PENTAGRAMMA E TABLATURE - STANDARD NOTATION and TABLATURE

RENBOURN JOHN, COMPLETE ANTHOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE MUSIC FOR GUITAR. SHEET MUSIC BOOK WITH CD & GUITAR TABLATURE .

LIBRO DI MUSICA MEDIEVALE E RINASCIMENTALE CON CD .

SPARTITI PER CHITARRA CON TABLATURE . 

Product Description:
A collection of 28 fingerstyle guitar solos and duets by fingerstyle guitarist John Renbourn. These solos are drawn from Medieval and Renaissance lute dance tunes and solos. All solos are in notation and tablature. The online audio contains 17 of the solos from the book. 176 PAGES

The title of this collection - Mel Bay's Complete Anthology of Medieval and Renaissance Music for the Guitar - may be somewhat misleading. The guitar as we know it, with six single strings, did not emerge until the end of the eighteenth century, so, strictly speaking I suppose, there really isn't any music specifically for the instrument before that time. Also, of course, the body of early music is vast and this volume contains only a small number of selected pieces. However, for some time now I have periodically made transcriptions of early pieces mainly for my own enjoyment and, since virtually all of these are contained here, in effect this book represents the "complete collection" of my medieval and Renaissance arrangements. My own interest in early music runs parallel to my interest in western folk music. It was, and still is, intriguing to consider the characteristics that are common in both - the same old modal framework and the recurrence of particular note groupings, as well as strong metric and rhythmic similarities. I discovered that even whole pieces, thought to exist only in manuscript, occasionally cropped up remarkably intact in current folk playing, and instruments long assumed silent were found to be still sounding in remote areas of Europe. At some point I began trying out the application of one approach to the other, by taking a medieval dance tune and treating it as I would a jig or reel, or drawing on contrapuntal practice in making arrangements of folk songs. After a while I found myself with arrangements of a variety of pieces from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These were ones that appealed to me for their inherent musical characteristics, not simply because they were old and venerable. Quite often the attraction lay in the use of scale or mode - the arresting rise to the minor seventh at the opening of "Lamento di Tristan" for example, or the freshness of the major mode in "Stantipes" and "English Dance," that must at the time have had a heady effect. Or again, in contrast to these, the almost bizarre melodic content of "Der Judentanz." Others I liked largely for their phrasing and rhythmic makeup - the sneaky additive measures of the second "Saltarello" which contributes so much to the construction of the piece, and the underlying patterns of "Trotto," asymmetrical yet still eminently danceable. Then there were the developing concepts of early part-writing, the great period of Guillaume de Machaut, whose three-part canonic ballade maintains a spacious sense of modality while employing almost an entire chromatic scale, and later the schools of Renaissance counterpoint with works by Byrd and Dowland, both of whom made settings of popular tunes that have endured in the folk tradition. Pieces of this type are all included here, not as dry examples of period style but because each one has its own particular magic. As to the o~iginal instrumentation of the pieces, the earlier dance tunes would probably have been played--on whatever came to hand; blown, plucked or bowed. A number of the arrangements, though, are specificallyfor plucked instruments, such as the gittern, vihuela, bandora and lute. Others are keyboard pieces and even reductions of consort settings. I like to play them on the steel-string guitar. Metal-strung instruments have a long pedigree, going back to the medieval harp, and include the bandora, orpharion and cittern. I find that the balance and sustain of steel strings can be effective both for the dance tunes and for the more intricate contrapuntal pieces. This is not meant to deter the classical guitarist, who is probably already aware of at least some of the pieces, but rather to put forward the steel-string as being well-suited to music of this type~ The nylon-strung guitar has already inherited a good deal from the lute and vihuela repertoire but nearly all of the other arrangements here should work equally well.  

