Harmony open beside me...figures
that I'd find Piston's Harmony, and none of the really good books on
early music...)

The point is, it's not really that hard to learn the difference between
period and modern melody.  You go to the library and take out all the
books with period melodies in them.  The medieval stuff will sound
way different from the renaissance stuff, which will sound more 
familiar.  Both are different from 18th, 19th and 20th century folk
music.

I myself would call a song written with period-style words and 
period-style music, no matter how good, a period re-creation.  It's the 
difference between a real antique and a reproduction.  I've never seen
it done myself.  I think if I ever met someone who really succeeded, I
would drag them bodily to the edge of the laurel's council, and throw
them bodily in, with a note attached that said "Here - this is yours!"

I must confess, I think we don't do period music very well out here
on the left coast (with the exception, of course, of Joslin and crew).
I have become resigned to perioid-to-modern words set to modern music.
I think of the sorts of music I hear around the SCA to be in the "SCA
music genre".  It keeps me sane, and keeps me from having authenticity
attacks at people who don't know any better and are having fun.  (A 
rabid Twcs at your bardic circle could ruin your whole evening...)

I've never heard "Born on the Battlefield", so I can say nothing on it.
I have heard "Herald's Lament", and "The Champion", and their ilk, and
I'm afraid I lump them into the perioid catagory.  The sentiment is too
SCA or too 19th-century neo-ramantic, and the music is modern folk.
But hey, I'm a self-confessed music snob!  When I want SCA-genre, I go
to a Bardic.  When I want early music, I go hang out with my early music
friends from the early music workshop at Dominican College.  The twain
hardly ever meet, at least in this Kingdom.

I can't really dump too much on SCA-genre music.  I go to bardics.  Once
in a blue moon, I can be persuaded to sing some (*gasp*) filk.  I enjoy
a lot of the music written in the SCA.  But I've never deluded myself 
that it was period reproduction music.  I suppose I am suffering from a
surfeit of musical education (which is probably the case - I come from
an overly musical family) that probably prevents me from kicking 
entirely back and enjoying music in the SCA; or to paraphrase Kirkegard
(I spelled that wrong, didn't I?), ignorance is bliss...   ;->

As soon as I find my early music refs, I will post the more accessible
of them up.

Twcs (running for cover, or at least after the bus to the next 
county...)

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