Christmas Tunes

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  1. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    And here's a Chistmas tune by master cömposer J.S. Bach: Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier
  2. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Very Christmassy! That was a really nice listen.
  3. Sherry Cadenhead
    Sherry Cadenhead
    I've been really busy lately and unable to listen to what you guys have been doing. But I played at a recital recently and decided to post the videos. This one is "When Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night." The other two I'm posting to SAW #295 and #450.

    Still practicing when I can and hope to get back to a normal schedule after New Year's.

  4. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Eight new videos above – so much variety; what a pleasure!
  5. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Talk about variety Frithjof, here’s a play-along vid. There are five or six Christmas Carols (with TAB! )
    Have a happy festive season!

    Tab kindly shared by Paul Hardy, tunebooks: https://pghardy.net/tunebooks/



    https://youtu.be/WbFNukRZLo4

    (Lots of wonderful background sounds on this one, there’s even a jack-hammer, and a hot chocolate, maize flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg-mousse recipe at the end, delicious!)
  6. Lucindalin
    Lucindalin
    This play along is is a lot of fun, thank you for that!!
  7. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thomas Ravenscroft (1611): "Remember O Thou Man"

    This is a Christmas carol written by Thomas Ravenscroft (c.1592-1635), published in his collection Melismata in 1611. My instrumental version includes all four voices of the original 1611 choral arrangement, starting with solo mandocello, then the mandolin taking over the melody, and then second mandolin and octave mandolin filling in the harmonies.

    I first heard this tune as part of Richard Thompson's "1000 Years Of Popular Music" show, and my interpretation is coloured by his -- there is a wide range of different ways of performing this carol, mostly much slower than I do.

    I've used Steve Hendrick's transcription (which is note-for-note identical to Ravenscroft's original):

    https://sca.uwaterloo.ca/sca/Hendric...s/remember.pdf

    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello (Soprano verse 1, Tenor verse 2, bass verses 3-4)
    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (Soprano verses 2-4)
    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (Alto verses 3-4)
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin (Tenor verses 3-4)


    https://youtu.be/MeFojLhnTtU

    Martin
  8. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Sherry: the comnbination mandolin/piano is quite rare, but you make the mandolin sound good with a piano.
    Simon: the mousse looks as delicious as your playing sounds.
    Martin: lively treatment of the Ravenscroft carol.


    O little Town of Bethlehem[/I] is a carol standard, so, instead of showing standard nativity sets, I showed some pictures of Bethlehem today.
    It seems to be no longer such a little Town:
  9. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Inspired by other members' recent videogame-footage videos in other threads (which I can't find right now or I would link to them), this is "Drive The Cold Winter Away" which features, um, winter driving (as well as a winter daydream notion of more favorable weather conditions) on an Android phone. The soundtrack is me trying to play mandolin along with a backing track (full credits at end of video). The tune is actually a Christmas tune though, according to historical info at Early Music Muse.


    (or direct link)

    I'm in practice mode for the mandolin as well as the game - leisurely non-racing speed, and no opponents to lob toilet plungers at my little cartoon vehicles. I went ahead and tried to collect power-ups anyway, just for something to do along the way, but phone steering is a bit imprecise.
  10. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Nice blend of video footage and your music track, Jess. Happy little video.
  11. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    You play fine Jess, considering the obstacles that get thrown in your way.
    There seem to be two melodic versions of Away in a Manger, I tried to imitate the one of Johnny Cash.
  12. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Thank you for these latest additions! Our planned family visit for Christmas is getting cancelled because of new quarantine rules, so I needed cheering up.

    Here's my Christmas tune for this year. You're right, I could have used some more practice time. But it needed to go in the last post for Christmas cards!

    Have a safe and healthy Christmas.

  13. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Love it!
  14. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    Steeleye Span meet Ougenweide there, Dennis!
  15. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Very enjoyable performances from you lady and gents!
    Yours too Gelsenbury, I really like the harmonisation in that tune. I actually know that tune quite well because I used to be in a choir, and we sang it in Latin. Now I'm trying to work out what's happening at a music theory level. Is it in Dorian with the harmony played in fifths?
    This is the question I have at the beginning of my day when I'm eating my breakfast.
  16. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Very nice recordings, Jess, Christian and Dennis!