10. Se lo M'Accorgo

The authorship of this attractive Renaissance ltalian Iute piece is uncertain. It has been tentatively Iinked to the Fiorentine composer Vincenzo Galilei, father of the astronomer Galileo. The old Fiorentine language is certainly used for the title which can be translated as "Had I But Known." The piece opens on the subdominant before finally settling on the home key and bears comparison with "The Irish Ho-Hoane" in this respeet. The descending imitative passages in the second part seem to reflect the title and transfer well onto the guitar.

Recording:

Davey Graham, The Complete Guitarist

Kicking Mule SNKF 138.

11& 12. Bransle qay and Bransle de Bourgogne

These are both from the Donseries of Claude Gervaise, comprehensive collectiQ.ns of dance tunes set in four and fìve parts published in the mfèl-fifteen hundreds. Frequendy drawing on folk material, Gervaise produced working arrangements for the enaissance band which are often catehy as well as practical. the bransle was, I believe, a French country dance originally - taking its name from "branler" meaning to gyrate. The dance enjoyed widespread popularity, catehing on in England where it became known as the "brawl" and continuing as a firm favorite in Scotland. Many of the pieces in the Danseries are still colored by the old modes - "Bransle Gay," in section one. has a mixolydian feel before settling on d-dorian. "Bransle de Bourgogne" begins squarely in D major but shifts to e-dorian after eight barS. This piece too has some subtle touches - the attractive figure at measures thirteen and fourteen, for example, and the choice of E minor for the final dose rather than a retum te D major. Recordings:

Medievol ond Renaissance Music for the lrish and Medieval

Horps - VièJe,Recorders ond Tombourin.

Tumabout TV430 19S. John Renbourn, The Lady ond the UnicornoShanachie 97022.

13. The lrish Ho-Hoane

One of a number of attractive short anonymous keyboard pieces in the Fitzwilliom Virginal book. "Ho-Hoane" is evidently a variation of "Och-One," the Irish lament for the dead. The arrangement is rather plain but works well that way. However, there is certainly room for melodie ornamentation on the repeats.

14. Bandora lullaby

The bandora, together with the orpharion, were metalstrung plucked instruments that shared the solo repertoire of the lute as wel/ as being consort instruments. The larger bandora had seven courses tuned G c d g c'e' a', the top five courses being equivalent to the modern guitar tuning, having the interval of a third between strings two and three. A small amount of specific bandora music has survived. One source is William Barley's New book of Tablature of 1596. This charming piece is by the Elizabethan composer Anthony Holborne. I have had to alter a few notes here and there to suit the guitar. The originai can be found in The Complete Works ofAnthony Holbome - Music for Lute ond Bandoro. (Harvard Publications in Music.)

15. Pavanne d'Espagne

This piece, known in England as the "Spanish Pavin," enjoyed immense popularity throughout the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and James I. Brisker in tempo, its more ornate dance steps set it apart from the conventional stately pavan. The setting here is by French lutenist Nicholas Vailet, from Le Secret Des Muses, Book Il, 1616. I have been tempted to include three pieces by Val/et. The part writing is sparse but with strong c1ear Iines which transpose well onto the guitar. By using the tuning C G c g c' f, which extends the normal range of the guitar by a fourth, it is possible to duplicate the Iute para and retaitl the distinction between bass and treble. Other settings for the Iute are included in William Ballet's Lute Book and Thomas Robinson's Schoole of Musidce. An arrangement for keyboard by Dr. John Bull is te be found in the Frtzwilliom Virginal book.

16. Bouree I and Bouree "

Aiso from Nieholas Val/et's Le Secret Oes Muses, Book Il, a colleetion of popular songs and dance tunes arranged for solo Iute. 80th these pieces appeared earlier in the Terpsichore of Michael Praeterius and later, as variants, in Playford's The English Dandng Master.

Recordings:

Eugene M. Dombois, Iute, Michoel Proetorius

Terpsichore 1612. EMI C063-3Q-117.

James Tyler, Music ofthe Renaissance Virtuoso. Saga 5438.

John Renbourn, The B1ack Balloon. Shanachie 97009.

