Harper's Retreat

[bethlakshmi]

Definitely, this year was a retreat, in the sense of not doing a heck of a lot besides relaxing. new_man and mermaidlady and I came up Friday night, set up camp and new_man and I went for a late night walk. The stars were absolutely fantabulous. Even a poor stargazer like myself could make sense of the major constellations.

My favorite moments, were probably (in order of appearance):
- rising_moon's class on Storytelling and Harping - a very lovely hands on class on harping while you are Storytelling. I did this many years ago - as part of a two person pair, directed by Tibicen - Master Kali told a story, and I played harp. But that has been my one endeavor in harping. It was really lovely to go through it again, this time with other perspectives.

- Coffee and noodling with Ghazallah, Sulieman, and Swarna - Swarna's got a new instrument - a metal body saz, which she really loves. We noodled, told "war" stories of our latest troupe forays into live music, and I got to sing a bit. Very congenial, just the kind of time I like to have at Harper's - low-key, high-music.

- The feast - MmmmMMmmm... good. Not the most elegant feast, ever, but everything was fairly period - at least to this non-cook's eye, and incredibly tasty. We, being expert feast eaters, managed to pace ourselves, so we were pleasantly full at the end, and still got to taste everything, and have seconds of a few favorite items. We got to sit at high table - new_man being the Storyteller of Stonemarche. Their Excellencies are also lovely dinner companions.

- dreda's class on Anglo-Saxon poetry and composition. She is a very articulate lady, and did a great job of being enthusiastic, informative, and hands-on. I'd say she left me wanting more - but she tidied up her concepts so completely, I had no questions. So if I want "more" - it would be more classes, on any subject.


I'm sad to say, that I felt that the structure of the event was NOT my favorite part. I think it upset new_man more than myself, but truth to tell - it was icky. My least favorite things were:

- they actively encourage "non-period" performance as an art form - I understand not wanting to tighten the standards to "must provide a page of documentation", but I'd prefer not to have a category for "non-period" - entries including filks to modern rock and country songs.

- classes where held in the same room as the dayboard, and the gate - the room was not large, and fairly live - and because it meant no transportation of harps - all soft harp classes where held in the noisy room.

- a lot of the better performers are rather anti-encouraged to perform. The focus being on competition, it rather discouraged those who might be in a place where they play simply for the joy of it. And it rather discouraged one of the things I like best - impromptu ensembles playing new songs they just learned during the day.

In my case this was true - I did not want a new shiny thing, and I did not want to compete for one. I have won big this year - I have great students, a great new apprentice, a shiny new title and many people love me very much - I really don't want more. The focus being so strongly on "competition" made me uninterested in performing. Admittedly, so did being pooped out from Pennsic - I've had plenty of time to perform recently. It was nice to just be entertained.

One thing it did inspire in me -- the desire to run a better performing arts thingy - let us call it a "Revel". I'd like to have a low-key, high-quality affair, possibly in Casa Moomba next summer. With the number of performing artists in camp, and our acquaintances, we should be able to draw some really lovely entertainment. And I'd like it to be a time that is comfortable - comfy seats, nice big fire, toasty, and lots of good music. I don't want documentation, I want fun, I want the "magic" that Anne speaks of when she says that by telling a story, she makes "in period" happen, and all the audience has to do is listen - she tells the story, and we all transported back in time for a few magic moments. No - it doesn't need a page of documentation. But it needs to not be a filk to modern rock.