Colchester Young Archaeologists’ Club: musical March meeting

The Colchester’s Young Archaeologists’ Club (YAC) met here at Roman Circus House on the 21st March.

Colchester YAC organiser Barbara Butler writes: ‘… The members of the Colchester YAC and their helpers proved how versatile they are at their March meeting. Led by the Colchester Waits, the members played, sang and danced to a varied repertoire of Tudor music. They learned how music was almost always played by ear in Tudor times and that only the highly educated and elite learned to read and write music. The Colchester Waits demonstrated a wide variety of Tudor instruments and they were all competent in playing more than one. One of the first things we learned was how noisy it was, and we realised that that would be necessary at a crowded banquet or in a busy market-place in Tudor times. We all clapped, drummed or played the tambourine along with Colchester Waits leader Elizabeth Gutteridge. We sang a song of which the words had been written by king Henry VIII: this song was mainly about pleasure! Three YAC members had brought their own instruments – a drum, a clarinet, and a violin. After brief instruction from Elizabeth, members Chloe, George and Eva played along with the band, while the rest of us drummed or clapped to the music. Not only did we all have a chance to sing and play along with the Colchester Waits, but we all had instruction in Tudor dance and successfully “trod a measure” under Elizabeth’s expert tutelage.

The music all sounded really good. This was confirmed by Trust director Philip, who was working outside with contractor Roger while we met inside. The Trust is getting ready for next week’s Roman circus centre opening event at Roman Circus House (Saturday 28th March) …’

The image shows a musical moment from the meeting.

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If you are aged under 17 and interested in joining the Young Archaeologists’ Club in Colchester, then please contact Barbara Butler on 07808 968766 or at barbara[at]peterbutlerdesign.co.uk or Barbara Butler, Colchester YAC Branch, c/o the Colchester Archaeological Trust, Roman Circus House, off Circular Road North, Colchester, Essex CO2 7GZ.

The National Young Archaeologists’ Club web-site is at www.yac-uk.org/ .
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