[Bg-dance] Lazy Robin

[Zach Most]

My take on the simple question of "Is it plausibly period?"  There are runs that resemble tunes which are well in our period, though it's in a different mode than the ones it reminds me of.  I haven't been able to give it enough time to examine the repeat structure to compare it to historic models.  Over all it doesn't sound a lot like any other period songs I know.  I don't know if I'm able to give it a fair shake based on the mp3, and youTube isn't cooperating with me on the video.

  I should reveal some of my personal biases so you can judge for yourself how much salt to take my opinion with.  For us to do some thing in the SCA (again, just my opinion) it should: 

1. Be based firmly and deliberately on something from the Middle Ages.  There will always be little compromises on the details, but the major structure of a thing should strongly resemble its medieval predecessor.  This is the heart of Daniel's question, so it's a very good thing that he asked.

2. Be appealing to a number of people in some way (aesthetically pleasing, fun etc).  


If #2 is strong enough, we put up with #1 lacking.  If we take that to an extreme, we play the Macarena.  If we ignore the fun factor, we all get bored and stop playing.  A dance being "traditional SCA" to me mostly just means that some folks know how to perform it, so the learning curve won't be so steep, and it may have additional appeal as sort of a comfort food for some folks.

  Gaston  



________________________________
From: "tmcd at panix.com" <tmcd at panix.com>
To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad European Dance list <bg-dance at lists.ansteorra.org>; bryngwladearlymusicguild at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 5:27 PM
Subject: [Bg-dance] Lazy Robin

My question seems to have gotten lost, and it might be helpful if I
gave some background.

My question is
- what do people in the Music Guild think about the style of the
  tune Lazy Robin?  Is it implausible for period?
because I'd like to choreograph something period-style to it.
I am not
- asking anyone to learn how to play the tune
- asking anyone to learn either of the two dances that I've seen for
  this tune

I finally converted the Ansteorran Kingdom Dance Workshop 1990 tape to
CD.  On it is a tune labelled Lazy Robin.  I really like the tune, and
I really liked the dance we did to it, and (pace Star) it was popular
in the Steppes for years.

But the version we did was more or less (thanks for the URL, Cecilia)
<http://www.phantomranch.net/folkdanc/dances/robinddi.htm>, which
doesn't much look like any period dance I've seen.

I started to think about mutating it into a bransle, but there's no
point if the tune itself is grossly out of period.  It would be like
designing a fine houppelande without bothering to learn that the cloth
is ripstop nylon.  But I know little about period music styles.  Hence
my question.  I shouldn't think about choreography until afer getting
a positive answer to that.

In short, what Gwenneth said on the BG Dance list.

The version from the tape is
    http://www.panix.com/~tmcd/lazy_robin.ogg
    http://www.panix.com/~tmcd/lazy_robin.mp3

I only pointed out
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DHVUe01_psdY
because of the music track, not the visuals, because
- unlike the versions from the tape, it's not a synthesizer.
  Some of the synth music on the tape makes my ears bleed.
- the tune (1, 3, and 5 in the medley) has a two-bar difference
  from the tape version.
The dance in that video, with the arching, is like nothing I've seen
before and I don't see how to make it periodical.  (If you like
arching, request Trenchmore.)

Gaston wrote:
> But there's a ton of material from the era that we haven't
> explored.
I've run the Inns of Court suite past the dancers, and tried a few
different Italian ren dances, and gotten almost nowhere.
But that's a discussion for another time.
Heck, I used to feel good about bransles, but Mistress Urraca from the
Middle says that the SCA Horses' Bransle and Maltese Bransle are SCA
choreographies.

Cecilia wrote:
> I'm sure we could adapt the Macarena to something resembling period
> and do that, too.  Call it a bransle!
Star says that the usual SCA practice was to call an SCA invention a
"pavane", though I see in the AKDW 1900 booklet a "tourdion and basse
dance" that should have been prosecuted under truth-in-labelling laws.

Danielis de Lindocolina
-- 
Tim McDaniel; Reply-To: tmcd at panix.com
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