The Flower of Mirth
The Flower of Mirth is a form of music used for entertainment originally devised by the goblin Nguslu Heartdungeon. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. A singer recites nonsensical words and sounds while the music is played on a ugu. The musical voices are joined in melody. The entire performance should be melancholic, and it is to be very loud. The melody has short phrases throughout the form. It is performed without preference for a scale and in free rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to make trills.
- The singer always does the main melody.
- The ugu always does the main melody and uses grace notes.
- The Flower of Mirth has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a theme, a lengthy bridge-passage and one to two series of variations on the theme.
- The theme is moderately paced. The singer's voice stays in the low register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage should be composed and performed using frequent modulation.
- The bridge-passage is moderately paced. The singer's voice stays in the low register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage should be composed and performed using syllabic phrasing.
- Each of the series of variations is half the tempo of the last passage. The singer's voice ranges from the low register to the middle register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
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