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My favorite was at a Rosenfeld event about 15 years ago. Inman sang Karelia's (sp) Song under a stormy sky, everyone in the circle was encouraged to contribute, and there were plenty of sing-a-long type songs. There have been many, many memorable circles since then. <BR>
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My worst circles have involved: bards who take over a circle and won't let anyone else perform, bards who perform pieces that are 15 minutes long, and humphy, period only bardic circles. I love humphy period bardic pieces, but in general feel they best belong in competitions and not in bardic circles. Of course there are exceptions to that everywhere, but the biggest complaint that I get from NON bardic folks is that circles kill a party when they are too formal and do not entertain. (They don't mind the sad songs as long as they are split with a fun song.) We have to remember that most people do not have an attention span that lasts longer than your average song on the radio. <BR>
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Saundra<BR>
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> From: jerryn@houston.rr.com<BR>> To: bards@lists.ansteorra.org<BR>> Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 23:57:09 -0600<BR>> Subject: [Bards] What was the best bardic circle you ever attended and why?<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> The subject is the question.<BR>> <BR>> I'll start.<BR>> <BR>> There are several that stick in my mind; the night at a Loch event where<BR>> Cadfin was telling a story, and right at the climactic moment the burning<BR>> log broke in two, releasing a shower of sparks and a leaping blaze of fire.<BR>> The night Alden was cajoled into performing around a fire at Gulf Wars for<BR>> two reasons; Alden's singing was hilarious, and Lady Brialce, Lord Maddog<BR>> of Glastonbury's good wife, sat in front of me, facing the fire and<BR>> performed a butterfly dance, swaying and fluttering her hands, as I played<BR>> the Irish slip-jig The Butterfly. A circle at Ravensfort that Mistress<BR>> Eleanor Fairchild and I hosted. All of these are inspiration for me, time<BR>> and again, to join a circle, to walk the fires, to sing, to listen, to<BR>> laugh.<BR>> <BR>> There are two that are currently my best memories. They can always bring a<BR>> smile to my face, even in times of stress. Of them, I think my favorite was<BR>> the Ansteorran circle held this last Gulf War.<BR>> <BR>> Loch Soillier's brewer's guild had stepped up to a request I had made for<BR>> them to supply the brew at a bardic circle. We had the idea a year before,<BR>> and I had been told that it had been a success, and so I asked them to<BR>> repeat it. <BR>> <BR>> We had a fire, we had refreshments, and with some help we advertised the<BR>> circle, and people started showing up. I was the nominal host, and in one<BR>> sense I "ran" the circle, as I'd call on people from time to time to<BR>> perform. I have grown to like the pick, pass, or play method at most<BR>> circles, but I hadn't brought a lantern and pretty much bulled my way<BR>> through it. And the performances were wonderful. Bards from several<BR>> kingdoms gathered, and those who knew other bards would come and ask if I<BR>> knew that so and so over there was a wonderful story teller, or this lady<BR>> has a wonderful voice, or this young man does wonderful poetry. The ale and<BR>> lemonade flowed and the performances ranged from high to low, coarse to<BR>> refined, and all between. I made a point to start popular sing-along songs<BR>> from time to time; old favorites that most everyone knew the chorus to, or<BR>> could learn it after a couple of repetitions.<BR>> <BR>> What did I like about it? The vast array of talented individuals, one after<BR>> another, who came and performed, the large group of audience who wanted<BR>> nothing more than to sit by a fire, drink their drink, and watch the<BR>> performers, and the joy the performers took in practicing their craft.<BR>> <BR>> So. Share YOUR memory. Tell us why.<BR>> <BR>> In service to the dream with a song in my heart, I am,<BR>> HL Gerald of Leesville<BR>> A bard of Stargate <BR>> <BR>> _______________________________________________<BR>> Bards mailing list<BR>> Bards@lists.ansteorra.org<BR>> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/bards-ansteorra.org<BR><br /><hr />Use Messenger to talk to your IM friends, even those on Yahoo! <a href='http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=7adb59de-a857-45ba-81cc-685ee3e858fe' target='_new'>Talk now!</a></body>
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