17. Mal Sirns

This piece has come down to us in a number of settings. It seems likely to have been a popular song and was known as the "English Echo" presumably from the imitative passages or chorus. Nicholas Val/et included a "Malsimmes, Bai Anglais" for solo Iute in Le Secret Oes Muses, Book " 1615, and yet another version in his second col/ection. There is also a keyboard setting by Giles Farnaby in the Fitzwilliom Virginal Book.

18. The Earle of Salisbury

The stately pavan was the most enduring of the court dances. The name is said to derive from "Padoana," the ancient dance of Padua, and the earliest noted version is from the beginning of the fifteen hundreds. This fine keyboard pavan is by one of· the outstanding English composers of the sixteenth century, William Byrd. Byrd included the piece in his colleetion Porthenio published in 161 l, the title page of which bears the inscription "the fìrst musicke that was ever printed for the virginalls." In spite of some necessary reductions in the outlay of the parts the piece as a whole, I think, transfers successfully onto the guitar.

Recording: John Renbourn, Sir John Alot Shanachie 97021.

19. Courante

Robert Ballard, lutenist to the French court, was a contemporary of Nicholas Vallet. His exceptional arrangements are contained in two· collections of Oiverses Pièces Mises sur le Luth, and include a number of pieces that appeared later in ...

Song Title: Composer/Source:

Alman - John Renbourn
Bandora Lullaby - John Renbourn
Bourree I - Bourree Ii - Nicolas Vallet
Bransle De Bourgogne - Claude Gervaise
Bransle Gay - Claude Gervaise
Courante - Robert Ballard
Fantasia - Alonso Mudarra
Gipsy Dance-Jew's Dance - Hans Neusiedler
Gittern Pavan - John Renbourn
Lachrimae Antiquae - John Dowland
Lamento Di Tristan-Rotta - John Renbourn
Mal Sims - John Renbourn
My Lord Willobie's Welcome Home - John Renbourn
Pavanne D'espagne - Nicolas Vallet
Redford's Meane - John Redford
Saltarello - John Renbourn
Salterello - John Renbourn
Se Lo M'accorgo - John Renbourn
Stantipes - John Renbourn
The Earl Of Salisbury - William Byrd
The English Dance - John Renbourn
The Irish Ho-Hoane - John Renbourn
The Moon Shines Bright - John Renbourn
Toy For Two Lutes - Thomas Robinson
Triple Ballarde - Guillaume De Machaut
Trotto - John Renbourn
Veri Floris - John Renbourn
Westron Wynde

IRISH GUITAR Celtic Guitar Solos, Pat Kirtley. CD TABLATURE

LIBRO PER CHITARRA CON TABLATURE E CD

transcribed by John Roberts & Mark Pritcher  

Product Description:
World traveling fingerstyle guitarist Pat Kirtley presents 17 solo guitar arrangements of traditional Irish tunes including a few original compositions in the same vein by himself, Pierre Bensusan, and Duck Baker. As all of the tunes in this 1997 recording were arranged in altered tunings (DADGAD, EADEAE or DADEAD), each appears in both standard notation and tablature with insightful performance notes. In general, these transcriptions from Pat Kirtley’s 1997 album of the same title are extremely accurate; The Red-Haired Boy, however, played as a duet with Steve Rector on the album - appears as a solo arrangement in this book. Recommended for the intermediate to advanced player, the author provides insightful performance notes for each tune.

Format: Book/CD Set

Song Title: Composer/Source:
Blind Mary Turlough O'Carolan
Chase the Weasel Pat Kirtley
Fannie Power Turlough O'Carolan
Finn MacCool's Reel Pat Kirtley
Lord Mayo Arr. Davey Graham
Moran's Return Arr. Pat Kirtley
Morgan Magan Turlough O'Carolan
Planxty Irwin Turlough O'Carolan
Rodney's Glory Arr. Pat Kirtley
Sergeant Early's Dream Arr. Pat Kirtley
Shi Beg Shi Mhor Arr. Pat Kirtley
The Blarney Pilgrim Arr. Pat Kirtley
The Last Pint Pierre Bensusan
The Pretty Milkmaid Arr. Pat Kirtley
The Rakes of Waterloo Duck Baker
The Red-Haired Boy Arr. Pat Kirtley
The South Wind Arr. Pat Kirtley
Voyage for Ireland Pierre Bensusan

