The Lark of Meadows

The Lark of Meadows is a form of music used to commemorate important events originally devised by the elf Omo Rootervines. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. Three singers recite any composition of The Lens of Mirth while the music is played on a ethefa and a feferi. The musical voices join in melody and counterpoint, harmony and rhythm. The entire performance should be made with feeling, and it is to be in whispered undertones. The melody and counterpoint both have short phrases throughout the form. It is performed using the fidale scale and in the oma rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to add fills, alternate tension and repose and match notes and syllables.

• The Lark of Meadows has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a verse and a brief chorus all repeated up to two times, a brief bridge-passage and a chorus and a lengthy verse.
• The first verse is voiced by the melody of the feferi, the rhythm of the singers and the rhythm of the ethefa. The passage is at a free tempo. The feferi ranges from the strident middle register to the buzzy high register, each of the singers' voices covers its entire range and the ethefa ranges from the strident low register to the watery middle register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage should be composed and performed using arpeggios.
• The first chorus is voiced by the melody of the singers and the counterpoint of the feferi. The passage is at a walking pace. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register and the feferi covers its entire range from the raucous low register to the buzzy high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage should be composed and performed using trills.
• The bridge-passage is voiced by the melody of the singers, the counterpoint of the ethefa and the harmony of the feferi. The passage slows and broadens. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register, the ethefa covers its entire range from the strident low register to the shrill high register and the feferi stays in the strident middle register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage should be composed and performed using trills.
• The second chorus is voiced by the melody of the singers and the counterpoint of the feferi. The passage is extremely fast. Each of the singers' voices covers its entire range and the feferi ranges from the raucous low register to the strident middle register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
• The second verse is voiced by the melody of the feferi and the rhythm of the ethefa. The passage slows and broadens. The feferi ranges from the raucous low register to the strident middle register and the ethefa ranges from the watery middle register to the shrill high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage should be composed and performed using trills.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student. After a scale is constructed, the root note of chords are named. The names are otoga (spoken ot) and dinade (di).
• The fidale hexatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named eyo and fela.
• The eyo trichord is the 1st, the 9th and the 11th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
• The fela tetrachord is the 15th, the 17th, the 22nd and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
• The rhythm system is fundamentally polymetric. There are always multiple rhythm lines, and the beats are always played together, even if one rhythm line completes (and then repeats) before the other is finished. The rhythm lines are thought of as one, without a primary-subordinate relationship, though individual lines can be named.
• The oma rhythm is made from two patterns: the masa (considered the primary) and the ele.
• The masa rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The ele rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x x |
• where x is a beat and | indicates a bar.

Events

• In late autumn of 192, The Lark of Meadows was created by the elf Omo Rootervines in Fedlobster after a dream