It has been a sad start to the year as I said goodbye to 2 friends who both lost their fight against illness. This blog is not about their lives, as that is for their families to share, but it’s about the music and dance I created to honour their memory.
I walk with our dogs every other day in the beautiful French Countryside, and it is very easy to allow one’s mind to drift towards the memory of lost friends and then, in my case at least, to begin to be creative and hear music and see dance. After all, there are no other distractions (apart from the hunting season of course, but that’s a different story.) The creative moments happened two times and gave birth to both of these new tunes and dances and I’m happy to share them with you here.
Angela
Angela Davies lived in the North of England with her husband and daughters. As families, we have known each other for many years; our daughters have things in common; and Angela and her family have visited us here in France on several occasions.
For Angela I wrote a waltz. It has standard length (32 Bars). The A music is 8 bars, played twice, but I wrote an Extended B music which has an emotional rise in the middle and then the tune relaxes towards the end of the 16 bars.
Angela Davies vit dans le nord de l’Angleterre avec son mari et ses filles. En tant que familles, nous nous connaissons depuis de nombreuses années ; nos filles ont des choses en commun ; et Angela et sa famille nous ont rendu visite ici en France à plusieurs reprises.
Pour Angela, j’ai écrit une valse. Elle a une longueur standard (32 mesures). La musique A est de 8 mesures, jouée deux fois, mais j’ai écrit une musique B étendue qui a une montée émotionnelle au milieu et puis l’air se détend vers la fin des 16 mesures.
Listen to the melody I wrote for Angela:
For some readers, the notes of the music and the instructions for the dances are all in a foreign language and it would be very hard to see how the dance and the music fit together, so I asked our local dance club, Dance Pressignoise, to dance the movements for a video presentation. Click on the link below to watch the dance.
Pour certains lecteurs, les notes de la musique et les instructions pour les danses sont toutes dans une langue étrangère et il serait très difficile de voir comment la danse et la musique s’accordent. J’ai donc demandé à notre club de danse local, Dance Pressignoise, de danser les mouvements pour une présentation vidéo. Cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous pour voir la danse.
Dance for Angela
(A Dance in memory of Angela Davies) 3 couples in a Circle
(Couple with backs to the stage are the Active Couple)
32 bar Waltz (Own Tune)
| A.1. | Active Couple. Promenade across the set, and, passing through the space opposite, separate and dance around the outside of the set back to place for a 2 hand turn with partner. |
| A.2. | Active couple separate and, passing between the couple on their own side, dance a ½ figure of eight (Mirror image) back to place for a 2 Hand turn with partner. |
| B.1. | Circle of Six hands: Sway in and out and turn single to the left: Repeat: (Progression = all 3 couples will have moved a place to the left.) |
| B.2. | All – two-hands to partner- Sway In and Out and turn single inwards: Two-hands to partner – Sway Out and In and turn single outwards. |
Eileen
Eileen Burgess lived close to us here in France, with her husband. She was a lively character and always had a smile whenever we met. I know she had a love of music and she would often turn out to listen to us play in a bar or a village square.
The tune for Eileen is more strident, with a slightly haunting A music of 8 bars as it’s in the key of D minor (repeated). The B Music is bright and lively, just like Eileen, and is played in the key of D major. I was pleased with the way the different parts of the tune are significant for the movements of the dance.
Eileen Burgess vivait près de chez nous, ici en France, avec son mari. C’était un personnage plein de vie et elle avait toujours le sourire lorsque nous nous rencontrions. Je sais qu’elle aimait la musique et qu’elle venait souvent nous écouter jouer dans un bar ou sur une place de village.
La mélodie pour Eileen est plus stridente, avec une musique A légèrement obsédante de 8 mesures car elle est dans la tonalité de ré mineur (répétée). La musique B est lumineuse et vivante, tout comme Eileen, et est jouée dans la tonalité de Ré majeur. J’ai apprécié la façon dont les différentes parties de la mélodie sont significatives pour les mouvements de la danse.
Listen to the melody I wrote for Eileen.
For some readers, the notes of the music and the instructions for the dances are all in a foreign language and it would be very hard to see how the dance and the music fit together, so I asked our local dance club, Dance Pressignoise, to dance the movements for a video presentation. Click on the link below to watch the dance.
Pour certains lecteurs, les notes de la musique et les instructions pour les danses sont toutes dans une langue étrangère et il serait très difficile de voir comment la danse et la musique s’accordent. J’ai donc demandé à notre club de danse local, Dance Pressignoise, de danser les mouvements pour une présentation vidéo. Cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous pour voir la danse.
Dance for Eileen
( A Dance in memory of Eileen Burgess) 4 couples longways
Couples 1 and 3 are improper
32 bar jig (Own tune)
| A.1. | Active Couple (Top): Right Hand to cross over and cast 1 place: Left Hand to cross over and cast 1 place: |
| A.2. | Active Couple Right Hand to cross over and cast 1 place to finish with – 2 hand balance and half turn into line. |
| B.1. | All couples – full Ladies’ Chain in 2 groups of 4. (Ladies give right hand to opposite lady and change places giving left hand to opposite man.) Repeat back to place. |
| B.2. | Lines of 4 go forward and back; Forward again and pass through to the opposite side. |
Website: https://www.dlbmusic.net
Blog: https://dlbmusicblog.fr
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