• New Music from Mike Guggino & Barrett Smith - Mia Dolce Farfalla

    Mike Guggino & Barrett Smith - Mia Dolce Farfalla

    Mike Guggino and Barrett Smith, of the Grammy Award winning Steep Canyon Rangers, are releasing their first full-length album June 14 entitled Mia Dolce Farfalla, a beautiful instrumental album of Italian dance music, or ballo liscio.

    The title track is the one original tune on the album that Mike wrote and dedicated to his wife. The farfalla, or butterfly, has long been a symbol of the mandolin and it's fluttering tremolos. Mike and Barrett recorded together in Black Mountain over the months of the pandemic with Seth Kauffman of Floating Action at the helm.

    Mike and Barrett have been performing traditional Italian folk music on the mandolin and guitar for nearly two decades. The duo first met in college, while both were studying jazz and classical music but also getting their feet wet in bluegrass and American folk music. When Mike and Barrett aren't touring with the band, they host "Italian Night" performances at local restaurants, music venues, and house concerts. Over the years, these widely popular events have provided them the perfect setting to develop their own unique musical expression of these exotic, Italian folk songs. The pandemic allowed them the time to finally record some of these songs.

    The duo will celebrate the album release at 185 King Street in Brevard, NC on June 14.

    Listen

    From the album, the title track "Mia Dolce Farfalla."



    Track Listing

    • Nonno's Theme I
    • Tarantella Napoletana
    • Speranze Perdute
    • Mia Dolce Farfalla
    • Nonno's Theme II
    • Aida
    • Elvira
    • Sicilian Mazurka
    • Nonno's Theme III
    • Mazurka Per Caterina
    • Tarantella Potenzese
    • Nonno’s Theme IV
    • Amorino
    • Tenebre Infinita
    • Amore e Follia
    • Nonno's Theme V

    Additional Information


    Mike Guggino & Barrett Smith - Mia Dolce Farfalla
    Comments 9 Comments
    1. John Soper's Avatar
      John Soper -
      Sweet!
    1. Nick Royal's Avatar
      Nick Royal -
      Looks like a great album!
    1. CES's Avatar
      CES -
      Very cool!
    1. Jim Garber's Avatar
      Jim Garber -
      Looking fwd to this.
    1. Mandophile's Avatar
      Mandophile -
      Oh gosh, it's really here! I'm so proud of this tribute to your grandfather. Here's to all the brave Italian immigrant mandolinists who came here to forge a new life but kept the village dances alive so that we could continue to enjoy them. Mille Grazie! Ben fatto! Sheri P.S. I just love seeing my Grauso mandolin on the front cover!
    1. Musicapralis704's Avatar
      Musicapralis704 -
      Top Shelf !!! Complimenti !!! Finalmente ! Someone has gotten this music right !!! Che gioia!!! Your grandfather and mine--who played this music would be so very proud of you and the work you have done....!! So glad I recalled immediately upon hearing that snippet on the podcast that itcwas Delirio D'Amore-- Mazurka by Onofrio DiBella. A staple at every midnight serenade here in Philadelphia and in NYC for over a century.. So glad I even have recordings of it which are on the Audio Dropbox as well ad the sheetmusic. So glad that Sheri and I collaborated on all of this over the last several years to help bring it all to light again and pass on the torch to future generations. Delirio D'Amore and all of the other titles on the CD are classics in the genre. "Il suo lavoro mi tocca il cuore"!! "Your work touches the heart:!!! Ad Multos Annos !!!
    1. Musicapralis704's Avatar
      Musicapralis704 -
      Normannno Giorno-Calapristi grandson of Philadelphia mandolinist Luigi Giorno, and author of the above post. Wanted to add --All of the Mazurka and Waltz renditions are played in true "alla serenata" style--alla napoletana.... Nit often heard today ! Another outstanding feature of this work !

      NGC--- Germantown, Philadelphia PA.
    1. Chuck Leyda's Avatar
      Chuck Leyda -
      Gorgeous music!

      Must admit that, at first glance, the tailpiece looked like someone took a bite outta the mando.
    1. Jim Garber's Avatar
      Jim Garber -
      Has anyone had any problems with the downloaded files of this CD?

      There are at least three tracks on mine that got cut off. For instance, Speranze Perdute is only 9 seconds long. I know all the Nonna tracks are very short but there are others that get lopped off before they are done. I emailed Mike and Barrett on their site a few weeks ago but heard nothing and just re-sent en email also to Barrett's direct email address and the web site site but have heard nothing. Usually you can re-download files on most sites after you pay but i can't seem to do that and the receipt said that the files were only available for a week or so back in June.

      I assume the CD is fine but I am talking about the digital files (mp3) downloaded.