This week's winner is Sir Charles Coote, which was submitted as an O'Carolan tune. I'm not familiar with the tune, but I do love O'Carolan! Here is a link to the tune on thesession.org Here is our own David Hansen's You Tube video: Here's another video of the Belfast Harp Orchestra:
David Hansen's video will be very hard to beat! Very very well done. By the way, the second video doesn't seem to work. In the meantime I found this wonderful version, by members of one of my favourite bands, Fairport Convention: The second tune they play is very similar, in some places, to The Sailor's Hornpipe, anyone knows it?
The second video works alright for me. The second piece that Swarbrick plays is, according to the title of the video, Smiths Hornpipe.
Here it is in D on a Gremlin
maudlinmandolin: Great version, pretty clean and steady. I would just check the tuning of the A course (I think), which spoils it a little bit at times. It's weird, the second video Barbara posted still doesn't work on my computer.
The different tempos being used in the versions here are interesting, each giving the tune a different feel. Congratulations to all!
Dave Swarbrick's Smiddyburn album is an old favourite of mine, so I am drawn towards his uptempo rendition of this tune, especially because of the fabulous video of three of my favourite musicians (Swarb, Pegg and Thompson) all playing mandolins. My own recording is based on two separate versions I've found online, both in C major but with some variations in the tune. One had chord symbols and the other was arranged for piano. I've played the two tune variants one after the other, and made my own backing by combining the chord symbols (on tenor guitar) with the piano bassline (on octave mandolin). Works quite nice. Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin Ozark tenor guitar Martin
My mandola version of this tune was done in 2010 and the tempo seemed slow to me so I thought I'd crank it up a notch and play it on the mandolin with the rest of the herd. I was hoping to get a better version but all I think I got was a different version. I'd appreciate some feedback on this one, which one is better and why.
maudlin- all that practice is paying off, good picking on this one. Martin- your usual great arrangement and playing. Hansen- your first version starting with the mandola evokes an old time, ancestrial vibe. The mandolin and mandola pair well together. I envision a trio playing this to a quiet, attentive audience. Your second version are friends playing at the local bar. The guitar and bass players drive this tune with nice leads from mandolin, concertina and octave. A good example of what you excel at, not only playing, but mixing all the instruments together for a smooth recording. Thanks for everyone's contributions.
David- I prefer the first version because that Octar has a really great sound. You should record with it more often.
Very nice playing on both versions, David. If I had to choose, I'd also go for the first one -- it's more relaxed and mellow. The new recording is a bit busy and a bit bright. Of course, that's arguably in keeping with the tune which is one of Carolan's more uptempo ones, especially in Swarbrick's interpretation. Martin
I'm going for the second one David. It's an uncharacteristically jolly tune for O'Carolan and I think the up tempo version suits it well plus your usual great combination of instruments and playing. Enjoyed the first version on first listening but going back to it after your second treatment and all of a sudden it seemed to drag a bit. In general though I think a lower voice suits O'Carolan tunes which is why I usually grab the Mandola for them.
I would really like to have a go at this but can't find tab anywhere. Does anyone have it or a link?
If you need mandolin tab, go to the link Barbara posted above... https://thesession.org/tunes/2186 Copy and paste a version of the ABC notation there to this site... http://www.mandolintab.net/abcconverter.php Hope that helps.
Here is my crack at it. Wrote a harmony type part to go with the melody and played them both.. not at the same time of course.
And a really nice harmony part, too! You obviously have quite the inner metronome to keep the two in time.
Thanks Marcelyn I will now see what I can do. Enjoying the Bach Bouree too.
You're very welcome, Yelsel. Looking forward to your video. Fred, that's a gorgeous duet you put together. Wonderful playing!
Really good submissions above. And I’m amazed of your harmony part, Fred. It sounds great. I took a simple old mandolin with me during a skiing vacation in the Austrian Alps. After a substantial dinner I found an abandoned place in the sauna area of the hotel where I could practice and record (first through). A week later I found time for recording in my own den. The final bars certainly stood not in the standard notation. I simply couldn’t withstand the pressure of the recording process.
Frithjof - very nicely done! And I don't see any leg casts so I guess the skiing was successful too... Fred - well done and a great harmony accompaniment. Do you have the harmony section written out that you might share?
This is my recording of Dave Swarbrick's arrangement for three mandolins of Sir Charles Coote as a set with Smith's Hornpipe. Swarb's own original recording (with Dave Pegg and Richard Thompson on second/third mandolin) is on his classic "Smiddyburn" album -- a live TV take is in the second post in this thread. My recording is based on Maartin Allcock's transcription of Swarb's three-part arrangement, in his book "Dave Swarbrick - Fiddle Tunes", available from Maart's website (NFI). See also this recent discussion thread about this book. "Smith's Hornpipe" is also known as "Babbit's Hornpipe" or "Myopia Hornpipe", first published in "Ryan's Mammoth Collection" (1883). Swarb is playing the hornpipe at his usual blistering tempo (see this live recording, which is even faster than the album version) -- I'm not getting into a speed picking contest with him, so my tempo on both tunes is more moderate! Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin (x3) Martin
I recorded Dave Swarbrick's mandolin trio setting of "Sir Charles Coote" as a set with "Smith's Hornpipe" back in 2018 -- see previous posting in this thread. In retrospect that was too slow (and a bit stiff). I can't reach Swarb's warp speed tempo, but this one is a bit livelier. Also a bit brighter, using the Vinaccia instead of the Mid-Mo. Took me a few takes to add the harmony parts, which are quite a bit harder than the melody! 1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x3) Martin
Well played Martin, better than Swarbrick. https://youtu.be/8TSo4AfQRzw (He plays the melody with a nice enough swing but then confuses and the confounds the audience by playing the harmony straight (without swing). Because he’s playing fast you can’t hear the incongruous, belligerent nature of the piece and would obviously find it difficult to mimic. -unless this is the style.
What a lovely tune! I love the different interpretations and instrumentation of this group. Never disappointing.
My fourth video in this thread, with yet another different arrangement. This is Nigel Gatherer's setting, with a nice harmony part: https://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/...irCC/SirCC.pdf Another tune recorded on my grandfather's "Majestic" German mandolin -- quite a similar instrument to the one that Frithjof plays earlier in this thread. I'm mixing the accompaniment up a bit with the opening played solo and then various combinations of harmony mandolin, chord accompaniment and unison playing. 1920s/30s Majestic mandolin (x2) Vintage Viaten tenor guitar https://youtu.be/bcc4x1bxc5s Martin
You inherited a nice mandolin from your grandfather. I enjoyed to look at it and to hear its nice ton. My own instrument (first in the video) has many similarities with the “Majestic” and was probably built around the same time. Nigel Gatherer's setting looks interesting.
Many thanks, Frithjof. Yes, I would think your mandolin was built around the same time as mine, probably both from the Markneukirchen area of Saxony, then the centre of musical instrument production. Nigel Gatherer's setting is fun, although those harmonies are not easy to play. Martin
Very nice, Martin. The interplay of the two parts is very effective and the choice of instruments is perfect.
