News items posted to this page are usually edited versions of Member Mailings.
Four Winds News: 3 March 2000
Beautiful Noises
Greetings everybody, As I write this the Grammy awards have just ended and Santana's critically acclaimed Supernatural album won 8 Grammys out of 10 nominations. Plus another one for the songwriters. They are well deserved as the album exemplifies bardic qualities which we aspire to. Ballads, storytelling, healing, virtuosity, community, and the voice of the drum echoes through the work. Add it to your collections.
Also to get is the compilation album CHANT-Spirit in Sound: The Best of World Chant. Compiled by Robert Gass, it is an excellent two disc set with material from all over the world. Not a bad track in the lot, and each selection is annotated and sourced, so you can follow-up to your hearts content. We are picking up a wonderful arrangement of an ancient sanskrit piece, Om Namah Shivaya, which appears in the collection;
Song of the Drum
Ritual Drumming Workshop
On Saturday March 12, we facilitated a workshop on Drumming for Ritual and Ceremony for the Enchantment's Winter Study Group and last years' Grove students. The chorus came out and supported the event in a good way, with better attendance than we've had since Solstice, either to help with the teachings or to facilitate their own rhythm training.I want to thank everybody who came out to support our effort, it was quite a success and our work was sincerely appreciated. It was also nice to see some folks who have been kinda strangers lately. Good to see ya! Due to the level of group intention and focus among the Grove and Winter Study group folks, we were able to provide a workshop at about twice the density and level of intensity that we usually are able to with beginners. All in all an excellent afternoon.
Six Years Of Song!
On March 11th, it will be our Sixth Anniversary. What shall we do about it? In the past we have had Rituals, Bardic Circles, Rededications, Apres-Rehearsal SoireŽs, and other what-have-you This year as it happens to fall on a Saturday, so we had a few options. We decided to have an lil' informal get together for Four Winds Members and guests at Miz Elspeth's place. It's come as you are, (lean towards festive), a pot luck , (food and drink to share.) and certainly bring your songs voices and noisemakers.
Turn up at 7:30 or so, and we'll go as long as we can stand each other. There will be a little bit of ceremony to mark the occasion. This is also a primo opportunity for folks who have been tied up with this, that and whatever to spend some time with the Chorus off of our "working" hours.
Open Bardic Circle Jesters, Fools & Coyote
SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2000 3:00-6:00pm,
CAP 21 Studios, Studio # 7, Donation Collaborative Arts Proj.,
18 West 18th St., 6th Flr., NYCWe are hosting A special Baric Circle focusing on the fun, funny, whimsical and absurd. Songs, ballads and ditties to delight, amaze and stupefy. Honor your inner Coyote and get ready for April Fools.
So anything off the wall is fair game. The role of laughter is not often given free reign in ritual or ceremony, but truly has value. Loki, Coyote, Monkey are all powerful teachers, even while they muck with your life and rearrange your spiritual furniture. And we will explore the role of the Fool, Jester & Heyoka as Bards. So bring your worst, Satires, Naughty Poetry, Filks, Parodies and just plain goofy stuff. It'll be fun!
BARDIC CIRCLE: JESTERS, FOOLS & COYOTE
SUNDAY MARCH 25 - donation
3:00-6:00pm, Sunday Afternoon, CAP 21 Studios, Studio #7, 212 807-0202
Collaborative Arts Project, 18 West 18th Street, 6th Floor, NYC - INFO: 718 373-8987We are hosting A special Baric Circle focusing on the fun, funny, whimsical and absurd. Songs, ballads and ditties to delight, amaze and stupefy. Honor your inner Coyote and get ready for April Fools. So anything off the wall is fair game. The role of laughter is not often given free reign in ritual or ceremony, but truly has value. Loki, Coyote, Monkey are all powerful teachers, even while they muck with your life and rearrange your spiritual furniture. And we will explore the role of the Fool, Jester & Heyoka as Bards. So bring your worst, Satires, Naughty Poetry, Filks, Parodies and just plain goofy stuff. It'll be fun!
Grove Bardic Ritual & Teaching Circle
Just about since we got stated, we have been supporting this event with ritual song and chant. This year will be no exception. Every year the event has evolved and deepened as the Grove Curriculum has grown and focused. But a couple of twists have been added. The past Grove and associated Winter Study Group students are spawning a new coven... and they have a bardic bent, (Gee, what a surprise) something really nice to see. This group will be providing some of the songs and chants as part of their work. This event is always a lot of fun!