REVIEWS OF PAT KIRTLEY'S IRISH GUITAR
(from the Boston Irish Reporter / January 1998)
Irish Guitar Pat Kirtley / Mainstring Music
That O'Carolan's music continues to remain part of the tradition is evident in the fact that every Irish guitarist's repertoire includes O'Carolan pieces. Pat Kirtley's latest recording is a testament to that as it contains five of the itinerant harper's compositions. Kirtley, the 1995 National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion, has his roots in the music of his native Kentucky and his two previous CD's
highlighted the traditional American musical styles he grew up with.
This wonderful recording, his first foray into Irish music, is all solo acoustic guitar except when joined by Mark Cannon's flute on O'Carolan's Blind Mary and Steve Rector's guitar on the 'Kentuck-ification' of the well known Red-Haired Boy. New compositions like Kirtley's own Finn MacCool's Reel as well as two pieces by French guitarist Pierre Bensusan help to lend balance to the recording which relies heavily on the tried and true Irish guitar repertoire like Si Beag Si Mhor, The South Wind and Fannie Power. It is Kirtley's masterful playing though, which stands out and begs to be listened to. On his lovely first foray into the world of Irish music, Kirtley has produced a winner and a must-have for any fan of Celtic guitar.

(from Dirty Linen Magazine Nov '97 issue)
Pat Kirtley / Irish Guitar
Irish Guitar features 17 instrumentals, mostly traditional, by fingerstyle guitarist Pat Kirtley. Kirtley is firmly rooted in the Pierre Bensusan, John Renbourn, Duck Baker school of playing. The tunes are given an honest airing, never hurried, letting the melody lines develop fully. Even though most of the tunes have been done dozen's of times elsewhere, Kirtley's interpretations shine a fresh light
on them. A joy to listen to and one of the best albums of traditional guitar I've heard.

(from Acoustic Guitar Magazine April '98 issue)
Pat Kirtley / Irish Guitar
Kirtley's nimble and heartfelt renderings of 17 traditional and Irish and Irish-influenced tunes are a delight. The sway of John Renbourn, Duck Baker, and Pierre Bensusan is obvious, yet Kirtley articulates the emotional quality of each piece (the deep melancholy of "The Pretty Milkmaid", the agile gaiety of "Rodney's Glory") according to his own vision and sensitivity. The solo guitar format is nicely augmented on "Blind Mary" by by Mark Cannon on Irish wooden flute, and by guitarist Steve Rector on a spirited "Red Haired Boy". A generous portion of Turlough O'Carolan makes this a potent listening experience.
-Jim Ohlschmidt

(from Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine July/August '97 issue)
Irish Guitar
It's been a couple of years since Pat Kirtley's last CD. His current offering, Irish Guitar, is well worth the wait. This hefty collection of 17 tracks of mostly traditional tunes is ingeniously arranged and brilliantly played by one of the emerging stars of the fingerstyle world. -James Jensen

(from Guitar Magazine December '97 issue) "-Best of 1997-"
PAT KIRTLEY Irish Guitar (Mainstring Music)
Despite having won the National Fingerpicking Championship with his rip-snorting version of "Ghost Riders In The Sky:' Pat Kirtley's fingerpicking forte remains his delicate touch combined with subtle and craft-laden melodic invention. This is exhibited in abundance on his new recording, Irish Guitar, a collection of 17 drop-dead gorgeous arrangements of mostly solo, well-known airs.
dances, and songs from the Celtic side of acoustic guitar repertoire. Each piece is artfully rendered and beautifully recorded, and
Kirtley's arrangements are nonpareil. Witness his version of the chestnut "The Pretty Milkmaid," which, in Kirtley's hands, is transcendent.
-Jon Chappell. Guitar Magazine

