Southern Italian Mandolin

[journeybear]

Thanks for putting those up, Martin. As I believe I mentioned previously, hearing them played by someone else (particularly someone who is more familiar with this genre than I) helps confirm that I have been figuring them out correctly from the sheet music (always a dubious matter for me). Add into this interpretation, arrangement, and embellishment (plus the odd error) and my versions differ here and there. I am getting to the point where I will feel confident enough to record some of these and offer them for perusal, amusement, and/or confusion.

BTW & FWIW, I combined those two short quadriglie the other way (D'Amico-DeRosa), so the ascending line in the DeRosa appears as the third theme, which falls into the general tendency in these pieces.

Not sure how this relates to the previous amusing interchange, but I have been thinking of slipping some Irish tunes into my sets. "Irish Washerwoman," for one, sounds like it could work in an Italian context. (Admittedly, I'm thinking about melody more than playing technique.) I've already added Roy Orbison's "Blue Bayou" (bartender's request), and it blends well with "O Sole Mio" (aka "It's Now Or Never").

[Jim Garber]

For one thing, they travel a different route chordally. It is very interesting, but I have lately been thinking about the differences between these Italian ballo liscio tunes vs. the French bal musette and some of the choro tunes I have been exploring. There are certainly similarities in the chord structures and melodies and differences in rhythms and instrumentation but it is not all that easily explained. Maybe drugs would help!!

[Martin Jonas]

I've sat down this weekend and recorded a fair few more of the tunes in this ABC file -- there are a lot of fun tunes there, essentially fiddle tunes on acid. This batch is partially on the Mid-Missouri and partially on my Embergher. Changing the mandolin does change the character of the tune, too, at least to my ears.

Oops: forgot to link one tune -- this is the anonymous mazurka from Umbria. Nice one, too, for practising mazurka rhythm:



Martin

[Martin Jonas]

Three more:

1. Polka di Nello (from Tre Martelli) -- a really fun polka!



2. Furlana di Virgilio (from La Piva Del Carner)



3. Giga (from La Piva Del Carner)



Martin

[Martin Jonas]

This is just to add links to five more of the nice Northern Italian dance tunes I've been working on from the ABC file earlier in this thread:

1. Marlipo Mazurka (from the repertoire of La Ciapa Rusa):



2. Mazurka Uacia-ch'al-pianz (from the repertoire of Tre Martelli):



3. Polka di Ernesto Sala (from the repertoire of La Ciapa Rusa):



4. La Casa di Vronovsky (this is a schottisch from the repertoire of La Ciapa Rusa):



5. Pifferata degli Abba (no, nothing to do with Swedish pop -- it's a polka traditionally played on the piffera, i.e. the pipe):



Martin

[bluesmandolinman]

picked up a Vega Cylinderback from the classifieds and I think it sounds great for this italian folk stuff

this is my try on : Cu Ti Lu Dissi

[Lou Giordano]

picked up a Vega Cylinderback from the classifieds and I think it sounds great for this italian folk stuff

this is my try on : Cu Ti Lu Dissi

I agree, I think it sounds great. Just right for that tune. Nice playing too.

Ciao

[billkilpatrick]

cu ti lu dissi - ("who's told you I'm gonna leave you?") ... mamma mia - (who says the italian language is easy?) - finally found a translation on youtube. nice playing - lovely sounding mandolin.

[Martin Jonas]

Yes indeed -- nicely played, Rene, and the cylinderback sounds great. I like that tune from the La Barbera book (my own Youtube clip of it is linked earlier in this thread), even though it seems somewhat different from the many versions of the song of the same name that one finds on Youtube. The closest vocal rendition I could find to the La Barbera version, and also the most charismatic, is this improvised street performance. Also notable for its innovative approach to avoiding having to use a capo on the guitar...



Martin

[bluesmandolinman]

Also notable for its innovative approach to avoiding having to use a capo on the guitar...
Martin

thanks for the kind words, beeing a pizza junkie I was exposed to italian music all my life at the restaurants and I allways liked it and now finally thanks to this great book I am starting to learn to play myself, so much fun !

[Martin Jonas]

I had mislaid my copy of the La Barbera book for some months, and have just found it again and as I am currently dabbling in multitrack recordings, I have taken the opportunity to play a duet with myself on the wonderful 16th century tune "Ricciulina", a villanella from the Commedia dell'Arte in Naples (the only duet in the book).

Double-tracked on my Embergher Tipo A bowlback (first voice right, second left channel), with tenor guitar accompaniment:



Martin

[MLT]

Martin,

Very nice. Are you utlizing a special hardware (recorder) or software to do the multi-track?

[Martin Jonas]

Martin,

Very nice. Are you utlizing a special hardware (recorder) or software to do the multi-track?

I use Audacity to make the multi-track recordings -- it's free and I like the way it works. Audacity is audio-only, which is why unlike for my unaccompanied Youtube clips, my multi-track ones are all set to slide shows, in this case of pictures of Commedia dell'Arte stock characters and costumes.

Martin

[Gibson John]

Jim, I just came across your post with a list of songs on "Southern Italian Mandolin".
I just got a copy of the song La Procidana, would you or anyone have the lyrics to this song if it even exist.

Thanks
John

[Jim Garber]

Is this the same song? He may be singing in a regional dialect? Do you have further info about the song?

[Beanzy]

When our duo do our "Italian evening" we play this one as a tune.

The info on my notes for follow-up say it might be a serenade from a "dramma per musica" music by Giuseppi Latilla, with a libretto available on Google books https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=dptJRYU8OiYC I've never had a chance to look further to see if or where the tune may fit in there, the two may be unconnected apart from the name.


More like the pace we play it, but never sung by us.


