English Jam ~ Part 2

(note: if you have not yet read Part 1 of this series, please do so before continuing.)

The evening of Thursday, September 12^th found Mom and Conner and I on our way to the very first English Jam! We arrived a bit before the starting time of seven, and thus were at leisure to drive around the neighborhood a bit in an attempt to shake off the uncomfortable nervous feeling that was quickly growing on Conner and me. It was a lovely neighborhood... winding roads, tall leafy trees, and pleasant looking houses... very nice for meandering through even at ordinary times!

We made our way to Mrs. Edwards’ house, and were pleased to see the attractive edible landscaping she had done: the walkway was lined with cherry tomatoes, and the flower bed contained yellow chard along with the cheerful marigolds. Upon reaching the door, we were greeted warmly by Mrs. Edwards, who immediately welcomed us in and put us at ease. As we happened to be the first ones there, we were able to visit with Mrs. Edwards, have first pick in seating, and look about the house a bit. In the living room where we would all be playing that evening, two things in particular caught my attention. The first was a shelf of eight or more unique hand drums; the second was a tall bookshelf quite filled with three-ring binders, each labeled as containing a certain grouping of sheet music. I was especially drawn to the binder titled “Stringdancer Medleys”, which I have since been privileged to look into – it truly does contain the lead sheet used by the Stringdancer band for the recording of the Scottish!

Truth to tell, I do not remember many particulars of that first evening, except that Conner and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and that upon leaving we were already in anticipation of the next session! Drawing from the collective experiences of the past five weeks, I will attempt to share something of the atmosphere and activities of the English Jams thus far.

First off, the people! Each week there has been between seven and fourteen participants, each bringing their own instrument, skill level, experience, personality, and ideas on how to play the music. Since the group of people changes a bit each week, every time there is a slightly different flavor to the jam. Quite a few of the participants are truly musicians – that is, people with skill and experience, people who pay attention to the sounds they are producing, and who are willing to make the effort to play music in such a way that people will enjoy it and really feel like dancing! It has been an incredible experience to be able to play with musicians such as these.

And then there are the instruments! I myself am partial to the violin/fiddle, and am thoroughly delighted to get to hear anywhere between two and five of them each week! On several evenings we have been joined by Mr. Tim Hirzel, a flute player and member of the Tu’Penny Players (another of Mrs. Edwards’ bands – I just discovered that the Tu’Penny Players are in fact the ones who made many of the other dance recordings I’ve known and loved for years!). The Jams have also been attended by two pianists and a harpist; and one evening there was even a five-string banjo player!

Though the specifics of what we do at the Jams changes from week to week, the general routine is as follows. When people arrive around seven, they visit with each other while setting up in the living room: getting out their instruments, flipping through the music books, and playing snatches of tunes to themselves. When all the expected participants have arrived, Mrs. Edwards gets everyone’s attention for tuning. This is done by ear, using the piano as the standard – for of course the piano cannot easily be tuned to anything else. Once everybody has attained the perfect pitch, we begin playing! We usually begin with any new tunes, and from there often work through a list of specific pieces we’re preparing for a dance event. Other times we merely select favorites from previous weeks and play around with them some more!

When trying a tune for the first time, we usually play it once through and then stop to analyze it. Keeping in mind that we are playing for dancing, we consider questions such as these: What is the mood of this piece? How can we play it to give the most interest to the players and enjoyment to the dancers? Where is the “point of arrival” in each section of the music, and how can variations in volume or other effects be used to emphasize that point in the tune? Mrs. Edwards asks questions such as these to the group as a whole, allowing anyone wishing to share their ideas to present their perspective on possibilities for playing. We play parts of the piece a few times to compare the results of the suggested interpretations, often coming to the conclusion that they could each be used to good effect over the course of the dance! When we play the piece again, Mrs. Edwards and any other adventurous people often improvise a harmony line, which results in a beautiful depth and richness of sound. In some places the technique of shadowing the melody at a certain interval does not work, and so we all go through the piece, find those places, and determine what note would fit well there. Finally, keeping all our notes to self in mind, we play the piece two or three times through – and it sounds simply beautiful! After a moment of exclaiming over how wonderful that was, the process is repeated for the next tune!

