Description
When we launched the first volume of the “modern/trad.” series, the vision was to enrich musicians and dancers with fresh, yet traditional dance melodies from the German-speaking world. The enthusiasm for the first two volumes has encouraged us to continue on our path. With “modern/trad. – Volume 3” we continue this mission, this time with a focus on cercle and bourrée – two dance styles that bring energy and community to any dance celebration.
The evolution of dance music
The “modern/trad.” series brings a breath of fresh air to traditional European couple dances such as the schottisch, waltz, mazurka and polka. The constant development and renewal of dance music ensures that dance festivals retain their original fascination. The compositions collected in this volume “modern/trad. – Volume 3” embody new German folk dance music in the best sense of the word while maintaining an eye for supra-regional musical traditions.
Cercles and bourrées
Johannes Mayr and Christoph Pelgen have carefully selected 34 Cercles and 34 Bourrées from a large number of submissions for “modern/trad. – Volume 3”. All the pieces have been newly composed by renowned musicians from the scene to create a rousing and playful collection that gets you moving and makes making music together a pure pleasure.
Tradition meets modernity
The selection of pieces follows a proven tradition that has already distinguished the first two volumes. The dances are arranged in such a way that they can be played on most common musical instruments, especially on drone instruments such as the bagpipes or hurdy-gurdy. In addition, the book “modern/trad. – Band 3” contains an accompanying CD by the Duo Cassard, which gives a first impression of the melodies – an invaluable help for all those who find it difficult to read music or have never learned to read music before.
Music that connects
Playing music for dance means being a supplier for the joy and community of the dancers. This collection is living proof of how traditional dance music can always be reinterpreted and adapted to the present moment. It’s not about technical perfection, but about creating an inspiring and uplifting atmosphere through music that brings people together. The editors of “modern/trad. – Band 3” share their experience and invite you to explore the melodies without sheet music and to play them by heart at some point.
A first listening impression
To give you a comprehensive impression of the new compositions, all pieces have been recorded in full length and are available on the enclosed CD. These recordings allow you to experience the pieces in all their variety and liveliness even before you pick up your instrument yourself.
A collection that inspires
The content of “modern/trad. – Band 3” reflects a wide range of tunes, from “Belted Galloways” to “Altenaffler 3”, which all have one thing in common: They are fresh, independent and bring modern accents to traditional dance music. This collection is an invitation to you to become part of a living tradition that carries on the fire of enthusiasm and does not remain in the worship of ashes.
Review and outlook
“Tradition is the passing on of fire, not the worship of ashes.” – This much-quoted sentence perfectly summarizes the essence of “modern/trad. – Volume 3” perfectly. With this collection of cercle and bourrée tunes, the editors present a mix of contemporary folk music creations and new generation talent, all aiming to make traditional dance music lively, engaging and modern. Each tune in this collection, accompanied by chords and vividly recorded on the accompanying CD, invites you to rediscover and celebrate the joy of folk dance.
Foreword
When we published the first volume of the “modern/trad.” series 5 years ago, it was with the intention of presenting musicians and dancers of the “Bal Folk scene” with dance melodies from the German-speaking world that, although newly written, still somehow seem old and traditional. The response to the first two volumes has encouraged us to continue on this path: Once again we set out to contact fellow musicians in search of suitable melodies for this third volume: Cercle and Bourrée.
In addition to the couple dances mazurka, schottisch, waltz and polka covered in volumes 1 and 2, a traditional dance festival includes a variety of group dances (chain dances, lane dances and circle dances).
Cercles (contra dances from the British Isles) are an integral part of a Bal Folk. They are among the most popular dances due to their easy-to-learn steps, straightforward choreography and lively music in combination with the partner change at the end of a melody.
The bourrée, which originates from central France, is danced in countless variations in its home country. At our balls, the simple bourrée danced in an alley predominates.
The first step was to select the submitted pieces in a familiar manner. The repertoire should be diverse, colorful and varied and not selected according to subjective personal taste. The result is once again a wonderfully wide-ranging spectrum of two dance genres. A big thank you to all our composers for your collaboration and your talent!
Time and again we hear from musician friends how invaluable they find the accompanying CD recording of the compositions. Many folk musicians state that they have difficulties with printed music, and some have never learned to read music. Instruments such as the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy or nyckelharpa … are still “exotic” and playing them is mostly based on self-taught experience. All this does not mean that folk music is “inferior” and inferior to classical music. On the contrary: to see and hear how even an amateur ensemble can transform a ballroom into a veritable cauldron is a great pleasure. It’s not about “right” or “wrong” music-making. One of the outstanding qualities of traditional dance music is that the music is constantly being reinterpreted, adapted and changed.