BARDIC RITUAL & TEACHING CIRCLE
SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2000 , Enchantment s Grove
Courtyard at Enchantments, 341 East 9th Street, NY, Info : 212 228-4394Four Winds Earth Chorus has for most of our existence provided Choral Suport for a Bardic Ritual and Teaching Circle for the Grove Students. 2000 will be no exception.
GROVE BARDIC SONGLISTHeartbeat of the Earth *New Song* (by Grove w 4W support)
The Earth Is My Body/Earth My Body
Isaac's/Real Magic's Quarter Calling Medley of Mother of Darkness *NEW*,
Goddess Chant, and We All Come from the Goddess
Bright Sun, Dark Death *New Song* (by Grove w 4W support)
Morrigan's Children
Medicine Bear/Bear Song
The Dagda's Club
This Witch Is Not for Burning
The Magician and the High Priestess
Barge of Heaven
* Open Bardic Segment* ( if you have anything special and prepared, bring it)
Isaac's/Real Magic's Quarter Farewell
Four Nations Song
Other Possibles
We haven't been to Club Net in a while. might be fun to do a "tune up" evening for those folks... It might be a good place to work out some of the material we're preparing for Magic Mountain Music. We also have received a prison inquiry which we might follow up.
Clearwater Great Hudson River Revival,
Sat-SUN June 17-18, 2000,
As most of you know, despite some difficulties we performed well enough at last years Clearwater Revival event to earn a return invitation to their Circle of Song tent. As usual, the event falls across the weekend nearest Summer Solstice. That means that it overlaps Free Spirit Gathering, http://www.fsa.org an event that several members may be planing on attending, myself included. In fact, I may have a commitment to pour Stone Peoples' Lodges there for the gathering.So we will have to decide in Council how were are going to approach this possible event and whether we should do it at all... It is only two weeks after this next event which we have been talking about for a while...
Magic Mountain Music
Road Trip! June 2-4
Festival Performance and Workshops
MAGIC MOUNTAIN MUSIC 2000
FRIDAY JUNE 3-SUNDAY JUNE 4, 2000 , Four Quarters Farm
Festival Performance and Workshops
Church of Four Quarters, RR1, Box 62C, Artemis, PA. 17211 Info: 814 784-3075 www.4qf.orgFour Winds has been invited to perform and provde workshops at this just plain amazing and well regraded pagan music festival weekend in a very special setting. An entire weekend devoted to a celebration of our own music. We have always wanted to do this event!
Complete information at the Four Quarters Farm website. www.4qf.orgGot some good news the week before, I received our contract for MAGIC MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL 2000 at Four Quarters Farm, June 2-4, 2000. So I that means we are indeed in. And in addition to being their guests at the farm, along with the meal plan, we are receiving the travel allowance I requested and... get this... in addition to the workshops we are getting a MAIN STAGE slot. Whoo hoo! We made the decision to sign and commit to the event in council at Rehearsal on February 17th. So if ya missed it and you want a voice in our councils and planning, you need to show up...
We are looking to put together a performance set that highlights our strengths and forwards the mission. So the set will include material from the CD, some of our faves and set pieces, and like Witches' Ball, we can be as up-front Pagan as we want!
For workshops, we are thinking of versions of Bardic Path I: Song and Chant for Ritual and Ceremony, A combined Drummer's Path I & II: Ritual Drumming and The Songs of the Drum since this audience will be very musically inclined. If we can sell it, we're also going to suggest a daytime Open Drum and Chant Jam.
The logistics look something like this so farĐ We expect to drive out to the farm on Thursday Evening June 1st with whatever Member vehicles and probably one rented van or minivan for gear. (what the travel allowance is for...) We will either return late on Sunday night or on Monday... to be decided in Council. The site is natural, so we will be sleeping in tents and living outdoors. MMM is a RAIN or Shine event... just letting ya know.. prepare. The site is quite marvelous and to learn more abut Four Quarters Farm and the Church of Four Quarters, contact Landskeeper Orren Whiddon at 814 784-3075 or surf : www.4qf.org
We are going to try and field a team of about eight well prepared singers and drummers for this event. A stage show and two workshops is NOT trivial. We hope to have our final lineup in place by May 1. People who haven't been coming and turn up on May 15th expecting to go on stage will be asked to attend the event and support us as "civilians".
