ANST-Announce - Kingdom Eisteddfod

[Ulf Gunnarsson]

The greatest title a bard can hold, that of Premier Bard of Ansteorra, is
available this weekend at Steppes 12th Night.  Your opponents will be many
and their talent great. It will take a voice of steel and silver to best the
best of the kingdom.

The tournament is double elimination, with no repeating "weapon" styles.
Which means you must be good in at least two forms, those being story, song,
poem, and instrumental. Other styles have been considered on a piece by
piece basis with previous approval.

The tournament will start half an hour after site opens.  Come with a
repertoire of several pieces. Be prepared to size up your opponents and pick
a piece more likely to "overcome" them.

Preference to period pieces, pieces written in period style and subject, and
pieces about our own heroes, kings, and groups. Such should not only be well
executed; they should stir, inspire, and entertain.

Documentation may be orally delivered. If your documentation is longer than
can be orally delivered, please leave copies with the judges before the
tournament starts. That way no one is forced to read AND listen at the same
time.  All pieces should have some sort of documentation, even if it is
simply the name of the author and when it was written. This is common
courtesy to authors. Preference shown if you know style, country, similar
pieces, famous historical performances of the piece, etc.

Why that last, you say?  To me, you lose no points for just saying "I wrote
this myself and it follows no particular style".  But you will have an edge
over your opponent if you can say "I wrote this myself.  It is in
Drokkvaett, the court poetry style of Viking Age Scandinavia.  It has
complex syllabic rhymes with a rigid alliteration scheme, and the sagas
remark upon men who could compose a drapa of this at a moments notice."  Or
even "I wrote this myself.  It is in the court poetry style of my homeland,
much more complex than anything you Saxons can do.  Our heroes can speak for
hours in this style.  And my dog is better than yours."

Finally, just some advice from experience: Bring copies of anything you have
written.  People will ask for them.  And it is a good way to get a song out
and being sung.

Ulf Gunnarsson
Premier Bard of Ansteorra
"Have cloak, will travel..."
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.