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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Challenge Songs of the English Restoration Theater (1660–1715): A No-Deadline Fanfic Challenge!

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Findswoman , Apr 22, 2018.

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  1. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Great! Delicious! @};-
     
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  2. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
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  3. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    So, *cracks knuckles* seeing this thread upped again finally gave me the kick in the muse I needed to finish my own response for the challenge - it'd been mostly done in my WIP folder for almost a year now, which is just shameful. :oops:

    But, um, I don't know how obviously a song from the English Restoration theater would make me want to write a story for a fandom as far across the pond as Avatar: The Last Airbender, but, well, it did. Inspiration is quite a funny thing, isn't it? But, a story written is a story written! "Of Air, Of Flame" is up on the NSW side of things. Finally. :p [face_love]



    (And, um, in the interest of not tempting fate too much again, what are the odds I can maybe claim a second number - say, #18, perhaps? I promise I won't take a year to write an answer this time . . . hopefully. ;) [face_laugh] [face_batting])
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2019
  4. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Ohmigosh, I’m sorry I didn’t catch your request for a new number sooner, @Mira_Jade! [face_blush] Yep, #18 is still here, and what a doozy it is—you have received Henry Purcell’s “Ye twice ten hundred deities,” which is chock full of really cool ritual/magic/dreamworld potential:

    Ye twice ten hundred deities
    To whom we daily sacrifice,
    Ye pow'rs that dwell with fates below
    And see what men are doom'd to do,
    Where elements in discord dwell:
    Thou god of sleep arise and tell
    Great Zempoalla what strange fate
    Must on her dismal vision wait.

    By the croaking of the toad
    In their caves that make abode,
    Earthy dun that pants for breath
    With her swell'd sides full of death,
    By the crested adders' pride
    That along the cliffs do glide,
    By thy visage fierce and black,
    By the death's head on thy back,
    By the twisted serpents plac'd
    For a girdle round thy waist,
    By the hearts of gold that deck
    Thy breast, thy shoulders and thy neck,
    From thy sleeping mansion rise
    And open thy unwilling eyes,
    While bubbling springs their music keep,
    That used to lull thee in thy sleep.

    Here’s a recording, with baritone Stephen Varcoe (yes, this is one of the few male-voice pieces from this list!). He is performing with the English Baroque Soloists, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner:


     
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  5. TheRynJedi

    TheRynJedi Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2018
    Hmm, an old thread, from before I showed up. What the heck, give me #17. Now that I'm finished with the OTP story and am still halfway through another...
     
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  6. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Glad to have you on board! :) You've received Henry Purcell's "O solitude," one of his lesser-known songs but still gorgeous:

    O solitude, my sweetest choice!
    Places devoted to the night,
    Remote from tumult and from noise,
    How ye my restless thoughts delight!
    O solitude, my sweetest choice!

    O heav’ns! what content is mine
    To see these trees, which have appear’d
    From the nativity of time,
    And which all ages have rever’d,
    To look today as fresh and green
    As when their beauties first were seen.
    O, how agreeable a sight
    These hanging mountains do appear,
    Which th’ unhappy would invite
    To finish all their sorrows here,
    When their hard fate makes them endure
    Such woes as only death can cure.

    O, how I solitude adore!
    That element of noblest wit,
    Where I have learnt Apollo’s lore,
    Without the pains to study it.
    For thy sake I in love am grown
    With what thy fancy does pursue;
    But when I think upon my own,
    I hate it for that reason too,
    Because it needs must hinder me
    From seeing and from serving thee.

    O solitude, O how I solitude adore!

    Here's a recording, featuring mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, with Jakob Lindberg on theorbo:


     
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  7. TheRynJedi

    TheRynJedi Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2018
    Wow, there's a lot of strings on that instrument...

    Hmm, now to brainstorm... who wants to have a night of quiet solitude?
     
  8. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Petfect! Thank you so much, @Findswoman, and don't you worry! I kinda sneaked the request in at the end of a slew of words. :p

    And then: wow! That is quite the song to work with, and my imagination is already whirling. I really appreciate the unique source material you found to share with us. These lyrics can be taken so many different ways. [face_thinking] =D=
     
  9. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    Okay....I FINALLY finished my entry for this challenge! It's chapter 3 to the below story
    https://boards.theforce.net/threads/warrior-queen-jacen-tenel-ka-one-off.50038062/

    Thanks to Findswoman for the lovely music! I just wish I could write faster...I've seen some of the cool challenges, but I am afraid to enter because I'm SO-O-O slow. I'm still working on an OTP one from ages ago!

    An aside: does anyone know how to change a story 'Title' page? I'd like to get rid of the 'one-off' line on the above title. I know that we couldn't for a while, but can't remember if it's been that ability has been restored. Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2019
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  10. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    This challenge tickles the fancy of my inner history buff.

    May I request lucky number four please?
     
  11. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    @SiouxFan, that's excellent, thanks so much! You are very welcome; I've got your chapter in the index now, and I'm so glad the song was able to be of inspiration to you! :D Unfortunately we regular users are still not able to change thread titles, but the mods are willing to do it if needed (within reason, of course); see details in the thread here.

    @devilinthedetails, great to have you in the challenge! You have received "I burn, I burn," composed by John Eccles—a quintessentially over-the-tope Restoration-era mad song/unrequited love song:

    I burn, I burn, my brain consumes to ashes,
    Each eyeball too, like lightning flashes.
    Within my breast, there glows a solid fire,
    Which in a thousand ages can’t expire.
    Blow, blow, the wind’s great ruler, blow,
    Bring the Po and the Ganges hither,
    ’Tis sultry, sultry weather,
    Pour ’em all on my soul,
    It will hiss like a coal,
    But never be the cooler.