PAT KIRTLEY AND IRISH GUITAR
Pat is a gifted performer who blends a rich Southern musical heritage with modern imagination and masterful contemporary technique. As a creator of new acoustic music, Pat has penned a virtual library of fresh, lyrical compositions for guitar. His talents won him the title of US National Fingerstyle Champion in 1995, and his playing has since garnered international praise. His CD Kentucky Guitar was named one of the "Top 59 Acoustic Albums of the Year" by Japan's Player Magazine, and he's been hailed as one of "The Next Generation: Hot New Acoustic Acts for the Millenium" by Acoustic Guitar Magazine. In 1999 Pat was selected as the cover feature of the German Akustik Gitarre magazine, Europe's largest acoustic guitar publication. A recent tour of Japan and China included an appearance as headliner of the Japan National Fingerpicking Day festival in Tokyo. Pat is also known and respected as a guitar educator, traveling thousands of miles each year in the USA and presenting musician workshops internationally for Taylor Guitars, conducting master classes, and producing acclaimed instructional videos.

The 1997 CD Irish Guitar represents Pat's favorite pieces from the world of Irish jigs, reels, airs, and dances. "I've collected these tunes in my head and on guitar for years." says Kirtley. "Traditional Irish music is important, and I wanted to create new arrangements that do justice to these beautiful melodies and rhythms."
Tunes in the collection include a lively, up-tempo Morgan Magan, one of four pieces here by 17th century composer O'Carolan, and a Kirtley composition, Finn MacCool's ReeL,which also appears on a Narada Recordscollection entitled "Dance of the Celts". Earle Hitchner, well-known Celtic music journalist, writing about Finn MacCool's ReeLfor Narada, said "Pat creates a remarkable effect through the largerthan- usual intervals he's written into the melody. These spacious, skillfully etched tones evoke the image of Finn MacCool, an Irish mythological giant whose American counterpart would be Paul Bunyan, stepping across Ireland. It's a quietly impassioned tour de force..." Also in the collection are evocative slow melodies, like Moran'5 Return, Blind Mary, and The Pretty Milkmaid. Kirtley: "These are unforgettable melodies with an indefinable aura of sadness. Much of the traditional Irish music, especially the dance music, has an exuberant, happy energy, but the slow airs move right to the heart with a strength that cannot be expressed in words. It's powerful music."
Irish Guitar is a solo guitar project, without overdubs, with the exception of two duos. Celtic multiinstrumentalist Mark Cannon and award-winning guitarist Steve Rector,join Kirtley for duets on Blind Mar, and a rousing bluegrass-crossover version of The Red-Haired Boy.

PERFORMANCE NOTES FOR IRISH GUITAR
I spent more than five years gathering, learning and arranging these tunes. During that time I listened
to groups like the Bothy Band, the Chieftains, DeDanaan, the Tannahill Weavers, and to individual
musicians like Alisdair Fraser, Tim Britton, Tommy Peoples, Sharon Shannon-fiddlers, pipers, whistle
players, and button accordianists. I paid attention to the elemental guitarists of the genre; Dave Evans,
Davey Graham, Duck Baker, John Renbourn, Pierre Bensusan, and Pat Kilbride. I began attending Irish
sessions" whenever possible, and learned how to join in with the guitar and become part of the sound. I
played gigs with pipers and fiddlers. These experiences became part of the preparation for recording Irish
Guitar.
Some of the arrangements are challenging, and some are relatively easy. They all demand attention to
detail, and a sense of the basic elements of Irish traditional music-melody, ornamentation, and rhythmic
'groove'.
Note: Many of the tunes featured here appear on the videos "Ramble to Cashel" and "The Blarney
Pilgrim" on DVD and VHS from Vestapol Videos (available through Mel Bay). The videos were filmed "for
guitarists" with good shots of the fretboard and hands, and watching them will help in learning these tunes
(as well as show you some other great players in action).

