Suite of Copper and Winds

The Suite of Copper and Winds is a tradition of instrumental composition popular among musicians - and some of their audiences - in several of the Elelven Cities. Less of a set score than an idiom within which given composers and instrumentalists can work or improvise, the suite has no known author and appears to be of pre-Wesmodian origins, possibly originating in the city of Chogyos. Its popularity among the operatives of the Commercial Guilds keeps it current, and it is widely suspected that this popularity is an institutional holdover from the Guild's origins as the pre-Wesmodian cult of Zargyod. This makes the tradition of considerable interest to thaumatologists.

Contents

Rather than a single composiiton, The Suite of Copper and Winds is a system of instrumental motifs and melodic conventions applied to compositions for small ensembles of wind and string instruments. Harps and viols provide the rhythm while melody is played on wind instruments, particularly horns.
A recitation of the suite may involve anything from one to a dozen movements, each ranging in length from a few minutes to an hour. The notion is that each of these movements chronicles a separate phase of the duel at the heart of Zargyod and Krezzan's wager, with the stings dramatising Krezzan's part of the dispute while the wind instruments take Zargyod's part. Major coups, achieveents and statements by Zargyod take the form of prominent or complex musical figures for the horn players while the tempo and stridency of the string parts represent Krezzan's responses. The exact course and length of the duel varies widely between composers, as does the score that results, although the tradition of using wind instruments as 'lead' sections predisposes participants in the tradition to make Zargyod the more narratively prominent god, and often the one who seems to have something of the moral high ground. Although the story traditionally ends in a stalemate, therefore, that stalemate is reported from Zargyod's point of view, typically presenting him as the protagonist and hero.

Commentary

Compositons based around the suite are commonly performed in the guildhouses and customhouses of the Commercial Guilds, some of whom pay musicians stipends to ensure their availability for such concerts. This patronage is a major source of income for musicians and ensembles in the southern cities, particularly Chogyos, and ensures the ongoing popularity of the idiom.
This social context for the suite's popularity makes it of considerable interest to thaumatologists. The tradition goes back at least as far as the Wesmodian Reformation and appears to have its roots in liturgical music used in the public worship of Zargyod. The remarkable focus of the tradition - presenting Zargyod as the protagonist and, in some versions, moral and symbolic victor of a story in which he and Krezzan are typically seen as fighting each other to a pointless stalemate - stands as remarkable evidence for this contention. Thaumatologists theorise that the components of the tradition could be used to manipulate the laws of probability, drawing on Zargyod's capacity as a god of fortune, or possibly have some effect on metals due to Zargyod's connection to those materials. Conversely, the theory also exists that the string sections of these compositions could be used to invoke Krezzan's capacities as a god of time, fate and death. Few experiments are known to have been conducted in this regard but this remains an interesting field of research.
Various versions of the suite are performed fairly regularly for members of the Commercial Guilds, though usually at closed meetings where fairly senior guidl members are closing deals, either within the organisation or (more commonly) with independent merchants. It is commonly believed that the guild members conduct these meetings at such a pace as to ensure that crucial decisions are required of their interlocutor at times when the music reaches a passage dealing with one of Zargyod's victories. Some argue that this is a superstitious attempt to court the favour of the god at points in negotiations where it would be most advantageous, and cite the dominance of the guilds over commerce in the Eleven Cities as evidence. Others agree that the meetings are conducted in this way but argue that the objective in doing so is to intimidate or disconcert the interlocutor with strident horn blasts when they are trying to think clearly. 

Availability

Gaining access to a recital of the suite at a guildhouse requires either close connections to figures of considerable wealth or influence, or fairly elaborate subterfuge. Such meetings are not concerts, and are generally closed to all but the direct decision-makers and a few of their most trusted or essential aides. The fact that musicians are counted among these by the guild members is sometimes cited as evidence for the thaumaturgical significance of the music.
It is certainly possible, however, to get musicians to discuss the matter outside a specific performance capacity. Those with a propensity to learn some of this music need only engage a tutor. Since the retainers that the guilds pay their musicians are not always very large, and their professional duties not always terribly time-consuming, this is neither difficult or terribly expensive, though it may require a degree of dedication from the researcher in question. Musicians can usually be engaged for this purpose in most of the cities.
It is particularly common for social engagements among the aristocracy of Chogyos to include recitals of versions of the suite. Getting an invitation to one of these occasions tends to be more difficult than expensive.

Type

Record, Musical (Music, Sheet)