[Bg-dance] Question on Dance Songs

[Tim McDaniel]

On Tue, 14 Jan 2014, April Porter
<apryl_knight at knightimecreations.com> wrote:
> Greetings!  Some of you may have seen me before; I've played with
> the musicians at the dances at the Wells Branch center a few times
> in the past (I'm the bowed psaltery player).  I'm working on a CD of
> SCA dance music

OOO-er!

I've not dealt with the process of making a music CD.  Off the top of
my head, I wonder whether it would be worth while to play for dancers
to calibrate speed, number of reps, local variations, and such, then
go into recording.

I should note that many of these dances are on dance CDs already --
but I don't know whether that matters to you; for example, if what you
want is your interpretation and your instrument, then it doesn't.

> 6) Ly Bens Dystonis - The Gresley Manuscript (England, c.1500) (What
> music is generally used for this dance?)

Depends on the version of the dance done in the area you want to
cover.  I believe that the music as written in Banys/Gresley suffices
for the steps as written ... except there's no time for the step part
called the "trace" at the start.  I believe the Ealdormere version
uses the music as written but omits a couple of moves in the middle.
The version we dance in Ansteorra includes all the steps (and slows
down 2 blocks of steps) but that requires repeating a phrase.  I don't
know of any other variations.

I don't suppose you'd be willing to play both/all the versions ...?

> 5) Orynge - The Gresley Manuscript (England, c.1500)   (What music
> is generally used for this dance?)

You might try Googling for both of these.  Gaita has steps and MP3 at
http://www.gaita.co.uk/Grene_gynger_&_Orynge.html
http://rendance.gyges.org/ is connected to the two in Ontario who are
reconstructing Gresley dances and in some cases composing music for
them.

At home, I have bookmarks for SCA dance pages, some of which have
recordings with them.

Daniel de Lindecolina
-- 
Tim McDaniel, tmcd at panix.com