I'd like to thank Solwyn for her lovely "St Mark's Gospel, retold on the Bodhran". I think we all agree that her partner, Chakkra, did a lovely job of interpreting the random drumbeats into a liturgical dance.
But there were a couple of stray quavers in the "Feeding of the 5,000" that I don't think were in the original. And a triplet in the message of John the Baptist that was definitely Nestorian.
So I've had to find them guilty of rhythmic heresy. There's no real forgiveness for this kind of stuff: they've just got to leave.
Though I did take the opportunity to break the drumskin on the bodhran. It's to save the world.
Have you not got a heart?
ReplyDeleteFolk Music interpretation needs the occasional wrong note and dropped 'aitch' and when required to deliver more formal stuff, a folk orchestra will necessarily struggle.
The snare drum, magic flute and 2 string harp are really symbolic of our peasant pastimes, and I would have thought that the Beakerfolk would be appreciative of such art forms.
Don't forget the bagpipes. I'm very fond of bagpipes myself, but when I suggested to our organist that they were a very ancient and traditional musical instrument, I didn't get an encouraging response, even though he's musically broad-minded enough to play those boring 'choruses' on the piano and even to try to teach the choir to sing just before or after the beat, where required. (We generally prefer to aim right at the beat and note, and hope for the best.)
ReplyDeleteI'm not allowed wrong notes and poor diction... Why this dispensation for folksy people? All power to your elbow, Eileen...
ReplyDeleteDesmond, "folksy" folks are post-modern and therefore immune to big narratives like spelling and accuracy.
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