We often take a short break around eight, or whenever some people need to be leaving and others begin arriving. Most people make their way to the kitchen, where the table is filled with bottles of sparkling berry juices and handmade pottery containing snacks and treats of various kinds. Food in hand, we stand about visiting for a bit, occasionally getting so involved in a conversation that we actually take a seat in the family room to continue the discussion!

Following the break, assuming it has not gone on too long, we gather in the living room once more for another round of music making! Mr. Bob Green, Mrs. Edwards’ husband, is sometimes available to join in at this point, providing an excellent rhythm on one of his hand drums. Incidentally, meeting Mr. Green was another neat experience, as he is not only a dancer and musician, but is also a dance caller and dance writer! It was not until meeting him for the second time that I learned that he happens to be the one who wrote the dance “Little Ramsay Divey” – a fun dance I first learned two full years ago, never expecting to have the opportunity of meeting its writer!

The Jam usually wraps up somewhere around nine, at which point we begin packing up our banjos and music book, often getting drawn in to a pleasant conversation or two along the way. Goodbyes are said to everyone, we heartily thank Mrs. Edwards for having us there again, and then – it is time to go home, filled with pleasant thoughts and with eagerness for the next Thursday to come!

There is only one thing that Conner and I have found lacking in these lovely evenings: the presence of our instrument-playing, English Country Dancing homeschool friends! My main reason for writing this lengthy post is simply to invite any and all of my dear dancing musicians to come join us in the English Jam – we would love to see you there!

This link will take you to a webpage with directions to the English Jam; along the left-hand side there are downloadable files of the sheet music we've been using thus far. We will be playing some of these pieces at the Yuletide Ball on December 20^th (check the Childgrove website for details); we will also be playing for the homeschool Winter Dance Series called by Mr. John Ramsay held in Saint Charles this coming January and February.

If you have any questions, you may email me (provided you already know my email address; I do not wish to post it online), or you may leave a comment below.

Hope to see you at the Jam!

English Jam ~ Part 1

One ordinary afternoon last month, when we were all going about our typical afternoon activities, Mom received an email. This was not anything unusual in and of itself – Mom gets emails all the time. However, this particular email, forwarded to us by some friends, proved to contain information that was far from ordinary: it was an invitation! A lady named Martha Edwards wrote of a series of weekly workshops/jam sessions she was beginning for musicians who wanted to play music for English Country Dances. This “English Jam”, as she named it, was open to anyone with the ability to play and read music in a few basic keys; Mrs. Edwards would supply the lead sheets for the tunes, but would also be leading in some improvisation for harmonies and secondary melodies. Participants were welcomed to bring their instruments to Mrs. Edwards’ home on Thursday evenings and join in the Jam!

As you can imagine, I was greatly excited to hear of this unique opportunity! The prospect of getting together with other people to play one of my favorite styles of music was thoroughly pleasing – indeed, it was an activity such as I had fondly imagined for quite some time, but had never expected to become a reality! Conner thought the English Jam sounded neat, and as we can both read sheet music and play our banjos with tolerable skill, we decided to try it out together. Mom was perhaps the most excited of us all at that time; she had been praying for an opportunity for me in particular that would tie in with my interests and bring them to a new level, and this English Jam seemed to be a wonderful answer to prayer!

The first thing to be done, of course, was to call Mrs. Edwards to thank her for hosting the English Jams and to let her know that we were interested in participating. To my dismay, the responsibility of making this call fell on me! (I absolutely hate making phone calls...) After a few minutes of attempting to get out of it (an unsuccessful attempt, by the way), I did in fact pick up the phone, dial the number, and press the “call” button. Then followed a moment of nervous waiting... To my great relief, I did not have to deal with an answering machine; the phone was answered promptly by a quick, but not unfriendly voice. Once I made it clear that I was calling about the English Jam and was not yet another annoying advertiser, the voice became friendlier still. It turned out to be Mrs. Edwards herself, and so I introduced Conner and I and told her a bit about our musical experience thus far. Mrs. Edwards sounded pleased that we were interested in joining her workshop, and made it clear that we were welcome to participate. The fact that Conner and I are still towards the beginner level of musical abilities did not seem to be an issue; even our instruments being banjos, of all things, was not a problem! We talked a bit about the type of sheet music to be used for the workshops, the role of a banjo in a multi-instrument gathering, and other related topics. It was a very pleasant conversation – quite possibly the nicest phone call I’ve ever been forced to make!