    Jess: That's a much more lively version of Drive The Cold Winter Away than I have heard before -- very nice, and arguably better suitable to mandolins with that bounce. I was surprised at the fadeout at the end. You may want to repost this recording on our dedicated thread for that tune, which was the official tune in Week #396.

    Christian: I wasn't consciously aware of there being two tunes to Away In A Manger, but hearing your rendition, it sounds just right for Johnny Cash!

    Dennis: Very well done, and what an array of exotic instruments. Bertram's description of Steeleye Span meets Ougenweide fits very well. I have been meaning to try recording Gaudete for many years but never got around to adapting it to mandolins. Yes, getting to Germany has just been scuppered. I just managed to get in and out at the beginning of December for a quick family visit and managed to fit some Christmas markets in as well, in Bernkastel and in Cologne.

    Here is another one of mine: this is "Panis Angelicus", which is frequently performed in a Christmas setting although strictly speaking it's from a non-seasonal catholic mass.

    César Franck (1822-1890): Panis Angelicus
    Piano accompaniment by Héctor Valls, used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0.


    This well-known hymn was written in 1872 by the Belgian romantic composer César Franck to words by St. Thomas Aquinus.

    My recording in A major uses a pre-recorded piano accompaniment and vocal score from IMSLP:

    https://imslp.org/wiki/Mass,_Op.12_(Franck,_C%C3%A9sar)

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin


    https://youtu.be/bSiJaqR31Gw

    Martin
  17. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    We Three Kings, that most minor of Christmas carols

  18. John W.
    John W.
    There have been numerous additions to this thread since I last looked...I'm going to have to come back to it for a longer viewing...
  19. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    You play this song with good dynamics, Martin and you usual effortless tremolo.
    Groovy kings, David.

    I already posted a piece, composed by J.S.Bach, here's one by his contemporary G.F. Händel:
  20. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    That was really cool David, I love the whole feel of the music and video. Christian your mandolin and guitar sound fantastic and what could be better than Handel? From Shetland and maybe not a Christmas tune but it's got Christmas in the title: Christmas Day Ida Moarnin'.

  21. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Wow! Spooktacular!
  22. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Another 4 great additions! Keep them coming - Christmas isn't far away now.
  23. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Great "ensemble" as usual, David!
    How about a German Weihnachtslied?
  24. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    You guys are this busy recording Christmas tunes this year. I have a nice time to watch them (partly together with my family). Happy holidays! Stay healthy!
  25. John W.
    John W.
    Christian - A lovely Bach piece well played.
    Sherry - I wasn’t able to view your video…presumably recent tech difficulties…???
    Simon - Nice, classic playalong.
    Martin (Ravenscroft) - Great overall, period sound produced from the combination of instruments.
    Christian - It does look like Bethlehem is no longer a little town!
    JL277z - A warm Christmasy tune…with a video of varying temperatures.
    Christian (Away in a Manger) - Some nice tremolo.
    Dennis - I think (hope) I commented on this on YouTube…???
    Martin (Panis Angelicus) - Another beautiful period tune.
    David - A modern piece to follow Martin’s period piece…with a great rhythm…Bob is good!
    Christian (Joy to the World) - My immediate thought was along the lines of: “the tune and video don’t go together!” But then I felt the joy of the world riding on a motor bike…
    David - I think I commented in YT…great playing, as always, and the video has prompted me to investigate creating ghosts in iMovie…
    Christian (German tune) - I didn’t know this tune, but I really enjoyed it….I get the impression you have enjoyed playing, recording and publishing Christmas tunes on this thread…

    Happy Christmas/Holidays all…and peace, joy and prosperity in the New Year.
  26. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    I've been recording three more Christmas tunes -- note the makeshift Christmas background!

    These are two tunes from our group's Christmas repertoire, both great fun to play and (I hope) listen to, plus I finally got around to recording Gaudete, having been prodded by Dennis's recent upload!

    Gaudete (Christus est natus)

    This late-medieval Christmas song is best-known through the 1972 a capella recording by Steeleye Span. The oldest source is the Jistebnice Cantional 1420, with a more complete version in Piae Cantiones (ed. Jacobus Finno, 1582), from Turku in Finland.