In contrast to our function as performing musicians, as dance musicians we should always keep in mind that we are “service providers” for the dancers: The focus should not be on ourselves, but on our music to inspire the dancers, to uplift them and to facilitate a community. To achieve this, we have to keep an eye on the dancers during the performance, “read” them and make music accordingly. It also helps immensely to have danced the dances yourself in order to get the right character of the piece, the groove, the speed… We should keep an eye on our fellow musicians and watch the dancers. However, this means that there is no eye left for the notes… So be prepared to play the melodies by heart at some point!
To give you a first impression of the melodies published here, we have once again recorded all the compositions in full length. Our thanks go to Jürgen Treyz for the good and uncomplicated cooperation in the recording studio.
We would like to thank Christoph Egerding-Krüger for the translation of the French quotations.
Wishing you good music-making
Christoph Pelgen and Johannes Mayr
November 2013
Text on the back of the book
“Tradition is the passing on of fire and not the worship of ashes.”
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
In their search for traditional dance music that does not sound old and dusty or even heard a hundred times, but fresh, independent and modern, the two editors have collected cercle and bourrée melodies from German-speaking countries in this 3rd volume. An illustrious gathering of the best-known contemporary folk musicians as well as young up-and-coming talents…
The sheet music collection “modern/trad.” will be continued as a series and is dedicated to the most popular dances of a traditional dance festival / bal folk.
All melodies are provided with chords and recorded live on acoustic instruments (bagpipes, accordion, etc.) on the enclosed CD.
Author:inside
Johannes Mayr
Born. 1967 in Augsburg, I grew up in a family in which folk dance and the traditional music of the Swabian-Bavarian homeland dominated life.
After classical instrumental lessons (piano, double bass, church organ), boys’ choir and school orchestra, I discovered the accordion as an autodidact at the age of 18, which was to be my ‘main instrument’ for a long time. Later, the hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes were added, followed by the nyckelharpa in 2006.
Parallel to an Irish folk band formed as a school band, I played bass in the “Bergschuster Spielleut” (Bavarian dance music with bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy and violins). My newly discovered enthusiasm for drone instruments led me to work for several instrument makers (hurdy-gurdies, historical instruments) for two years after completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter and organ builder.
Since 1993 I have been living as an independent musician with my family in the Westerwald, and in 2012 I set up my own workshop as a nyckelharpa maker.
In addition to numerous concerts with “Hölderlin Express”, Lynch The Box, the trio “DÁN” (fine Irish music), I have also worked as a choirmaster and give workshops for ensemble playing, accordion and nyckelharpa.
I have been playing accordion with “La Marmotte” since 2005. The duo “Cassard” finally emerged in 2007 from several ensemble courses conducted together with Christoph Pelgen.
After many years as a folk musician, I am always on the lookout for a contemporary, original (German?) folk music that also works outside the native Bavarian folk music biotope, integrating both neighboring (e.g. French, Irish, or Swedish …) and regional music without blinkers.
“Folk is the music that rocks from the inside out”
Christoph Pelgen
Born. 1967 in Wiesbaden and grew up in Rheinhessen. Abitur 1987, Theresianum Mainz.
First music lessons at the age of 6 (flute), followed by guitar and clarinet (both instruments were initially a complete failure).
First folk experiences on countless trips abroad with the scouts. In 1987, I received the long-awaited crumhorn as a graduation present. After that, everything happened very quickly:
Member of the legendary Mainz folk band SANS FAMILLE around Dieter Güttler, who died too early, and who kindled the fire for traditional French and especially Breton music in me. Self-study of bagpipes, bombarde, mandolin…
Between community service and carpentry apprenticeship, 1989/90 in search of my own self, a common European culture and the music that fascinates me, on foot from the Southern Palatinate to Santiago de Compostela on the Way of St. James.
Then I moved to Tübingen, where I found my musical family in the group LA MARMOTTE in the fall of 1990.
Self-employed musician since 1993, numerous CD productions, performances as bagpipe player at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, with the medieval rock band ADARO, with ESTAMPIE and L’HAM DE FOC, bagpipe teacher, founder of the WURMLINGER ZUPFKAPELLE HILARITAS and the 20s band DIE CROONIES, passionate sheet music collector and ukulele enthusiast!
My declared aim is to find my own means of musical expression by studying traditional melodies from every region. Music as a feeling, not as a competition – that’s what moves me!