Mrs. Edwards requested that I send her our email address so that she could get the lead sheets for the first Jam to us. When I emailed her a bit later, I attached a bit of ECD sheet music I had written out in hopes of using it at the Jams, and also included a link to this blog. Mrs. Edwards replied fairly quickly; “hurray!” thought I, and proceeded to read her message. Mrs. Edwards commented pleasantly on our conversation earlier and on the music I had attached, and also remarked on my blog, which she had in fact taken the time to read. Mrs. Edwards wrote that she liked the story including the USS Constitution, and added, “For some reason unknown to me, I memorized the Oliver Wendell Holmes poem Old Ironsides when I was young and to this day must be restrained from declaiming it at inopportune times.” She then proceeded to quote the opening lines of the poem – “Aye, tear her tattered ensign down, long has she waved on high...” That was great fun to read!

One particular line of the email, however, thoroughly shocked me: “I like your blog – particularly since you gave such a nice review of the Stringdancer CD (my old band)...” At these words, I froze, and asked myself in surprise, “Did she really say what I think she just said?” A quick review of the words proved that she had indeed said my old band – meaning, of course, that she herself was one of the three musicians responsible for one of my very favorite recordings, namely, the medley for the Scottish! At this incredible realization, I literally jumped in my seat! (This, by the way, is an unheard of occurrence. I tend to be composed and immovable, and I’ve never been much of a jumper – but that’s another story. *grin*)

My head was spinning with a whirl of amazed and astonished thoughts: the remarkable realization that I had actually spoken with the fiddler from Stringdancer that very morning without even knowing it! The thought of getting to meet her within one week’s time! At her own house, even! Hearing her play the fiddle in person! The idea of being able to learn from her wealth of musical skills and experience! The overwhelming prospect of actually playing ECD music with her! And all of this, just given to me – undeserved, unexpected, and unimagined! God is indeed good! His blessings are poured out so freely – His providence is truly amazing!

Sometime in the near future I’ll do another post about the atmosphere and activities of the English Jams themselves!

Hull's Victory ~ the History

Already I am deviating from my stated intentions for this blog! Yes, it was meant to be solely on music, and specifically on music for dancing; yes, it was meant to contain nothing but descriptions of favorite tunes; yes, it was meant to serve as a guide to those who have done a dance and are now trying to track down a recording of the music used for the dance. But, as today is the 201st anniversary of the event commemorated by one of my very favorite dances - namely, Hull's Victory - I could not resist posting some information about the event itself. I hope to do another post soon on the actual music and dance, which are both magnificent and delightful! All that being said: for those of you who are interested (and have not heard all this already!), here is the history behind the dance Hull's Victory.

The victory commemorated by this dance took place within the first few months of the War of 1812. The United States declared war on England in response to the numerous insults to and violations of  America’s freedoms at sea. When British ships came upon an American vessel, they took the liberty to board and inspect it. Many times some of the American sailors would be taken and forced to serve in the Royal Navy, which was ever in need of more men to operate its vast fleet. Also, at that time England was at war with France, and so tried to restrict trade between France and the U.S. This was not at all agreeable to the American merchants, whose living was made by trading with other countries.

As the war was brought on primarily by issues at sea, it was fought primarily at sea as well. It must be noted that this war was no small thing to undertake; the American fleet was relatively small and fairly recently organized, while the Royal Navy was large and powerful, even considered by some to be invincible. Though there were many instances over the course of the war in which the American ships distinguished themselves in battle, our focus is on Captain Hull and the USS Constitution.

Isaac Hull was born in Shelton, Connecticut, in the year 1773. His father was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, and his grandfathers had been sea captains for many generations. As Isaac himself also loved the sea, it was only natural that he too should have his career on the ocean. Beginning as a cabin boy, Isaac grew in skill and experience in handling ships. He entered the American navy upon its organization in 1798, and by the beginning of the war had received numerous promotions which placed him as captain of the USS Constitution. The Constitution was a well-built frigate, solid and strong, usually carrying forty-some cannons and a large, highly trained crew. Commanded by Captain Hull, it was a most formidable foe in battle!

