Music of the Provinces, pt. 3

Read the other parts!

Skyrim/Nords, Part 1: Music of the Provinces, pt. 1

High Rock/Nobility, Part 2: Music of the Provinces, pt. 2

I was inspired by Leyawynn- and their thread here to write something cool. I'll be writing part-by-part as the mood strikes me.

Seigh,

Regarding our secret project: The Bardic tradition of High Rock has fully expanded to Cyrodiil since the Oblivion crisis. Troupes of bards in Colovia are a common sight, though these bards are little more than bandits. Maybe they were back then too? Would explain some of the stuff here.

Lost your draft of the Cyrodiil chapter when that old green bastard caught me scribbling a note. Leave me another copy in the Midden tonight. I hope he doesn't block publication! -ES

3. High Rock & the Bards

The end of our last chapter leads us to the unique offshoot of the Nords' Bardic tradition that is practiced by the Bretons of High Rock.

The Bardic tradition among the Bretons starts with simple all-vocal chants from slave-families of the Direnni, as well as the Skyrim Bards. These groups would often mix together at the peak of Direnni expansion, for self-trained Mannish singers were a popular treat among the Direnni Altmer. They were many times offered comfort and freedom beyond that of their peers, and rather than stiff competition, both Nords and Bretons often helped each other learn new and surprising techniques. The Nords had knowledge on how to build musical instruments that the Bretons lacked, and the result was that along the Eastern-most extent of Direnni territory, in the Reach, a rich Mannish culture of song and instrumentation arose.

When the Bretons pushed the Direnni out of High Rock to the isle of Balfiera, they brought the Reach-songs with them. Many of the bards, their fires stoked by the unexpected expansion of Greater Bretony and the adventurous content of the songs they sang, began to set out all across Tamriel, joining warbands and bandit gangs to write their stories and experience the exhilaration of battle.

Meanwhile, back in High Rock, other people were now learning the skills of the bards who had left. Their children inquired where their parents had gone, and grew up to become bards themselves, so they could go out and look for them. And the parents left behind started a Bard's College out of hope and worry.

When the old bards began to come back, whether alive or merely as a collection of blood-stained songs, they were collective cultural heroes. They taught other musical styles from the far-off regions they had come across, and performed their songs to great public applause.

Most of the new additions to the High Rock Bardic canon didn't stick, but the Nibenean innovations in flutes (called by some scholars "woodwinds"), brass horns, and bowed lutes became a popular element of the Bard's acoustic arsenal, leading to the idea of the "troubadour", or a bard who was part of a group. All songs would be performed by all members, each playing to his strength and reaching heights that would be impossible alone. Few were kept on retainer, and instead they became vagrants who traded their song for hospitality.

Many such troubadours would eventually settle down and make new schools of music, training not bards, but heralds and composers. This partially helps along the trend for Opera and Imperial Orchestra to force out or be blended with regional musics, sadly.

As terrible as this is for the collective cultural heritage of Tamriel, High Rock has reason to be pleased. The spread of their art means that the music they have created is more or less immortalized, and will remain relevant for a long time to come.

Thoughts, suggestions? I'd love to hear them, though I've got most of the other provinces already outlined in a text file. Thanks!