    ’Twas pride hot as hell
    That first made me rebel,
    From love’s awful throne, a cursed angel I fell.
    And mourn now the fate,
    Which myself did create;
    Fool, fool that considered not when I was well.

    Adieu, adieu, transporting joys,
    Off, off, ye vain fantastic toys,
    That dressed this face and body to allure;
    Bring me daggers, poison, fire,
    For scorn is turned into desire.
    All hell feels not the rage which I, poor wretch, endure.

    Here's a recording, featuring soprano Carolyn Sinclair:

     
  12. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    @Findswoman Thank you! That promises to provide excellent inspiration:)
     
  13. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    My response entitled Consumed by Ashes featuring Anakin/Padme and Obi-Wan.

    Apologies for the double post.
     
  14. Oddly_Salacious

    Oddly_Salacious Jedi Grand Master star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2005
    @Findswoman, this was such a innovative challenge. I enjoyed reading the lyrics you'd gathered. Recently, I have been reading Shakespeare (from this big ol' husky book that hunkers beside my coffee chair) and these verses help to capture that same artistry which I pursue in my writing. Awesomesauce.
     
  15. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    Since this challenge was great inspiration for me last time, can I give lucky number twelve a try? Thanks. :)
     
  16. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    @Oddly_Salacious, thank you! I appreciate that very much and am glad you're enjoying this. There are three numbers left, and you're more than welcome to choose one if you'd like; I bet you'd do a great job with one of these songs as a prompt!

    Certainly, devilinthedetails! #12 is Henry Purcell's "The Fatal Hour Comes On Apace"—a song full of fateful foreboding over an impending ominous destiny, as we can tell even from the very first line:

    The fatal hour comes on apace,
    Which I had rather die than see,
    For when fate calls you from this place,
    You go to certain misery.
    The thought does stab me to the heart,
    And gives me pangs no word can speak,
    It wracks me in each vital part,
    Sure when you go, my heart will break.
    Since I for you so much endure,
    May I not hope you will believe,
    'Tis you alone these wounds can cure,
    Which are the fountains of my grief.

    And here's a recording, featuring Nancy Argenta, soprano :


     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2019
  17. Oddly_Salacious

    Oddly_Salacious Jedi Grand Master star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2005
    I'll take the #3 with mustard instead of mayonnaise, and a Sprite.
     
  18. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Beautiful choice, Odd! #3 is Purcell's poignant "See the forsaken fair, with streaming eyes," which runs the emotional gamut from tragic separation to sweet reunion:

    See the forsaken fair, with streaming eyes,
    Her parting lover mourn;
    She weeps, she sighs, despairs, and dies,
    And watchful, wastes the lonely livelong nights,
    Bewailing past delights
    That may no more, no, never more return.
    O soothe her cares
    With softest sweetest airs,
    Till victory and peace restore
    Her faithful lover to her tender breast,
    Within her folding arms to rest,
    Thence never to be parted more,
    No, never to be parted more.

    And a recording, again with Purcell maven Nancy Argenta:



    And now there are exactly two left (nos. 6 and 14)! Any takers? :D
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2019
  19. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    Sure, I have nothing else to do...(BWAHAHAHA[face_laugh]). But seriously, I enjoyed writing my last one, and there’s no deadline, so... May I have number 6?
     
  20. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    All righty! #6 is an interesting one that I think can be taken in various directions: Purcell's "I looked and saw within the book of fate." This one has a hint of prophecy, and a hint of good things to come, but also a hint of urgency, of the need to take an opportunity before it disappears:

    I looked and saw within the book of fate,
    Where many days did lower,
    When lo! One happy hour
    Leapt up and smiled to save thy sinking state.

    A day shall come, when in thy power
    Thy cruel foes shall be;
    Then shall the land be free
    And thou in peace shalt reign,
    But take, oh take that opportunity,
    Which once refused will never come again.

    And a recording, featuring Katherine Watson and Les Ambassadeurs. Note that there are actually three pieces in this recording; yours begins at about 2:20 and goes through about 4:15.



    All right, one left... who wants no. 14? :D
     
  21. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    :D Can I have #14 please?
     
  22. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Absolutely! :D This one's a Purcell classic about the power of music to beguile one's cares away and even exert a benign influence on demonic powers: "Music for a while."

    Music for a while
    Shall all your cares beguile:
    Wond'ring how your pains were eas'd
    And disdaining to be pleas'd,
    Till Alecto free the dead
    From their eternal bands,
    Till the snakes drop from her head,
    And the whip from out her hands.
    Music for a while
    Shall all your cares beguile.

    And a recording with countertenor (male alto) Philippe Jaroussky and harpsichordist Yoko Namura. (Sopranos are great, but it's nice to mix it up now and then—and this one really was written for an alto voice.)



    And now the list is full! I'd love to know how those who haven't posted stories yet are getting on—if I can be of help in any way, just let me know. :)
     
  23. Oddly_Salacious

    Oddly_Salacious Jedi Grand Master star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2005
    How ironic given my avatar's image. And then there's one of my favorite songs, Stay by Shakespeare's Sister (...youtu.be/YCYaALgW80c). Nicely played @Findswoman. Let's see what comes about from this.
     
  24. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Here's my entry with #14.

    A Tranquil Stroll

    I enjoyed participating in this challenge very much @};-
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2019
  25. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Excellent! Thank you so much, @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha—got it in the index now! And thanks for participating so enthusiastically in this challenge; always great to have you on board. @};-