Hey, All Dwarves! Searching for a Resource...

[The_Gneech]

Can anybody point me to a MP3 (or other digital file) of dwarves singing, or a reasonable facsimile thereof? I'm looking for a work song, something akin to "Whistle While You Work" -- but less cheesy and more bass a capella-ey. The party is due to come upon some dwarven miners doing what they do best, and I'd like to set the mood.

-The Gneech

 

[BOZ]

Heigh, ho! Heigh, ho! It's off to work we go!

alternatively, you could always use a track of the flying monkeys from the wizard of Oz.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Heigh, ho! Heigh, ho! It's off to work we go!

alternatively, you could always use a track of the flying monkeys from the wizard of Oz.

Or the guards at the Wicked Witch's castle. You know: "oh wee oh, yo-oh." Of course, it might sound sinister or silly, depending on how familiar the players are with the movie Wizard of Pz.

 

[ruleslawyer]

Even though it's pretty far from a "dwarven" song per se, I think "Po' Lazarus" from the Anthology of American Folk Music (or the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack) would be an excellent choice to set the mood.

Honestly, for sounds worth thieving into a game, I'd highly recommend the Anthology of American Folk Music. A number of the work songs and older spirituals in that collection sound like something truly fantastic.

 

[Mycanid]

Lessee here ... two come to mind immediately.

The first is the Dwarvish singing in the 1970's Rankin-Bass cartoon version of "The Hobbit".

The second is the Dwarvish singing from the 1970's Radio performance of the Hobbit done in the U.K. and published by "The Mind's Eye" I believe. It was re-released when the LotR movies started coming out, and is available on CD's.

I thought the idea about the Wicked Witch of the West's guards was a good idea too ... but I always thought they were singing about Oreo cookies. "Or - e - o! Ee - yo - o!" (The second part I could only guess meant something like "Hooray!" in their language.... Never figured that one out come to think of it.... Hmm.

Edit: I just re-read your post Gneech. A work song! Yes - I have more ideas for THAT. Georgian music! Here is a link on amazon.com to one particular album I have in mind. It's title is Music from Georgia Vol. 1 and it is performed by Ensemble Georgika. Take a listen to all the snippets ... if you like it you can get a used one for $2.22 before shipping - a good deal. I LOVE Georgian folk music, and this is one of the best performances of it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...331334/ref=sr_1_1/103-2939251-7135025?ie=UTF8

Good luck!

 

[Endur]

If the party does not speak dwarven, you might consider songs from a foreign language.

 

[Ilium]

Even though it's pretty far from a "dwarven" song per se, I think "Po' Lazarus" from the Anthology of American Folk Music (or the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack) would be an excellent choice to set the mood.

Honestly, for sounds worth thieving into a game, I'd highly recommend the Anthology of American Folk Music. A number of the work songs and older spirituals in that collection sound like something truly fantastic.

I don't know if ruleslawyer is talking about the same song I'm thinking of. It's the first track on the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. I thought the title was "High Chapparal," though. The song is being sung by a chain gang so there's even metal-on-metal sounds and heavy stuff moving in the background.

 

[The_Gneech]

The problem with "Po Lazarus" is that it's such a dirge. These are dwarves, they like working!

I'll check out the Georgian music, thanks! Russian might make a good stand-in for Dwarven. I also have Oorf's suite somewhere (famous for "O Fortuna") -- Latin might stand-in well for Dwarven too.

Meanwhile, keep the suggestions coming! Thanks, all!

EDIT: Ooh! Ooh! I think we've got a winner! "Birch Switches" and "Meadowlands" are almost exactly what I was looking for.

-The Gneech

 

[Mycanid]

Yessir Gneech ... the deep Russian songs also have STUNNING things.

(Ever been to Russia? It's even greater in person! Wow! I didn't know people could sing that low!!!!)

Believe it or not I've actually heard them sing, and it was at Fort Ross too. Good stuff. But if you want the REAL deep bases you got to go into the liturgical music. A capella stuff for them started around the 19th c. Tchaikovsky, Archangelsky, Rachmaninov all wrote some stunning liturgical stuff for multivoices and DEEP base parts. Wow....

Anyway. I'm glad you found something!

 

[The_Gneech]

Alas, I've traveled over large chunks of the continental U.S., but never out of it.

I have heard Catholic monks chant in person in a remote monastery up in the Catskills somewhere ... that was an experience.

-The Gneech