Renaissance Pleasure
Faire
The original Renaissance Pleasure Faire began in 1963 as an
educational event for families and schoolchildren in the Hollywood Hills. It
has since become a phenomenon that draws more than 200,000 people every year
with a host of entertainment, contests, food and other attractions.
Running until May 22, the faire will feature artisans and
vendors selling crafted goods such as handmade brooms, decorative eggs and all
manner of Renaissance-era accessories. There’ll also be games and activities
such as archery, hair braiding, petting zoos and darts. On Saturday and Sunday,
April 30 and May 1, come dressed in your favorite time travel costume for
Steampunk Weekend.
The fair is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at the Santa
Fe Dam Recreation Area, 15501 Arrow Highway, east of Pasadena. One-day tickets
cost $15 per child and $28.95 per adult. Children 4 and younger enter free.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article73119747.html#storylink=cpy
Iron Gate
Swordfighting Club: Historical European
swordsmanship and Medieval martial arts enthusiasts
….Tracy Mellow is the historian and leading swordsman of the
Iron Gate Swordfighting Club of Visalia, a group of historical European
swordsmanship and Medieval martial arts enthusiasts…
"We're really popular because our style of fighting is
much different than what you generally see at Renaissance faires because we use
the actual techniques that they used back in those days," he said.
Let's face it. If we wanted an authentic medieval experience
at a Renaissance Fair, our chance at feasting on a fat turkey leg would likely
be tarnished by the presence of a rat, or maybe a public hanging.
It might sound rather unappetizing, but for members of Iron
Gate, they eat it up.
"We are a modern European martial arts group that
studies the Armizare, which is a style of Italian martial arts," Mellow
said.
Armizare is translated literally as "The Art of
Arms" and is the name that warriors in medieval Italy gave to their
practice of wielding not only swords, but axes, spears, knifes, and using their
strength for wrestling and mounted combat.
"It's all based on geometry and time, like music,"
he said. "A lot of people don't realize it's an actual form of martial
arts and when they do they are totally enthralled with it."
The art was originally penned by Fiore dei Liberi, master of
arms to the court of Niccolo d'Este, more than 600 years ago.
"When I started seeing these early manuscripts I
started understanding how the swords were really used," Mellow said.
"It hit me like a ton of bricks. I dedicated my life at that moment to
figure out how swords are really used and to spreading that knowledge."
Complete article. Picture: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/entertainment/events/2016/04/18/tulare-renaissance-faire-features-art-sword-fighting/83105672/
More on Knights of New Jersey
Set in the world of Renaissance Faire actors and Game of
Thrones cosplay fans, Michael Hadley’s Knights of New Jersey is like a medieval
Christopher Guest film — one that has discovered an incredible playground for
its characters which is hilarious on many levels. Webisodes in the series range from 4 to 9
minutes in length and are somewhat reminiscent of the cinema serial films of old;
think of like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century set in medieval times.
The series is centered around a friendship between Sir
Robert (Kurt Smith) and Squire Tom (Benny Elledge) as they battle on the “field
of glory.” The two encounter a group of
Game of Thrones fans who arrive at the Faire in full cosplay regalia. Squire Tom has no patience with fans of
fantasy because they lack the integrity of true historical interpreters, but
Sir Robert falls for the beautiful Mother of Dragons (Mackenzie Lansing) adding
a wrinkle to the story. And the two are
likely one or two battles away from being kicked out of the faire due to their
lack of success. Executioners, wizards,
lords, and more who become regular characters appear in the first three
webisodes….
Complete article: http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=7439
Listen to a Song That
Hasn't Been Heard For a Thousand Years
An ancient song repertory lost since the 11th century has
been reconstructed by researchers from the University of Cambridge.
It’s called “Songs of Consolation”, and it was a medieval
musical retelling of Roman philosopher Boethius’s magnum opus, The Consolation
of Philosophy. Back then it was common practice to take classic works, such as
those written by Horace and Virgil, and assign a melody to the texts. This was
done to learn and ritualise the texts, which often consisted of love songs and
laments.
