I'm a big fan of the music of Richard Thompson, whether in his early career as a member of Fairport Convention, in the seventies with his ex-wife Linda, or his solo career since 1983. As his musical taste is very wide-ranging and his judgment usually spot-on, I find most of his side projects fascinating, too. So, it was natural when looking around for promising Early Music tunes to try on mandolin to consider which tunes Thompson has picked for his forays into Early Music. So, here are seven tunes from the 13th to the 17th century which I have learned from Richard Thompson albums: four are from "The Bones Of All Men", his renaissance dance crossover album with Philip Pickett and Fairport Convention (one of my desert island disks) and the other three from "1000 Years Of Popular Music". I have located and linked PDF transcriptions for all seven tunes online and link them below -- most are very easy indeed on mandolin. Some of the scores are in four-part harmony well suited to playing with others (although I played them solo unaccompanied). From The Bones Of All Men: 1. Tutti venite armati (Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi, 1556 - 1622) (PDF) 2. Chi Passa Per 'Sta Strada (Filippo Azzaiolo, 1557)(PDF) 3. The Short Mesure Off My Lady Wynkfylds Rownde (Anon., c1520) (PDF) 4. My Lady Carey's Dompe (Anon., c1520) (PDF) From 1000 Years Of Popular Music: 1. Sumer Is Icumen In (Anon., c1260) (PDF) 2. So Ben Mi Ch'a Bon Tempo (Orazio Vecchi, 1550-1605) (PDF from Thompson's website) 3. Remember O Thou Man (Th. Ravenscroft, 1611) (PDF) As a special treat, check out this rather unusual Thompson performance of that last tune... Martin
Thanks Martin! Richard Thompson is a treasure...
Great stuff, Martin - thanks for posting. "The Bones Of All Men" is also one of my treasures, and I saw Richard do "A Thousand Years Of Popular Song" live at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London a few years ago - wonderful night. The highlight (for me) was him singing a song from the "Mikado" - complete with full orchestration on his Lowden!
