Once upon a time there were a few recorder players in southern Maine who wanted to play medieval and Renaissance music, but also to have fun. Some of them had tried playing in university and conservatory ensembles, but found the whole scene rather stuffy and anxiety-making and expensive. In 1996, they started playing together once a week, on Monday nights.
I believe it was Carol who came up with the name DisSonatas. Officially, it's a reference to the dissonance that is often present in Renaissance music. Unofficially, it may have had something to do with the fact that we didn't always sound absolutely perfect.
At first they met in people's houses. One of the members, Lee, was involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism, and the local chapter was conveniently lacking a music group to perform in period style. So the DisSonatas and the Musicians' Guild of the Province of Malagentia, while officially unrelated, grew to include many of the same people.
Over the years the DisSonatas have grown and shrunk and grown again, have established regular Renaissance dance teaching nights (last Monday of the month, 7 p.m., Trinity Episcopal Church in Saco), spun off a singing group, and best of all, have kept on going. We've played at weddings and parties, at the Maine Mall, at demonstrations for kids, at nursing homes and church services.
We've amassed a large library of music, some of it arranged by Barry, harp player and Lone Deranger. Lee is our official conductor and dance mistress, Peter is our librarian and I am the slacker webmistress. Here we plan to offer notices of upcoming events, random musings related to period music and dance, and photos of our group in action.
You're invited! If you're in southern Maine and play any period instrument (recorder, harp, doumbek, bodhran, violin, viola da gamba, bassoon, lute, mandolin, and many others), or if you'd like to play, or if you'd like to learn Renaissance dances, or if you'd like to sing with us, e-mail
info@dissonatas.com and we'll get you set up!
I just realized this: The DisSonatas have been around since 1996. That makes us longer-lived than the Beatles!
Mark and Audrey, known in the SCA as Einar and Serena, were married April 14. They are both longtime members of the DisSonatas, and while their move to Topsham (not to mention planning a wedding) has made it more difficult for them to participate, their influence lingers and they are always welcome. I know very few couples who have seemed so right for one another from the beginning. They've weathered a lot (including Mark's deployment to Iraq with the National Guard) and I wish them calm sailing, prosperity and every kind of joy together. That's Lee, our Fearless Leader, just to the left of Audrey, laughing uproariously. (Photo shamelessly stolen from Lee and John's photo page from the wedding.)
