Second Challenge

My husband, Conrad zer Rüben (y'all know him as Conrad von Stralnveld; he has just changed his SCA name preparatory to registering it) and I started a joint challenge in July. We are trying to learn to play 50 dance tunes together --not to memorize them, but to be prepared play them from sheet music for dancing at events.

We've broken it up into seven practice sets to help make sure that we don't forget to practice one of the ones we've learned for so long that we forget how to play it again. Here are our practice sets. The songs in each set are in no particular order except for the Branle suite in the first set and the Pavane/Galliard pair, and we change the order we play them in every time.

Set 1:

Branle Double
Branle Single
Branle Gay
Branle Burgogne
Black Nag
Belle Qui Pavane
Branles d'Ecosse

Set 2:

Pavane la Venicienne
Galliard (la Venicienne)
Heart's Ease
Hole in the Wall
Lorayne Alman
Petit Vriens
Branle Cassandra

Set 3:

Black Alman
Queen's Alman
Official Branle
Horses' Branle
Branle Pinagay
Branles de Poitou
New Alman

Set 4:

Joyoussance (an Arbeau Basse Danse)
Pease Branle
Rufty Tufty
Candlestick Branle
Branle des Sabots
Branle des Hermites
Madame Sosilia Alman

Set 5:

Branle de la Guerre
Branle Adrian
Branle Charlotte
Washerwoman's Branle
Danse de Cleve
Chestnut
Bittre Reue Pavane

Set 6:

Anello
Saltarello no. 1 (suitable for a Piva dance as well)
Spanish Pavane
Mercantia
Saltarello "La Regina"
Whatsoever ye Wille
Old Alman

Set 7:

Lebens disonys
Maltese Branle (the Arbeau one)
Prenes a Gard
Danse de la Haye
Spero
Aras
Branle de Montarde
Earl of Essex Measure

At least the last nine pieces we don't have workable arrangements for (we're still finding out whether the arrangements we have for other things are workable).

So far, we're working on the first three sets, of which we are almost ready to play eight or ten pieces. I play soprano recorder and Conrad plays alto, tenor, or bass recorder, depending on mood and the arrangement we have.