See you in August

Lee says practices are on hold for the rest of July. And after all the work she put into the New Moon Balle, she's certainly entitled to a break!

The New Moon Balle went quite well, despite a few glitches, mostly my fault! Lee/Mickel did a beautiful job directing the action and keeping everything going. Mike brought his harp, Tracy/Claire lent much-needed recorder support, Audrey and Mark were fabulous as always, and Andrea went so far as to bring us a drummer, a young man named Sky (or maybe Skye). Also joining us were Ingeborg from Bridge on recorder, Jocelyn from Stonemarche on violin and hurdy-gurdy (wow! never played with a hurdy-gurdy before, and they're loud!), and Grant on guitar.

We had a BIG bunch of dancers, almost too many for the hall! What really impressed me was that everyone seemed to be having a terrific time. The energy in the room was amazing.

If you're an SCA member who loves to dance (or play for dancers), I heartily encourage you to come to next year's Great Northeastern War! And if you're a fan of Renaissance dance who lacks an outlet, see what your local SCA chapter has to offer. If they don't have a music group and/or dance practices, start some!

Chamber? Horrors!

This article in the New York Times (which requires free registration to read its stuff) suggests that audiences are fleeing traditional "chamber music," forcing ensembles to seek innovative venues and presentations for their music. By that standard, the DisSonatas are ahead of the trend! We've played at nursing homes, church services, parades, the Maine Mall, and Barry's back yard. And relatively few people have run away in terror. That we know of.

Playlist for New Moon Balle

Links are to dance cribs posted in the DisSonatas Yahoo group -- I believe you have to be a member to see them. We'll work on getting some posted publicly here.

Set #1:
Lorayne Almayn (4x)
Pinagay Bransle (6x)
Rufty Tufty (3x)
Bransle Officiale (4x)
Anello (2x)
Black Nag (3x)
Horses' Bransle (?x)
Jenny Pluck Pears (6x)
Amoroso (2x)
Belle Qui Pavan & Galliard (4x pavan, 2x galliard)

Intermission

Set #2:
Black Almayn (4x)
Charlotte Bransle (4x)
Heart's Ease (3x)
Scottish Bransle (4x)
Petit Vriens (4x)
Montarde Bransle (?x)
Upon a Summer's Day (3x)
Maltese Bransle (?x)
Gathering Peascods (3x)
Gelosia (3x)
Sellenger's Round (4x)

Gearing Up for Great Northeastern War

The DisSonatas' major gig of the summer is the New Moon Balle, a dance held as part of a major Society for Creative Anachronism gathering in Hebron, Maine.

The gathering is called Great Northeastern War, and is in its twenty-first year. The host group is the Province of Malagentia, which is the SCA's name for southern Maine, where the DisSonatas live and perform.

Normally, there's a declaration of "war" between Malagentia and some other province or barony, usually Stonemarche (New Hampshire). The two have long been in mock contention over a few towns on the border, which are called "Giggleswick." This year it's not quite clear who's fighting whom yet, but I'm sure Malagentia will battle somebody.

Anyway, most of the DisSonatas are fans of other challenging sports, such as Renaissance dance. Our repertoire includes a great deal of dance music and we hold monthly dance practices when anyone can come and learn period dances. At the New Moon Balle, we do not teach the dances, but just play them, as musicians did when these dances were part of the world "everyone" knew -- just as "everyone" today knows who Tony Soprano is, or the words to "Oops! I Did It Again." (No, that's not Britney Spears' version, it's a wonderful recording by Richard Thompson, who called the song almost "medieval" in its structure and went on to prove it.)

We'd love to see you at War -- and if you haven't danced with us before, there's a class before the Balle to get you started! If this is your first SCA event, read the Web site thoroughly and be prepared to make some attempt at pre-17th-century garb. I also suggest not wearing anything too heavy, as Hebron in July can be HOT!

This next part is legend -- if anyone knows of a scholarly source for it, I'll be happy to cite it. Malagentia's name allegedly comes from the French explorer Samuel de Champlain who, writing in Latin, described the natives of what is now Maine as mala gentes ("bad people"). Apparently, they greeted his exploration party by going down to the beaches and mooning him.

In recognition of this semi-historical event, the provincial flag depicts a full moon on a purple background. (Or, to give its proper heraldic description: "Purpure, a moon in her complement within a laurel wreath argent.")

Mark and Audrey

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.)

Come join us!

A small selection of DisSonatas joined members of the SCA and a local young people's recorder group for a demonstration today at the Casco Library. Though rain threatened to cancel the fighting, it held off and the fighters were able to demonstrate their skills to a crowd of respectable size. Also on display were period arts and sciences, a small selection of refreshments (lemonade, wheat bread, honey butter and handmade mustard), and of course, music.

An enthusiastic young lady named Keziah even coerced some friends into doing a little dancing, and we were able to perform the dreaded Maltese Bransle Contest, in which the music gets just a little faster every time through the dance until the dancers or the musicians fall apart.

Andrea AskenDunn did a marvelous job, coordinating the refreshments, co-managing the event and performing with the musicians as well. Mike Mowlesworth brought his beautiful Celtic Harp, and Andrea's mom Beatrice performed beautifully on the viola da gamba. Also assisting us were Keziah, her sister Mariah, and Andrea's daughter Sorrel. The Bridgton News had a reporter/photographer in attendance, and I expect you'll see some of these faces on its pages in the near future.

If you're in the Harrison/Raymond area of Maine (loosely speaking) and want to play early music, I encourage you to get in touch with Andrea, who is trying to get more medieval and Renaissance music going near her hometown. She's at askendunn at gmail dot com.

If you're in the Portland area or York County, you'll probably find it easier to come to our regular practices, which are the second and third Monday of every month at Trinity Episcopal Church in Saco at 7 p.m. The fourth Monday of the month at 7 (and the fifth, if there happen to be five Mondays in a month) is Dance Night, where you can learn to do Renaissance dances -- no partner needed! -- and/or play dance music for dancers. If you play a recorder or other period instrument (or if you own a tambourine or small hand drum and can keep a beat), we'd love to have you! E-mail Lee for more information.