You can listen to a short excerpt of the recovered work in
this video: https://youtu.be/PwAKPIUKAyM
. The entire thing is well over an hour. The performance is
quite dreamy and whimsical, almost like something by the Moody Blues. The Latin
lyrics place the work firmly in the Middle Ages, evoking images of monks
chanting in their medieval cathedrals.
Reconstructing “Consolation” wasn’t easy, and it took many
years of hard work. It was put together from neumes — symbols that represented
musical notation back in the Middle Ages, and a precursor to modern notation.
The reconstruction was made possible owing to the re-discovery of an 11th
century manuscript that was stolen from Cambridge University and presumed lost
for nearly a century and a half.
Musicologist Sam Barrett from Cambridge University ….managed
to piece together about 80 to 90 per cent of the melody. He then recruited
Sequentia — a three-piece ensemble that specialises in medieval music — so that
he could hear what the songs actually sounded like, and to refine his initial
reconstructive work…
On Saturday, April 23, Sequentia will be performing “Songs
of Consolation” at Pembroke College Chapel at Cambridge University, from
8pm-9:30pm. It will be the first live performance of the piece in nearly a
thousand years.
Imaginings
Medieval Creations
Founder of Imaginings Creative Enterprises, LLC, Lisa Wells, has
announced the re-launch of her website venture, Imaginingsmedievalcreations.com, previously ImaginingsCreations.com. The website
offers a wide selection of period clothing and props for live action role
players who like to re-enact the medieval and renaissance eras. For more
information, visit the website's blog at Ren-FaireItemsBlog.com.
Wells was inspired to start her website by her own experience as a
member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. She regularly participated in
renaissance faires, dressing up in period clothing that she made herself. She
built her website with the intention of providing a place where members could
find the best quality products for their next epic battle or quest.
There are many excellent period clothing choices and props featured
within the merchandise of Imaginingsmedievalcreations.com. The website
offers products including medieval weapons and armor, renaissance and medieval
era clothing, and much more. The website offers high quality weapons and armor
that are used by individuals who want to be involved in good old fashioned
melees. The weapons and armor offer superior style and safety. Ms. Wells
continues to look for the highest quality items to ensure that live action role
players are able to find exactly what they are looking for.
Providing a website that is committed to quality customer service is
very important to Wells regarding Imaginingsmedievalcreations.com. Wells has a lot
of experience with these different products and with the medieval and
renaissance faires, especially. She can relate to both the diehard role players
and those who dabble occasionally. With her experience, she hopes to provide
quality products and valuable information about the products to each of her
customers. She operates the website with respect and a unique understanding
toward the needs of her customers.
The blog covers topics related to role playing in the medieval and
renaissance eras. She writes about the history of the era, upcoming event news
on faires across the country, new products to be offered on her website, and
tips and trends.
A new study asks
· Are
differences in local banking development long lasting?
· Do
they affect economic performance?
The study answers these questions by relying on a
historical development that occurred in Italian cities during the Renaissance.
A change in Catholic doctrine led to the development of modern banks in cities
hosting Jewish communities.
Using
Jewish demography in 1500 as an instrument, the study provides evidence of
extraordinary persistence in the level of banking development across Italian
cities and substantial effects of local banks on per capita income. Additional
firm-level analyses suggest that banks exert large effects on aggregate
productivity by reallocating resources toward more efficient firms.
Complete study: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/REST_a_00481
Early Music of Spain
The University of Oklahoma School of Music presents
"Early Music of Spain," performed by the OU Collegium Musicum .
“Spain produced some amazing music in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance,” Eugene Enrico, OU Reaugh Professor of Musicology and conductor of
the concert, said. “And in this concert you’ll hear some of the very best.”
The concert features songs with distinctive Spanish rhythms,
accompanied by guitar, lute and castanets in a Flamenco style, along with an
inspiring High Renaissance motet by Victoria. Consort of recorders, violins,
sackbuts, lutes and harpsichord will accompany a select group of eight singers.