THE TUNES:
Morgan Magan
This is a challenging piece to learn. It should be played at a brisk tempo, which can only be built up
over time, so don't be impatient. The technique includes a few finger stretches (as in measure 4) and a
couple of potentially awkward passages in terms of left hand fingering (for instance, measures 25-27).

The Last Pint
This is a reel by Pierre Bensusan. When I first heard it played on his 1987 album "Spices", I wondered
how anyone could playa tune like that. At first hearing it seemed like a barrage of notes, but I liked it. I
didn't try to play it at first. When I heard Pierre do it in a concert later, he took off way too fast and did a
hyper-speed version of it. Afterward I thought, if he can do it 3x as fast as he originally recorded it, I should
be able to do it 1x as fast! This tune imitates the style of bagpipes, with large melodic leaps and
characteristic ornamentation. The ending run (measure 75) is a "cascading arpeggio" which is played with
the right hand pattern i-p-m (index-thumb-middle) in a repeating pattern.

Blind Mary
A slow, stately melody where every note counts!
Moran's Return
I recorded this tune at capo 3 so it would be in the key of F like the fiddle version I learned it from. It
works fine with no capo (key of D) too.
Finn MacCooI's Reel
The C part (beginning measure 24) was the most difficult for me to learn well, I think mostly because
I was impatient with it. Working on this tune slowly will prove worthwhile.

Lord Mayo
Beautifully arranged in EADEAE by Davey Graham, this is one of the first Irish tunes I ever learned. It
is easy to play, but demands attention to make it flow and to play it expressively.

Rodney's Glory
This one is a real challenge. I use my left hand thumb to fret many of the notes on the 6 th
string. At the beginning of the B part (measure 11), keep a barre across 3 strings at fret 7 with your index finger. Then in the middle of the next measure, you slide the barre down to the 5 th
fret. The rest of the B part is playable but tricky because the melody jumps all over the place and doesn't stick to a standard scale. Just work through it very slowly and don't give up!

Voyage for Ireland
Originally titled in French "Voyage pour L'lrlande", this a beautiful, atmospheric piece written by Pierre Bensusan. It's a good example of how the D minor tonality works in DADGAD. I always hold the F bass note (6 th string 3 rd fret) with my left hand thumb when the melody is on the top string.

The Blarney Pilgrim
The difficulty in playing this arrangement is in the right hand. It is necessary to use the thumb and all three fingers (i-m-a), and there's no repeating right hand pattern to simplify things. Try to work out the fingering so as to avoid getting your fingers in a knot. To memorize this piece and play it fluidly, you'll have to memorize the right hand fingering as well as the left, and work on keeping your thumb thumping away on a muted low D for rhythm.

Shi Beg Shi Mhor
I arranged this piece with the capo on the 4 th fret purely for the harplike tone it affords. The resulting key of F# isn't conducive to ensemble playing of the tune! If you play with others, the natural key is D (no capo).

The Red-Haired Boy
There must be an easier way to play this tune than the leaps and jumps required by the EADEAE
tuning, but it sounded so good that I decided to keep it there. It does offer a distinctive sound, and the melody is clear. I always hold the 6 th string G note (3 rd fret) with my left hand thumb. On the album, I am joined by Steve Rector in a duet, but the arrangement here works fine as a standalone fingerstyle piece.

Fannie Power
The arrangement of this O'Carolan tune is straightforward and uses the technique of playing alternate notes on fretted and open strings for maximum sustain, to get a harplike quality.

Planxty Irwin
This is one of O'Caroian's most beautiful melodies, arranged in the tuning DADEAD. Pay attention to the bass progression in measures 46-49.

The Rakes of Waterloo
Duck Baker originally composed this tune in Drop D tuning, but it also works in DADGAD. The intro is played freely and slowly, and then the tune itself is a jig with a strong rhythmic pulse. Much of the melody is played on the lower strings, and you have to be careful to make the melody come out clearly while thumping away on the bass string. I recorded this tune as a set with Chase the Weasel, and the interlude at the end (measure 42) is the segue between the two. You can also play either one as a standalone.