There's a facebook page about the history & culture of Procida which I haven't had a chance to look into too much but might be of interest (certainly looks like a good setting for a drama) https://www.facebook.com/La-Procidana-745687315511211

Got me looking now & I found this for the version sung by the Nuova Compagnia di Canto Populare ;

Ih quant'è bella l'aria de lu mare
Nu' me ne dice core de partire
Ce sta 'na figlia de 'nu marenaro
Tanto ch'è bella che me fa murire
'Nu juorno me nce voglio arresecare
'ncoppa 'a la casa soia voglio saglire
Tanto la voglio astregnere e vasare
A'nzì che dice: Ammore, lassem'ire

Will have a read of the libretto later to see if it's in there.

[Martin Jonas]

The lyrics to "La Procidana" are in the La Barbera book. There are also quite a few text variants online, all differing to a lesser or greater extent from La Barbera and from each other:

http://www.ivillanella.com/testi/studio/procidana.html
https://www.angolotesti.it/N/testi_c...na_290274.html
https://genius.com/Nuova-compagnia-d...ocidana-lyrics
https://www.folkmusicworld.com/proci...-isola-procida

Martin

[Simon DS]

Here's a set of lyrics from La Procidana, a song that can sound very beautiful and romantic to a non-Italian speaker.
Indeed, there are vast variations in the lyrics in terms of dialect… but also vast variations in raunchiness.
It’s a minefield, tread carefully!

Translated by Google, the song talks about a young couple in love.
I like the line: ‘This procedure makes me feel comfortable’.

LA PROCIDANA

I how beautiful the air of the sea
he doesn't tell me to leave.

There is a daughter of a sailor
so beautiful that it makes me die.

'I don't want to give up
'ncoppa' to the soy house I want to sag.

I really want to tighten and kiss her
instead of saying: Love, let me go.


This procedure makes me feel comfortable
It’s enough that they just see her and pass
Rucielli pe volia, ‘ncuitate’ the will
Jessa is not there
Chella doesn't do it

Nice girl and well you don't have to pray
‘Or‘ I know you like it and it makes you frown and frown
My cock I want you just have fun
Do it for charity
Don’t make me ‘sad’ anymore.

He proceeded to lie down, and comforted her
if he knows it's beautiful he does cicchete and cia.
‘Look at it, we couldn’t stand it.
Do a charity,
you spit it out



-Words!
This is why I love just playing the mandolin!

[Beanzy]

Bloomin' Google translate.
I think we need an emergency translation!
Quick! is there a Sicilian speaker in the house?

[brunello97]

Bloomin' Google translate.
I think we need an emergency translation!
Quick! is there a Sicilian speaker in the house?

Eoin....Procida is actually an island off the coast of Napoli...so to sort this out you'll want someone familiar with the Neapolitan lingua.

Such a wonderful tune, Simon. I learned this actually from one of John Barbera's collections.

Iirc he has some lyrics in his book, but I'm a long way away from that right now.

Mick

[Bob Clark]

Eoin....Procida is actually an island off the coast of Napoli...so to sort this out you'll want someone familiar with the Neapolitan lingua.

Such a wonderful tune, Simon. I learned this actually from one of John Barbera's collections.

Iirc he has some lyrics in his book, but I'm a long way away from that right now.

Mick

Right you are, Mick. It's in John La Barbera's Traditional Southern Italian Mandolin and Fiddle Tunes (MelBay Publishers), and it has lyrics in Italian. A notation states that these tunes should be played with the soothing rhythm of rowing. MelBay's almost constant sales makes this book really affordable.

Some music books that you purchase for a few good tunes and the others are all 'meh'. Not this one. This one is full of tunes you will want to play. I really like this book and recommend it to anyone who desires to play the music of Southern Italy. And really, who wouldn't want to play music intertwined with the traditions and history of our beautiful instrument?

[Martin Jonas]

Hi Mick,

Yes, John La Barbera has a set of lyrics in his book. Having recently found my copy again, I have just played "La Procidana" as well as "Cu ti lu dissi" and "Ricciulina" for the SAW Group. Wonderful tunes, all three of them.

Martin

[Beanzy]

Eoin....Procida is actually an island off the coast of Napoli...so to sort this out you'll want someone familiar with the Neapolitan lingua.

Such a wonderful tune, Simon. I learned this actually from one of John Barbera's collections.

Iirc he has some lyrics in his book, but I'm a long way away from that right now.

Mick

yes I actually knew that from the LaBarbera book from where we first learned the tune & the cultural tourism link I posted .
Momentary brain fart, probably brought on by reading the extended lyrics in Google translation.
It really is a brutal tool to take to a song.

[brunello97]

Hi Mick,

Yes, John La Barbera has a set of lyrics in his book. Having recently found my copy again, I have just played "La Procidana" as well as "Cu ti lu dissi" and "Ricciulina" for the SAW Group. Wonderful tunes, all three of them.

Martin

Thanks, Martin!

Great to hear from you as always.
Yes, that trio of songs are favorites of mine as well.

From my rough take: Cu ti lu dissi means something along the lines of "Who told you that?"
One can imagine what the speaker is referring to.

It's a temolo lover's dream tune.

Bob's right, John's book is a treasure trove for those of us on the outside listening in.

Mick

[Simon DS]

I remember in the 80’s in the Dolomites the music was very local-area specific. Each valley had it’s dialect and tunes, even certain instruments and you could tell which valley the girls came from by their dresses. Oh yeh!

There were greater (Nationalist) differences nearer the border with Austria, especially in areas after the war where the inhabitants had voted to be in one country or the other. I lived in one place where they were bi- or tri-lingual and they’d get furious if anyone played ‘Italian’ music.

There was a certain amount of migration too. A bit like Carolan’s music in Ireland.