Trivia Challenge 2
In one of our songs, "In Wintertime", the lyrics read:
Awake awake, the white speckled wren,
the ptarmigan hid in the forest.
Take flight from the frost with distances crossed
to summerland seasons of harvest.
Hear the song
The trivia challenge question is:
What is a ptarmigan?
Thank you to Paula Pile, for winning this Trivia Challenge! Learn more about the ptarmigan here
Trivia Challenge 1
When I was writing Awake the White and Wint'ry Queen, I wanted the coronation of the Winter Queen to be accompanied by a vocal flourish of great magnificence. Something cumulative and grandiloquent, like the "Hallelujah" chorus in Handel's Messiah. Something glorious, something fit for a queen. I chose a single chanted word, "Gloriana". But why?
In the year 1590, Edmund Spenser wrote a highly popular epic poem about a magical world, a land of mystery and adventure teeming with ogres and giants and witches, hardy knights both brave and villainous, dwarfs, magicians, dragons, and maidens in distress, wicked enchanters, gods, demons, forests, caves, and castles, amorous encounters, fierce battles, etc. Originally planned to span 24 books, the poem was conceived as an allegory in praise of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The poem's main protagonist is a queen named Gloriana, and Elizabeth soon took on "Gloriana" as a popular nickname. Ruling for almost 45 years, she proved herself politically astute, intelligent, and powerful. As Gloriana, her name defines a golden age for British culture, whilst having a certain mystical air that suggests an earlier place of glory, in legend and myth.
The trivia challenge question is:
What is the name of the book/poem featuring the queen Gloriana?
Thank you to Cheryl Ann Lipstreau, for winning this Trivia Challenge! Answer: "The Faerie Queene" |
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