Chase The Weasel
There is a technique in this tune that is not obvious from the written score. It is a percussive right hand "smack" of the strings where you brush the string or strings with the top side of the fingernail in a downward motion. The first place it appears is halfway through measure 5, the 2 nd
"7" on the top string. If you listen to the recording, you will notice several places where this technique is used instead of the normal upward stroke of the right hand fingers. 

CELTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, FINGERSTYLE GUITAR. TABLATURE

Product Description:
This comprehensive book contains over 100 Celtic tunes arranged for solo fingerstyle guitar. This edition is derived from a collection of nearly 300 arrangements Glenn Weiser has created over the last twenty years. The book is divided into 4 sections: 1) airs, marches and waltzes 2) hornpipes, jigs and reels 3) tunes from the Bunting collection 4) harp tunes of Turlough O'Carolan. All are in either standard or dropped-D tuning, and can be played on either nylon or steel string guitars. All of these melodies are accompanied with brief historical notes. Written in standard notation and tablature. Intermediate in difficulty.

Format: Book
Series: Encyclopedia
192 PAGES
 

Celtic music is as beautiful as it is vast and varied. With their red-blooded pipe marches, tender harp airs, vivacious dance tunes, and lovely songs, few parts of the world can claim such musical wealth as Ireland and Scotland. This music seems endless - French-Canadian fiddler Jean Carignan, for example, is said to have known 7.000 tunes. But of course none of this music was composed for the guitar, and the instrument itself wasn't even played much in Ireland until the 1940's. With the folk boom of the sixties, fingerpickers started to work out arrangements of fiddle tunes. And even though a number of Celtic guitar books have since been published, they represent only a tiny fraction of the traditional repertory. This book contains over one hundred Celtic tunes for solo guitar. It is part of a collection of almost three hundred arrangements I have done over the last twenty years. Two volumes - Folk Songs for Solo Guitar and Celtic Harp Music of Carolan and Others for Solo Guitar - have already appeared; now I can offer guitarists even more. The book is divided into four sections. The first part consists of airs, marches and waltzes. Famous tunes like Londonderry Air, The Parting Glass, and All Through the Night are included, as well as those lesser known but equally worthy. Here you'll find marches where the guitar mimics the bagpipes, plaintive laments for fallen heroes, tunes that are sheer whimsy, and love songs of great beauty and passion. In the second section there are reels, jigs, and hornpipes. For almost two hundred years beginning around 1675, step dancing was the national pastime in Ireland. During this period the fiddle was the dominant instrument, and thousands of dance tunes were composed by anonymous musicians. Traveling dancing masters made their livings teaching new steps wherever they went, and it was not unheard of for a whole village to drop its labors to greet a teacher of the art when he showed up in town. Most of the tunes in this section date from this period. In 1792 it was realized that the Irish harp, which had been the nation's most loved instrument since ancient times, was fast dying out. To collect and preserve what was still left of this music, a gathering of harpers was organized in Belfast to compete for cash prizes. Ten harpers came to the festival, and a young church organist, Edward Bunting, was hired to write down the tunes. Although his work was flawed by his failure to notate the bass parts of the pieces, Bunting did preserve many of the oldest Irish airs. He arranged the material for piano (adding a few questionable accidentals along the way), and in the same year authored the first volume of The Ancient Music Ireland. He later toured Ireland, collecting more music from harpers, singers, and other musicians, and eventually produced two further volumes. Tunes from the Bunting Collection - harp pieces, songs, and a jig - make up the third part. Turlough A' Carolan (1670-1738)was the last of the great Irish harper-composers. Blinded by smallpox at eighteen, he had been given three years of harp lessons and then sent out on the road as an itinerant musician. He soon learned he had a creative gift and would compose tunes for the wealthy patrons who provided him with hospitality in exchange for music. In the mansions of the aristocracy he came to admire Italian Baroque music and attempted to incorporate elements of it into his often remarkable pieces. His music was later collected and his biography written by the Irish scholar Donal O'Sullivan. Over twenty of Carolan's tunes (214 have survived) conclude the book. These arrangements are all in standard tuning or dropped D, which makes them viable for both nylon and steel string guitars. They have also been worked out in the original keys whenever possible so that they may be performed with other instruments used in Celtic music. In writing the bass lines and inner voices I have followed the rules of four-part voice leading because I like the way the tunes sound with simple diatonic harmony. Indeed, I often think of arranging traditional music as being similar to jewelry making - the tune itself is the gem, and the harmonization and the fingering are the setting. Tobe displayed, the stone needs the setting, and the setting in tum must do justice to the stone. I'd like to thank Bill Bay of Mel Bay Publications for bringing out this book, and also John Roberts for engraving the music.  

