Description
“Obermeier’s Bordun Polyphony – Volume 1” presents an impressive collection of 33 pieces of traditional and contemporary drone music, skillfully arranged for three to seven voices. Immerse yourself in the world of profound harmonies and complex rhythmic structures that Jürgen Obermeier masterfully realizes in these arrangements.
Insights into the repertoire
This volume brings together mainly French melodies, including 21 traditional works and 12 contemporary compositions by well-known musicians. Experience the variety of drone music, from the lively bourrée to the soulful mazurka, all carefully arranged with musical flair.
Adaptable instrumentation
In “Obermeiers Bordun-Polyphonie – Band 1” the keys and parts are tuned so that they can be played on hurdy-gurdies and bagpipes in G/C or D/G tuning, as well as on other instruments with the required range. Although the notation in bass clef is primarily intended for the cello, it can easily be transferred to other bass instruments. For instruments without semitone capability, the book offers alternative notation options.
Flexible design options
The arrangements are designed in such a way that they enable a multi-layered interplay. Bagpipers in particular are encouraged to emphasize the melody line or to combine the voices creatively. All melody lines are also provided with harmony markings, which are particularly useful when using guitars or other harmony instruments.
Multilingual introduction and practical tips
Benefit from a four-language introduction in German, English, French and Dutch, which provides valuable information on the music as well as tips on instrumentation and scoring. This introduction makes Obermeier’s Bordun-Polyphonie – Volume 1 an indispensable tool for musical interpretation and practical application.
Detailed sources and implementation instructions
Each notation in “Obermeier’s drone polyphony – Volume 1” is provided with references to the original pieces and practical performance instructions. These details help you to interpret the pieces authentically and stylishly.
Why “Obermeier’s drone polyphony – Volume 1” is the perfect choice
This book is an indispensable treasure for every lover and practitioner of traditional and drone music. It offers not only unique musical works in a variety of voice arrangements, but also in-depth insights and practical instructions for their realization on various instruments. Whether you are an experienced musician or simply looking to expand your musical repertoire, Obermeier’s Drone Polyphony – Volume 1 is an excellent choice that will enrich your musical practice. Get your copy now and start your fascinating exploration of these extraordinary musical arrangements!
Foreword
This first volume of “Obermeier’s Polyphony” with predominantly French melodies contains 33 scores for three to a maximum of seven voices. 21 melodies are considered traditional, but I have not always been able to assign them to their exact areas of origin in France. 12 melodies are of more recent origin and come from contemporary traditional musicians.
The keys and parts are chosen so that they can be played by hurdy-gurdies and bagpipes in G/C or D/G tuning (except for parts marked 23p), but also by other musical instruments with the necessary range. The bass clef system is intended for cello, but can be used for any other bass instrument. I have tried to take into account that the drone instruments mentioned do not have all the notes of the semitone scale. In the cases of a prescribed minor second, which is available on very few bagpipes, or a second below the fundamental of the hurdy-gurdy, alternative notes were suggested in the form of double notes.
I have set the various accompanying parts in such a way that polyphonic playing is possible. However, it is advisable to reinforce the melody line, especially when using bagpipes, or to combine the voices of a piece in different ways. The melody lines have been underlaid with harmony markings. These can be taken into account when using guitars or other harmony instruments. The system designations refer to central French bagpipes and have the following meaning:
16p: 16 pouces (thumbs) stands for bagpipes with fundamental and drones in G (sol). Drones in fifths tuning D (Re) may have to be stopped. Possible keys: G major / G minor and C major / C minor. These systems can be played by hurdy-gurdies in G/C.
20p: 20 pouces stands for bagpipes with fundamental and drones in D (Re). When playing with 16p instruments, drones in fifths A (LA) must be switched off. Possible keys are D major / D minor (not used here) and G major / G minor. These systems can be adopted by hurdy-gurdies in “Bourbonnais tuning”, i.e. D/G.
23p: 23 pouces stands for bagpipes with fundamental and drones in C (Do). Drones in fifths tuning G (Sol) can be used in combination with 16p instruments. Possible keys C major / C minor and F major / F minor (not used here). Hurdy-gurdies in D/G can only be used after retuning the strings from D (Re) to C (Do).
Vc: Violoncello stands for any suitable bass instrument.
I would like to thank the well-known musicians Gilles Chabenat, Melaine Favennec, Bruno LeTron, Christian Oller, Frédéric Paris, Jean-Jacques Smith and Félicie Verbruggen for the right to use their melodies with my arrangement in this volume.
I would like to thank Hans-Georg Lenzen very much for his kind offer to use some of his drawings to decorate and design the following pages. This is only a small selection of the many drawings created by H.- G. Lenzen at various “bordunmusikalischen Treffen”.
Michelbach, October 1996
Jürgen Obermeier
Author:in
Jürgen Obermeier
Jürgen Obermeier is an author who specializes in traditional music, especially in the field of drone music. He has published a number of works dealing with traditional and new drone music. His publications, such as the series “Obermeiers Bordun-Polyphonie”, contain interesting traditional and newly composed melodies for polyphonic bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy ensembles, which can also be played on many other instruments. Jürgen Obermeier’s books offer a valuable resource for musicians and those interested in the tradition and renewal of drone music.
