Italian music

[JeffD]

I don’t exactly know a better section for this post, it is European Folk I guess.

I want to relate an interesting happening. I was coming back from a jam, stopping for dinner with family at an Italian restaurant, and because I really hate to leave my mandolin in the trunk I brought it in with me.

The maitre d' seated us and then asked about the instrument and we talked briefly. Turns out he sings Italian popular favorites. And boy does he. He sang a few lines for us, and everyone for three tables around dropped their jaws. Just an amazing voice, of the kind one rarely gets to hear in person.

Well to cut to the chase, he and I are going to gig together at some of the local Italian restaurants. I am not in the slightest Italian, and I have never played Italian music before (kind of an obvious thing to overlook seeing as I have been playing the mandolin now for three decades).

I got some sheet music for the two tunes we are going to work on, Torna A Surriento, and Mattinata. There seems to be an endless supply of tune books and sheet music for Italian music, much like Irish music. Its just that I never saw it all before I started looking for it. Then for the phrasing I went to my CD collection, and found two CDs by Butch Baldassari, his Mandolin Tribute to Andrea Bocelli, and his Romance in Venice, a collection of Italian love songs. Butch’s playing on these CDs is particularly lovely. I think he has one of the most liquid and natural tremolos of any mandolin player.

I have been tirelessly “playing along with Butch”, to the point where the rest of the household is entertaining themselves making up goofy lyrics to my music, trying to irritate me back.

Wish me luck - next week we start. I will post here how it goes. This will blow my diet for sure, as I will be playing for my supper, and intend to sample the penne arrabiata everywhere I play.

And a hearty thank you to Butch. Get well soon, I may need some help with this music.


Does anyone else here routinely play any of the popular Italian songs and arias? Have any of you done a restaurant gig before?

[mandolirius]

I have done some Italian stuff, popular things like Santa Lucia, O Sole Mio, Funiculi-Funicula, Sicilian Tarantella, along with some swing tunes, Gypsy pieces, Russian and Klezmer. It's challenging stuff, at least for me, because I normally don't use a lot of tremolo and this stuff is requires a lot of it. But it's fun and gigging in an Italian restaurant is big time fun, for me. I'm also not the least bit Italian, but I love the food, music and culture. Have fun and go easy on the vino (at least until after the gig).

[Plamen Ivanov]

Hi Jeff,

We (my guitar colleague and i) play this kind of music. Click on the link below for some samples. We have more than 60 Italian pieces in our repertoire. We started playing in a Pizza-restaurant some 9 years ago and we were playing in other restaurants and lobby bars till the last summer. After playing some tunes more than 1000 times it's getting a little bit boring, but we like that kind of music nevertheless.

There are a lot of CDs with traditional Italian music. I don't have them in front of me right now, but you will find everywhere CDs like "Mandolins from Italy", "Bella Italia", "Italian Mandolin", etc. Don't buy more than 5-6 from those. You will realize that they are all the same more or less - some of them are better others not so good, but they all will serve your purpose. There are some old topics in the same section, you might look for.

This kind of music is always very good received by the audience! So, enjoy your new music journey!

Good luck!
Plamen

[Got8Strings]

I LOVE doing restaurant gigs. Last year I did a marathon 5 hour gig on Mother's day

I have a couple pieces that work well with audience participation - having people snap their fingers, clap their hands, or use little shakers that I provide or even tapping on their water glasses with a spoon - to provide a simple percussion accompaniment. People really enjoy participating, especially getting their kids involved (parents LOVE seeing their kid perform in public like that).

Good luck - and please share your own experiences with us

[JeffD]

The fun thing is that Italian song is not something I have ever played before. Its exciting to emerse myself in yet a new genre of music. And this in public, I don't have much time to piddle around with it.

[JeffD]

We (my guitar colleague and i) play this kind of music.

This kind of music is always very good received by the audience!

It is really beautiful music. Perhaps some of it is kind of overly dramatic, (especially with the singer I am playing with whew!) but the tunes themselves are delightful as tunes. Very smooth and flowing. Legato. No attempt at showing off.

