Tesoro Mio! (Italian waltz)

  1. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Ernesto Becucci (1845-1905): Tesoro Mio! (Valzer)
    Published in 1895 (Op. 228)


    This is a well-known Italian waltz, originally written in 1895 for piano and adapted to many other settings over the following century. Becucci was a popular composer of the day, based in Florence, and this is his best-known tune.

    My recording is based on an arrangement for two mandolins and guitar published around 1910/20 by A. Paolilli's Music Co., Providence R.I. I have recorded the original mandolin parts on the Vinaccia, and have added a mandocello bass line to the guitar rhythm. The parts are from Sheri Mignano's collection posted to the Cafe, and also for easier reference reposted here:

    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...=1#post1409834

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x2)
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello


    https://youtu.be/QYk47Rh67ZY

    Martin
  2. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Wonderful playing Martin! And this, a beautiful rainy Sunday morning.
    Always appreciate your attention to detail with references et cetera.
    Many thanks.

    Yes, here the weather has changed, at last. For the last month it has been incredibly hot with an explosive atmosphere. And I mean incredibly hot. We even had housemartin chicks throwing themselves out of their nests. Temperatures in the hundreds and 30 mile an hour winds.
    I live in a huge old stone building that is usually cool in the summer but even though it's cold and rainy outside now, if I close the windows then the rooms get too hot. I remember when Mount Saint Helena blew it’s top and the weather was bad for quite a few years after that.
  3. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Great arrngement and playing, Martin! The Vinaccia fits like a glove.
  4. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, Simon and Christian. I have a few more of these old Italian waltzes and mazurkas in the pipeline -- they're fun to play, and it feels like the bowlbacks are enjoying it as well. It's what they were made for!

    Martin
  5. Frankdolin
    Frankdolin
    Beautiful job on this tune Martin!
  6. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    I don't know my way around the Italian repertoire at all, and I don't think I've heard this before. But the quality of your playing is clear. Every note and every chord do their intended work, and the dynamics are good as well. Very enjoyable!
  7. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Here’s an Italian Repertoire Book Dennis. Enjoy!

    -some of the jigs are simple enough and fun to play at a brisk tempo.
    I find they can sometimes have an odd finger flow but it’s good practice.
  8. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Very nice, Martin!

    Glad to finally be reacquainted with the *name* of the piece. I used to play a basic version of it on piano years ago, but had long since forgotten what it was called, and could only remember snippets of the melody.

    Also thanks for the sheet music - the version you linked to is much easier to make sense of than the umpteen-page version over at IMSLP. Near as I can tell, the IMSLP version starts out with an entire page-long *intro* before they even get to the melody, and then it just kind of turns into a maze that I got lost in and couldn't seem to stay awake long enough to find my way out of. (Guess I don't do well with super-long scores eh, even if all they're doing is explicitly writing a bunch of repeats instead of using shorthand.) Anyway, in contrast to that, the version you posted is a lot easier to work through.
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