    I am playing it as a mandolin quartet instrumental on two mandolin, octave mandolin (mandola) and mandocello, using the setting at IMSLP:

    https://imslp.org/wiki/Gaudete%2C_Ch...us_(Anonymous)

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x2)
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello


    https://youtu.be/FA5v52FZM1Y

    Nutmegs and Ginger

    This is a Christmas tune for six instruments for broken consort from the Cambridge Consort Books (also known as the Matthew Holmes Consort Books) from around 1595. My recording is based on the transcription by Steve Hendricks at:

    http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/Hendricks/Co...s/nutmegs2.pdf

    The original parts were for violin, lute, cittern, recorder, bandora and bass viol. I've adapted it for mandolin (two mandolins, two octave mandolins, mandocello and tenor guitar

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x2)
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin (x2)
    Vinate Viaten tenor guitar
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello

    This tune seems to be strangely little known, but has long been one ouf our favourites, just a great renaissance seasonal romp.


    https://youtu.be/O8w-RPfG7Ps

    Mykola Leontovych (1916): Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells)

    This famous Christmas carol started out as an adaptation of a Ukrainian folk tune. It was adapted for Christmas with new English lyrics in the 1930s.

    This arrangement for mandolin quartet is by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni, and played in her memory. Available as free download as part of Evelyn's first annual "Winter's Tale" collection of tunes:

    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...nes-for-winter

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x2)
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar

    I had already recorded it in much the same way two years ago ar Christmas 2019 (earlier in this thread).


    https://youtu.be/0fQ1cmpsmL8

    Martin
  27. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Very nice, Martin. My favorite of all your Christmas offerings is Nutmegs and Ginger now. Your mandolin consort of 6 sounds amazing.
  28. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Good to hear the diversity of styles in all the videos above, makes for awesome listening!

    And thank you to all who posted kind words about my video. Yeah, I tend to turn everything into dance tunes or other upbeat type of things, and the melody just seemed to fit right into that vibe. (I don't really know how to play any other types of music - I once tried and failed at classical fingerstyle guitar, did not seem to be my forte even though I really like that sound - so I sort of stick with what I'm comfortable with.) Also appreciate the info about the other threads for that particular tune (I re-posted my video there also, as Martin suggested).

    David, you've done it again - you've taken a tune that I ordinarily don't understand, and you've turned it into an unexpectedly cool groove that's a trip to listen to. Hope to hear more of these types of styles. The animations are interesting too - must be a lot of work to make those, as I notice the animated arm pauses when the music pauses. Where's the cat though?

    Frithjof wrote: "Very nice, Martin. My favorite of all your Christmas offerings is Nutmegs and Ginger now."

    I agree! Interesting tune. I'm gonna have to try to learn that one someday. Thanks Martin for playing the tunes and for the sheet music.

    Happy Holidays to all!
  29. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Three nice recordings, Martin, I also like Nutmegs and Ginger best.
    My carol for today is based on a poem by Christina Rossetti, to which Gusav Holst wrote the following melödy:
  30. John W.
    John W.
    Thanks, Martin for the collection of tunes…your output is relentless. I’m prompted to put the popular classic Gaudete on my list of tunes to learn…though I enjoyed them all.

    Christian, there is nothing bleak about winter when you have tunes like this played this way.
  31. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Many thanks, Frithjof, Jess, Christian and John. Yes, Nutmegs and Ginger is a favourite of mine as well, and it is surprising that it is so little known -- it takes some hunting to find any early music ensembles performing this one (here is an example).

    Martin
  32. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    A Merry Christmas to all the members of the SAWgroup!
  33. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    We've had Christian's very nice version of "Joy To The World" a couple of days ago -- here is mine.

    This arrangement for four voices is by Steve Hendricks:

    http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/Hendricks/Ch...s/joyworld.pdf

    I've adapted it to a mandolin quartet:

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x2)
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello


    https://youtu.be/dQlmX8BdQ7A

    Martin
  34. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Christian, I admire your "In The Bleak Midwinter". (That's one tune I've been trying to wrangle into shape for at least a couple years intermittently and I can't ever get my versions to sound the way I want it to... maybe next year.) I also like your "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" - nicely played, and the dancing Santa is a fun extra.