Before Hull’s celebrated victory actually took place, however, another incident worth mentioning occurred. As the Constitution was sailing to New York to meet up with the rest of the squadron, she was pursued by five British ships. This chase, lasting three days, is notable for the fact that it took place in a dead calm, during which none of the ships could properly sail! However, Captain Hull was an experienced sailor and leader, and used his knowledge to keep the Constitution  moving away from her deadly enemies. Some of the measures taken included wetting the sails in order to get the most advantage from what little wind there was, lightening the ship by dumping a large supply of drinking water overboard, and kedging, which was a slow yet effective method of towing. At last, the ship was prepared as though for a violent squall. Seeing this, the British vessels did likewise, and were entirely clueless when the Constitution made her escape under cover of the storm, which was, as Captain Hull had expected, quite mild. The  American ship escaped to Boston, leaving her pursuers far behind. They gave up the chase early the next morning. This incident tested the maneuverability of the ship, the strength of the crew, and the capabilities of the captain, all of which passed the test with flying colors.

The Constitution set off from Boston shortly afterward, and on August the 19^th, 1812, met the British frigate HMS Guerriere, which signaled an invitation to a duel. This invitation was readily accepted, and the battle began. The British Captain James Dacres ordered the Guerriere to begin firing early, and continued firing as the two ships grew nearer. These shots did very little to the Constitution, which was held ready for action but did not return fire. It seems that the American crew was not quite convinced that holding back was the right thing to do, for they repeatedly inquired of Captain Hull whether it was about time to begin. The answer remained no until the frigates were brought close together, “within less than a Pistol Shot”, and Captain Hull gave the long anticipated command to fire upon the opposing ship. This order was instantly obeyed. The American cannons, loaded with 24-pound balls and grapeshot, did immense damage to the Guerriere, taking out a mast within the first few volleys. Soon the British vessel was struggling to remain afloat. Meanwhile, an astonished British sailor observed the 18-pound balls fired by the Guerriere to be actually bouncing off the thick oak hull of the Constitution, crying out in surprise, “Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!” Thus, the Constitution was given the nickname of “Old Ironsides”.

The battle lasted only a half hour after the Constitution began firing, ending with the surrender of the Guerriere. Very few Americans had been injured in the conflict, with a total of seven killed and seven wounded. The British crew did not fare so well, having fifteen killed and sixty-three wounded. Among the wounded was Captain Dacres, who was helped aboard the victorious ship by Captain Hull. Some time before the war, the two men had met and had made a wager of a hat on the result of them possibly meeting in battle. When Dacres offered his sword in surrender, Hull refused to take it, saying “No, no, I will not take a sword from a man who knows so well how to use it; but I’ll  trouble you for that hat.”

The night was spent in trying to keep the Guerriere afloat as a prize vessel, but the effort was in vain. The ship was a hopeless wreck, having endured the powerful fire from the Constitution and even colliding with it at one point. After removing all the people from the Guerriere, she was set on fire and sank into the sea.

The Constitution returned to Boston, and was welcomed with enthusiastic excitement by the people. The captain and crew were given awards and prize money. Parties were given and the newspapers overflowed with praise. In celebration of this grand victory, poems and songs have been written, as well as a dance which we still enjoy today!

In closing, it has been said that the victory of Old Ironsides over the Guerriere had no real effect on the outcome of the war, which continued for another two years. However, it did have a great impact on American morale, giving the people hope that more battles, and eventually the war itself, could be won. This is in fact what happened, for though certainly not all aspects of the war went well, the many other sea battles won by the Americans, like Hull’s victory, proved to the world that the Royal Navy of England could no longer be considered invincible.


Written by Zoe Quinn in January 2013
Researched in August 2012
Sources:
http://www.history.navy.mil/ussconstitution/history.html
http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hull_isaac.htm
"The Naval War of 1812" by Theodore Roosevelt, 1882

The Scottish ~ A Perfect Polka

After nearly two years of searching, I finally found the music for one of my absolute favorite dances – the Scottish! Hurray!

There are so many things to love about this particular piece of music! First and foremost, the simply delightful sound of the violins! They complement each other perfectly – while one takes the lead, the other provides a lilting background, and at times the two join in playing the same melody, together dancing on the strings. Though the fiddles are the primary instruments in this recording, the deeper strumming tone of the guitar and a bit of drumming adds a richness of sound, preserving the piece from the danger of becoming too high pitched or shallow.

Another delightful aspect of this medley is the enthusiasm with which it is played; the passion for music really comes through! Every note is in place and the beat is steady all throughout, and yet it is not boringly repetitive; rather, each round of the music is energizing, invigorating, and thrilling! As a friend of mine once wrote, “it just gets down ‘round by your toes and makes you want to dance!”