“Our concert begins with a set of songs composed by Alfonso
the Wise, King of Spain in the 13th century, from a songbook known as the
Cantigas de Santa Maria. Our second set presents Musical Reflections on 1492,
the year of Columbus’ historical voyage, but also the year that Spain expelled
both its Jews and its Muslims,” Enrico said. “These events of 1492 inspired the
music that we’ll perform.”
Complete article; http://www.normantranscript.com/news/university_of_oklahoma/ou-school-of-music-to-perform-early-music-of-spain/article_ca225048-878b-5625-b669-df7572426b49.html
Italian madrigals from the Renaissance
Four hundred years after Renaissance music’s fall from
favor, Emiliano Ricciardi is on a mission to save it from extinction.
Ricciardi organized
an Italian Madrigal Festival at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where
he is an assistant professor of music history.
Italian madrigals are a 16th-century genre comprising
Italian texts set to short musical compositions. The pieces are scored for
multiple voices, but each vocal part is sung by only one performer.
Ricciardi, who specializes in Italian madrigal history and
teaches a course on Renaissance music, says he organized the festival to bring
scholars and performers together with the local music scene.
“It’s a nice opportunity for us to convene and share our
research,” he said. “Here in the Pioneer Valley, we also have a very strong
early music community, so we have lots of performers that specialize in the
music of the Renaissance’…
Italian madrigals emphasize an important point in music
history when vocal music emerged as a prominent form, says Robin Bier, one of
the performers in the festival….
“Italian madrigals represent some of the highest art in
Renaissance litany, the culmination of creativity and beauty and inventiveness
for vocal ensembles,” said Bier, an early-music scholar and a co-director of
Les Canards Chantants. The eight-person, solo-voice ensemble was founded in
2010 at the University of York in England, and moved to Philadelphia last year…
Bier says Les Canards Chantants embraces the social,
personal nature of madrigals to engage the audience in the music.
“It’s work that people can relate to and the music is both
incredibly beautiful and accessible.” Bier said. “There’s really, really high
emotion and I think that comes across to the audience even if they know nothing
about the repertoire.”
The group often adds staging to its madrigals performances
to help the audience get into the character of the song.
Its repertoire for the festival will include works by
Agostino Agresta, Adriano Banchieri, Sigismondo D’India, Andrea Gabrieli, Carlo
Gesualdo, Luca Marenzio, Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Valentini and Adrian
Willaert.
Bier says the members love this particular collection
because it is so varied in emotion.
“There’s just an incredible amount of color. There’s intense
tragedy ... intense love and passion. There are really funny moments,” she
said.
While they try to make performances fun and engaging, Bier
says, they also want to show audiences that this music is more than just pretty
songs.
“When that music is sung incredibly well, by really, really
good singers, it elevates itself simply from a great social experience to
really high art,” she said…
A lost Caravaggio masterpiece?
In 2014, a couple living on the outskirts of Toulouse,
France, went up into their attic to fix a ceiling leak. By chance, they
stumbled across a painting. The artwork depicts the dramatically violent act of
Judith beheading Holofernes. Attributed to the Italian Renaissance art master
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, if authentic, it would date back to between
1600 and 1610.
However, the question
of authenticity isn’t always so easy to answer, and not everyone is convinced
the painting now known as the “Caravaggio in the attic” is an actual Caravaggio
masterpiece…
The question now: Exactly how can investigators determine if
this allegedly lost work of art is real when actual art experts aren’t so sure?
Scientists would use the kinds of testing tools and methods
that could positively date the artwork based on a combination of factors, such as
“pigments, the type of canvas, and its preparation.” They could also more
carefully examine the technique used with the artwork and compare it to
confirmed Caravaggio originals to establish if there’s an indisputable
similarity. Once that happens, art historians and critics will likely be able
to declare one way or another with absolute certainty if this is a lost
masterpiece by the Milan-born Renaissance painter.
If the painting be declared a lost Caravaggio… would be a
huge pay-day for the owners of the artwork should they sell the masterpiece.
According to expert estimates, the masterpiece could be worth about $135
million…
Complete article, with pictures: http://www.inquisitr.com/2994725/lost-caravaggio-masterpiece-sends-shock-waves-through-art-world/
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