    Martin, I like your "Joy To The World", you've captured the vibe and the feeling of the piece quite nicely.
  35. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Thanks Jess for the posiive comments and Martin for the nice version of Joy to the World.
    For the first Christmas Holiday, I have prepared a carol from Poland:Lulaize Jezuniu
  36. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Merry Christmas! No new tune from me, I'm not that prolific. It just seemed like the best place to wish you all a peaceful, happy and healthy holiday.

    And thank you for these most recent recordings. At least two are of songs I'd never heard before!
  37. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    I recently learned that 26 December is called Boxing Day in the British Commonwealth.
    Here's my Boxing Day tune: It came upon the Midnight clear
  38. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Today is the last plausible day to post another Christmas carol for a year:

    Gustav Holst: In The Bleak Midwinter

    From IMSLP:
    http://imslp.org/wiki/In_the_Bleak_M...lst,_Gustav%29

    This arrangement of Holst's Christmas carol uses Holst's original harmonies, adapted for mandolin quartet (two mandolins, mandola, mandocello).

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x2)
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin (mandola)
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello


    https://youtu.be/1pln0mPfgvE

    Martin
  39. John W.
    John W.
    A lovely carol with all instruments played well and balanced together. A befitting pause in the Christmas carol videos….
  40. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Really nice song from Christian, and oustanding work from Martin.
  41. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    No Christmas tunes this year?
    I recorded O little Town of Bethlehem in a different way than last year and I wish you all a Merry Christmas:
  42. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    No video, but Merry Christmas from Scotland to all our regulars and all who read this group.
  43. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    And a happy Christmas from me in France, happy new year and hope to hear you playing and posting in the near future.

    (just wondered if there are any lurkers who have found Song-A-Week this year valuable on their wonderful mandolin-learning journey, share a )
  44. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Somewhat late with my seasonal offering this year -- here is the Largo from Manfredini's "Christmas Concerto", a staple of Baroque-themed Christmas concerts.

    Happy Christmas to regulars and lurkers of the SAW group!

    Francesco Onofrio Manfredini (1684-1762):
    Concerto grosso per il santissimo natale, Op. 3, No. 12/2
    II. Largo


    This Christmas Concerto is the best-known piece by the Italian Baroque composer Francesco Manfredini. Although it is scored as a concerto grosso, for the second movement (Largo), the soloists are tacet and the movement is therefore simply scored as a string quartet.

    I am playing the Largo as a mandolin quartet of two mandolins, octave mandolin (mandola) and mandocello -- the mandolins give it a tonality of Christmas chimes!

    1915 Luigi Embergher mandolin (x2)
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello

    Sheet music from IMSLP:

    http://imslp.org/wiki/12_Concertos,_...sco_Onofrio%29


    https://youtu.be/73pCZrOexmA

    Martin
  45. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    Merry Christmas, Martin. Nice playing. Does it snow much in Wales?
  46. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Many thanks, Ginny, and Merry Christmas to you as well! No snow in Wales right now -- we had a cold(-ish) snap in mid-December when the hills turned white, but that's long gone. It's generally more wet and green here. Wales is somewhat famous for that!

    Martin
  47. Jairo Ramos
    Jairo Ramos
    The Carol of the Drum is very famous in Latin America because the Spanish singer Raphael popularized it in the 60s...he is a singer as famous in the Spanish-speaking world as Elvis is in the Anglo-Saxon world...it was a piece of music that deeply affected Hispanic taste, and it is already a standard among Christmas carols...here is my version with mandolin and melodica.




    I hope to record more to raise the group's Christmas spirit...
  48. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Beautiful! Very professional recording and in keeping with the Christmas festivities.
  49. Richard Carver
    Richard Carver
    That is beautifully done, Jairo. The melodica really adds something.

    I remember this carol as a child as something a bit different from the traditional carols. I've just looked it up and there seems to be some debate about its origin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Drummer_Boy. Does it have a particular Latin American connection?
  50. Jairo Ramos
    Jairo Ramos
    Richard, I added the connection in the edited post...
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