Shrewsbury and the Madrigals

See the end for UPDATE day two...

Today was the big day, the day I got to perform on stage(s) at the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire.  (yes they spell it that way).  Fred and I have been working hard on our costumes.  I spent a weekend making mine, and Freddie spent the week glued to the sewing machine.  We looked pretty good if I do say so myself.  Ruben didn't seem to mind being in normal clothes, but I'll make him a costume before we go to another Faire.

This being my first time singing in a madrigal group, singing songs in languages other than English, and going to a renaissance faire, I was a little nervous.  But just a little.  The drive was lovely. We went the back way from Salem to Monmouth, then to Kings Valley outside of Corvallis.  The faire itself was in a big field with some woods on the edge.  We drove up to the performers booth and got our armbands which allowed us closer parking, and refreshments.  The weather was overcast and cool when we arrived.

We changed into our costumes in the parking lot and my alarm sounded 11:00.  I had a moment of panic because I didn't remember if I was supposed to start singing at 11:00 or at noon.  I checked the schedule and found we were performing at noon, 2:00 and 3:00.  All performances would be in different areas.

So we walked around and found the first stage.  There was a group of three gymnasts doing feats of strength and balance.  We went on after them.  I thought we sounded very good.  I was afraid of being too loud as my voice tends to stick out and there are only six members in our singing group.  However now that I hear the video I think tomorrow I'll belt it out a bit more.  If I couldn't hear me neither could anyone else.  I felt pretty good about the music, only a few fa la la's did I not have the right rhythm of.

After our first performance we had time to get some lunch, and hang out with our new friends Elke and Eric.  Elke is the alto I stand next to, and her husband Eric and Fred seemed to enjoy having a cold one in the pub together.  Ruben occupied himself eating an elephant ear (Who knew they were around during the renaissance?) and chasing rats.  The rats are young men and women in costume who roam around the fair.  If they get tagged by a child they give the child a ribbon which can be redeemed for candy if you find a fairy.  Ruben caught five rats today.  He still has his license and plans to continue hunting them tomorrow.

The rest of our performances went well, and when the sun came out I was instantly drenched in sweat. Long skirts, bodices, puffy shirts, and sensible shoes all hold in the heat remarkably well.

I must say, although we looked good there were some costumes which made mine look like something from a rag bag.  About half the crowd was wearing something costumish, although most of the costumes weren't really trying to be accurate to the 1600's.  The people watching was quite fun. We left before the big joust today, but we will stay tomorrow and watch.

So we will be performing again tomorrow at noon, two, and three if you happen to be at the Faire.

Ok enough of my typing, here are the pictures and videos.

The madrigal mob.  All the different madrigal groups (three) joined to sing a few songs together.  Unfortuately I didn't know the songs so I sat and watched.  I loved the different costumes though.

Elke watching the madrigal mob.

Our first performance of the day. I'm the one with the green skirt. 

Our second performance in the woods near the pub.  We were going to sing in the pub but there was quite a lot of cigarette smoke.  

Youtube link to Die liebe Maienzeit

Youtube link to Canzon Villanesca

Day 2 Sunday

These videos Ruben made are excellent, if you get 10 year old boy humor. Lots of parking lot, a fart joke, and porto potties, with a bit of dubstep, jazz, and a rat catcher.  Random goodness:

Renaissance Faire Part 1 by Ruben

Renaissance Faire Part 2 by Ruben

Sorry I couldn't directly put those in the blog, I wasn't logged into Ru's youtube channel.

Here are some videos of the Salem Renaissance Singers in action:

And last but not least, Ruben having an archery lesson.  

The most interesting things I saw at the Faire:

• A runaway horse (woman running, banging two coconuts together and yelling "runaway horse")
• Pretty Princess Puddle with his pretty parasol (imagine a logger in renaissance clothes talking in falsetto) being kissed by a franciscan monk (a beer was wagered) named Licentious Felonious.
• A joust
• Grown men and women in rat costumes being chased by little children.
• A woman juggling plungers.
• lots of cleavage. Lots.
• No screaming kids, lots of sensible shoes, and a lot of smiles.