This track is a medley of three pieces, each in 2/4 timing and in a minor key. Each progression from piece to piece leads to a tune still more wonderful than the last! First there is the well-rounded sound of The Killarney Boys of Pleasure, the instruments introducing the six-minute track with an irresistible invitation to join in the dance! Then there is The King Fairies, in which the strings are set to singing while the percussion provides a subdued backdrop to the fiddling. Finally, there is the deep booming of the drums, the perfectly placed crescendo, and the high notes of the fiddles, all leading into the grand finale, the thrilling tune Tamlin! This last portion of the medley is my favorite by far. It perfectly captures the energy and enthusiasm of the dance, inspiring wholehearted skipping, spinning, whirling, twirling, and polkaing!

I really can’t describe this piece adequately – you must just listen to it for yourself! My two favorite ways of listening to it are 1, use headphones (note: not earphones - they should be full headphones covering your entire ear) with the volume turned way up, and 2 - the preferred method - find a partner, locate a large open space, and begin dancing this delightful polka!

Now for the purchase information:

The group responsible for this delightful medley goes by the name of Stringdancer – 

a most fitting name! The players are Martha Edwards, Pamela Carson Stoll, and David Kirchner, a trio of talented musicians who have been playing together since 1995. Their first and only album, containing this track and thirteen others, is available on Amazon as an MP3 download. The album is no longer being produced in CD format.

 (See this link for Stringdancer’s homepage and history: 
http://www.westendweb.com/stringdancer/index.htm)

COMPLETE TRACK INFORMATION

TITLE: Killarney Boys of Pleasure, the King Fairies, Tamlin

ARTIST: Stringdancer

ALBUM: Stringdancer

YEAR: 2001

LENGTH: 5:57

The Purpose of this Blog

I shall now take a moment to explain why this blog exists!

I absolutely love music - it is a central part of my everyday life from the instant I wake up to the moment I go to bed! Music on the CD player when we are working, practicing the piano throughout the day, playing the four string banjo with my brothers, listening to songs on the radio in the car, mentally analyzing melodies to determine their timing and key, picking out tunes by ear and writing them down as sheet music, memorizing things through songs, listening to the thrilling soundtracks of favorite movies, and (my very favorite!) dancing to delightful tunes... I love music!

I am also exceedingly fond of writing, whether it is writing letters to friends, detailing the events of the day in my journal, or going off on a rapturous review of a particular song or dance. So, Mom said to me one day, "how would it be if you write about dance music in such a way and in a place that anyone interested may read it?" I liked this idea at once - and that, my friends, is why this blog exists!

Through this blog, I hope to share my passion for music and love of dancing, as well as various bits of information on the two. The posts are likely to be primarily on the music used for English Country Dances (the kind seen in the Jane Austen movies, usually done in longways sets and circles) and for early American dances, but I also intend to highlight some of the other musical styles I delight in, such as piano solos, fiddle tunes, Celtic music, classical pieces, select movie soundtracks, and any other magnificent music I may happen upon!

If you enjoy the descriptions of the featured melodies, you will doubtless wish to hear them for yourself! Thus, information on how to obtain quality recordings of the pieces in question will be provided. (Please note that, though it may seem otherwise, I am not advertising these recordings - I am merely strongly recommending that you purchase them. :-D ) For those of you more interested in the dancing side of things, videos and dance instructions will be included whenever possible.

Enjoy reading, dancing, and listening!

The Joy of Music

Praise God for the gift of music! What would life be like without it? A rather dull form of existence it would be, to my mind at least! Music is such a blessing!

Fiddles playing merrily amid the swirling leaves at a fall festival... bagpipes bringing their thrillingly powerful sound into Christmas carols in the wonderful whiteness of winter... flutes joyously welcoming the return of the flowers and beautiful breezes of spring... banjos picking and strumming at fun summertime picnics and parties... a piano for all seasons, and a violin for every time!

Silly songs for singing, story songs for remembering things, hymns for praising God, crazy songs for in the car, instrumentals for background, symphonies for studying, soaring soundtracks for reliving stirring scenes, and best of all, dance music - for the obvious! And for the joy of listening! I think very little could be worse than having once heard excellent music and then being cut off from it forever... it would be almost unbearable. Hearing is a miracle - and music is among the most wonderful things to hear!