Contents:

Introduction
Airs, Marches and Waltzes:
All Through the Night
The Atholl Highlanders
The Banks of Inverness
The Battle of Waterloo
Believe Me if All these Endearing Young Charms
The Battle of Aughrim
The Boys of Wexford
Castles in the Air
Childgrove
Cock up your Beaver
Come Under My Plaidie
Dainty Davy
Down by the Sally Gardens
The Earl of Dalhousie's Happy Return
Eileen Aroon (first and second settings)
Flow Gently, Sweet Afton
For Ireland I'd Not Tell Her Name
Hugh O'Neill's Lament
King of the Fairies
The Lark in the Clear Air
The Lass of Patie's Mill
Londonderry Air
Macpherson's Lament
Niel Gow's Lament for His Second Wife
The Old Resting Chair
The Parting Glass
The Piper through the Meadow Straying
Old Ireland, a Long Farewell
Princess Augusta
The Rocks of the Brae
Scottish Farewell
The Shepherd's Wife
The Rose Tree
Hornpipes, Jigs, and Reels:
Hornpipes:
Alexander's Hornpipe
The Brown Coffin
Clark's Hornpipe
Delahanty's Hornpipe
The Fairies' Hornpipe
Molly Halfpenny
The Morpeth Rant
The Quindaro Hornpipe
Jigs:
The Burnt Old Man
Cherish the Ladies
The Connaughtman's Rambles
Father Tom's Wager
The Joy of my Life
The Lark in the Morning
Larry O'Gaff
The Muckin' o' Geordie's Byre
The Mooncoin Jig
Nell Flaherty's Drake
O'Keefe's Slide
Pipe on the Hob
The Rakes of Kildare
The Rock and the Wee Pickle Tow
Swallowtail Jig
The Trip to Sligo
Reels:
The Fairies' Reel
Angus Campell
Cooley's Reel
The Good-Natured Man
Lord Gordon's Reel
Miss Monahan's Reel
The Mullingar Races
Peter Street
Petronella
Pigeon on the Gate
The Pigtown Fling
Scollay's Reel
The Silver Spire
The Star of Munster
The Wise Maid
The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Tunes from the Bunting collection:
The Dawning of the Day
The Foggy Dew (major and minor key versions)
The Gentle Maiden
The Girl I Left Behind Me
Give Me Your Hand
The Joyce's Country Greeting
Saint Patrick's Day
A Soft Mild Morning
Summer is Coming
The Wild Geese
The Coolin

Harp tunes of Turlough O'Carolan:
Thomas Burke
Madam Cole
John Drury (First Air)
Anne MacDermott Roe
Miss MacDermott
Denis O'Conor (Second Air)
Maurice O'Connor (Second Air)
John Kelly
Mary O'Neill
John O'Reilly
Kean O'Hara (Third Air)
Planxty Scott
Captain Sudley
Colonel Palmer
All Alive
Carolan's Cottage
Carolan's Fancy
Planxty O'Carolan
The Two William Davises
The Lament for Terence MacDonough
Ode to Whiskey

Alphabetical Index
About Glenn Weiser