This is an Italian renaissance dance, collected by Fabritio Caroso (1526/1535 – 1605/1620) in his seminal 1581 book "Il Ballarino". My version for two mandolins, mandocello and tenor guitar is based on a setting by Paul Butler: http://crab.rutgers.edu/~pbutler/music/ChiaraStella.pdf 1915 Luigi Embergher mandolin (x2) Suzuki MC-815 mandocello Vintage Viaten tenor guitar Martin
Sounds nice Martin. Do you lnow whether this piece was written for a renaissance lute? Or for a small ensemble? Anyway, the arangement by Paul Butler sounds fine.
Thanks, Christian. I'm not sure about "written for" -- Caroso's Il Ballerino was mainly a treatise on dancing with musical examples probably not written by the author himself. The musical examples were in lute tablature (see facsimile and transcription ), but whether that means they were originally played specifically on lute is a different question. These days, Caroso's dances are core repertoire for renaissance dancers, and usually played on louder instruments than the lute. Here are two nice and very different renditions on Youtube: Ernst Stolz on viola da gamba, organ & violone (rather slowly) A Hungarian renaissance band on woodwinds, cello and percussion (much faster) My tempo is about halfway between these. Martin
Nice recording, Martin.
I like Renaissance music, and pieces like this are the reason. It's a great melody, and you play the arrangement in a way that makes it all sound natural. Now, how about adding a bit of Krummhorn, Cornamuse or Rackett to the mix?
Thanks, Dennis -- you mean like this lot: https://youtu.be/zIfaHNkvapk Martin
Exactly like that! What a beautiful arrangement!
Another interesting one, Martin. You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of those Renaissance tunes and have made them very much your own. The other version with all the woodwinds is just so different - Dennis must love this one.
I've loved this tune ever since Martin posted it. So here's one from me. Have a good weekend.
Lovely tune, and I really like the tempo that you have both chosen. Sedate and purposeful Martin, as well as that ‘reveille, we are lonely in the universe’ feeling Dennis that I often associated with this epoch. Your versions both have this medieval, animalistic feeling. I believe. I love this tune too! Thanks for the motivation to learn it, maybe record it too.
did I spot a witch in that bonfire, Dennis? 'cause it would be totally appropriate and fitting with the overall medieval experience
This tune is so repetitive that it becomes almost hypnotic. I really liked the percussion you have added to it which comes over in stereo separation so well in headphones, Dennis. Your use of fire and water in the video is quite powerful too. Just noticed it is a year since this tune last had comments - good to see tunes being revisited.
Religious people burning. -It’s all on SAW, never a dull day. Lucky John, good stereo headphones. I now have a set of fine hand-me-down, mono headphones. They were originally nice two-channel stereo headphones, then after a mishap they became nice zero-channel headphones. Now, after some rewiring they are nice-enough mono headphones.
I second what John said about the percussion, a dry pong right on each eardrum.
Very nice recording, Dennis! I love the addition of the percussion and Krummhorn (?). Renaissance dance tunes should really always have percussion -- I need to look into getting some basic tambour or similar for mine. Martin
I also like the percussion, Dennis, and your mandolin sounds very nice.
Both nice versions chaps…like Simon, I am motivated to learn (and record?) it…along with a long list of other tunes!
You produced a nice medieval sound with your choice of instruments, Dennis.
Thank you for your nice comments. A Krummhorn is on my shopping list! The similar-sounding instrument in this recording is a cornamuse, a very similar thing but with a straight body and a slightly mellower sound. I still can't play it well. Some trickery in Audacity was required to stop the high D from sounding too flat.
https://youtu.be/rSEZzpgW-SQ?feature=shared
Who needs a mandolin when you can have a mandola and a fiddle? The bowing seems to be coming along well. It's such a nice tune.
Thanks Dennis.
Simon, I always marvel at the courage and stamina to take up an instrument as unforgiving as the violin, an instrument I struggled with for years in my youth and never really was accepted by (I am convinced that the instrument chooses the player, and I was not worthy), though I could reuse much of the technique when picking up the mandolin. Bowing is indeed the longest leap from picking, with its large-scale motion and small forces. The absence of frets is a piece of cake compared to that. But the most important technique for dealing with an instrument like that is the last laugh, which you clearly have
What a fun, Simon! Your accomplished OM-playing meets the bravery to add the violin. Sounds good to me!
What the others have said, Simon. Like Bertram, I too have struggled with the fiddle and do not play it much and not in front of others. It really needs application beyond what I am prepared to give it and I know I came to it much too late in life after so many years of fretted instruments and keyboards. No frets, bowing techniques and all the rest!