Attendance and Commitment
That brings me to the next subject... I know that some of you have had serious incursions of LIFE the past two months. But attendance at rehearsals, while improving a bit in February...has been pathetic.. Much of the tighter performance polish that we had as a group at Witches Ball and Solstice is eroded away and we do have events in the pipeline. I am not planning in any way to haul us out to Four Quarters, people who I respect and whose opinions I care about, and go on their stage and SUCK.
So, as of the 2/19 rehearsal, we are making a change in our qualification requirements for Performing Member Status. The bar for automatic inclusion as Performing Members is now going to be 75%, or three out of every four meetings. Those Active or Semiactive Members who do not meet this requirement must be approved by a CONSENSUS DECISION OF THE CURRENT PERFORMING MEMBERS to be included in upcoming Performance Events.Yes, I am giving up some of my authority in this matter, but I feel it is appropriate. Inactive members must become Active to be considered. In general, Active is coming routinely. Semiactive, is coming occasionally, but you turn up regularly. Inactive is "we ain't seen ya in a while..."
Many of you, due to commitments, even among some of the Core Members, literally CAN'T make the direct requirement. But you can still impress your Sisters and Brothers that you have been working hard and know the material. But we need to encourage those of you who like to go out on stage, but apparently don't care to come to rehearsals or study on your own that we're trying to be for real and are going to do our best to maintain better standards.
Any Member may still come out and sing and work out with us. As often as you have time for. But you may not be permitted onstage in the next Performance event. There are very few of you who can skip out for months and drop back into the performance arc a couple of weeks out from an event. Those days need to be over; there have been some bad feelings about allowing people who didn't measure up onstage in the past. However, requirements for Ritual Events and Teaching Circles are somewhat less stringent, depending on the level of formality.
While Magic Mountain Music is on the horizon, we do have Jesters, Fools & Coyote and The Grove Bardic coming up. Members who participate in these events will have priority for inclusion in MMM.
Sacred Rant...
Knowing that people have their situations, priorities, obligations, and commitments, makes it difficult for me to just Rant Off on people. And we've gone through similar difficulties practically every Winter and Mid-Summer. I've tried being upset and grumpy about these things, but it didn't help, so I won't bother with that anymore. Besides, the people who have been showing up aren't the ones who need to hear the rants anyway... We feel it is inappropriate that unprepared and uncommited people earn stage places at our high profile events.
For those of you out there over the past year who had questions about just what made people "Core" Members. Here's your answer... Mostly it's showing up and doing the work. And some intangible things like bringing a little extra to the table, contributing a little more, helping us to grow and prosper.
However, If you take the Chorus, and our work seriously, and show respect to the Chorus; you'll get REAL and put in the sweat if you want this. Wether or not you look at your own participation in our work as a sacred path, or just a fun thing to do with your spare time, there are a small core of committed and hard-working Members who do. I would ask all participants at whatever level to respect that. And do not forget that this cooperative was created in a sacred manner for a sacred purpose, and you should respect that too.
This music is a lot of fun, it should be. We also have no problem with people participating just for their own enjoyment. But those of us on the Bard's Path are asking, that for our highest work, our most ambitious undertakings, that you show honor to our efforts with commitment and respect and your own good work. And all your contributions are deeply appreciated.
Some Inspiration
I would like to leave you with this. For myself and on behalf of the rest of the Active Membership
Tunkashila Wakan Tanka,
Hey chel'ho un waki una yun'kan
Wanyan ki le, wanyan ki le
Mitaquye'op ki le, olowan wanagi ki le
Changelska wakan ki leĐ
Washite aloh, wakan aloh
Pilamaye, pilamaye
Mitaque Oyasin.[ Grandfather Great Spirit
I am sending my voice to You
Take a very careful look at this
These relatives of mine, these songs of spirit
This sacred circle (hoop)Đ
It is good, and very sacred
I give humble thanks
All my Relations. ]Blessings of the Way to each and every one of you,Kurt Talking Stone, Choral Director
Mitaquye Oyasin * Blessed Be * Ashe * Shalom * A Salaam * Amen