From listening to the CDs I like the idea that the virtuosity is in how beautiful you can make the sound, not how many notes you can jam into a second.

[billkilpatrick]

jeff - don't know if you're one of those who are chained to notation (i'm far from it) but here are a couple of lovely pieces played on guitar. one of the boons of this music is that you can simply surrender to the sweet, melodic confines of the tune without having to (as you say) jam in the notes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osNRKvVjrgY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo4V3bOPUkY

... "blndgtst" (blind guitarist?) is a real treat.

(added later) he also shows what a gift lennon and mccartney are.

[Jonathan Peck]

Great story. You're going to have a blast....hey, now you have to get a bowlback a pair of nickers and a beret:D

[Jim Garber]

Matteo Casserino

Some Italian tunes

[John Kasley]

I think you are probably referring to music from the "ballo liscio" tradition. While strictly speaking, this is not folk music, many tunes that folks think of as "Italian folk music" are from this repertoire.
For some inspiration/sources:
The Hot Frittatas from Santa Rosa, CA http://www.hotfrittatas.com/ David Garelick (mandolin and fiddle) has been playing this music for decades in the SF Bay Area.
Tony Flores recorded a CD accompanied by Paul Hostetter (a frequenter of this board). Although the CD is out of print you may be able to get one by contacting Paul directly
http://www.lutherie.net/luthlinks.html#music
The late Mateo Casserino of San Francisco, who inspired many around the Bay Area, recorded a vinyl album "Silent Fountain", mp3's are available here: http://www.brucezweig.com/music/matteo/
Sherry Mignano of San Francisco collect many of the Italian tunes played by San Francisco's Italian musicians in a book available here: http://www.zighibaci.com/
Music from the above sources will be more "authentic" than the usual "101 mandolins" type of album you may run across.

BTW, David Garelick plays one of the best sounding Gibson A-50's I've ever heard. Tony Flores and Matteo Casserino both played A-style mandolins.
Good luck!

[billkilpatrick]

these guys are tremendous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaUPr...eature=related

[Gary S]

I know very little about Italian music though I do play an old time tune called "Italian Waltz" I learned this from the recording of a North Carolina fiddler named Lauchlin Shaw. I always assumed it was an adaptation of a traditional Italian tune. So for what it is worth, here is a link to me giving it a try...Gary
http://youtube.com/watch?v=T4kXaX9zY_c

[Martin Jonas]

We play loads of this music with our ensemble, and in addition to decades-old arrangements we've taken from local mandolin orchestras, we've recently added quite a few from old scans obtained from various online sources and Cafe friends, as well as from Sheri Mignano's invaluable tunebook. Great fun, really! We played at the opening of an Italian deli in Liverpool last year, and have just been booked for a wedding (at just about the grandest wedding venue in the area) because the couple happened to walk past the deli when we played there and thought "that's exactly what we need for our Italian-themed wedding".

Indidentally, I've recently stumbled upon a wonderful album at this blog. There's a download link as well -- no doubt unauthorised, but the album isn't easy to find any other way online for legitimate purchase. Maybe Bill can get it in Italy? No mandolins on this one, but the arrangements are wonderfully lively and inspiring.

Martin

[brunello97]

Really great stuff, Martin. Thanks for posting the link.

It does feel awkward not paying for such great music. There used to be a shop near Savignyplatz in Berlin called Canzone, that had an amazing Euroroots music catalog. They've closed and moved online-I think they still operate out of Berlin- and have connections to very obscure recordings. I've ordered some things from them but have lost their link (and new name!) in a hd crash. If you or anyone can recall these folks, perhaps they can track it down. Nice people as well.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

Incidentally, I've recently stumpled upon a wonderful album at this blog.

Hmmmm... I seem to be getting a server error. I will try again later.

[mandocrucian]

If you want to get byond the usual Mob Hits stuff or the "Finculi/O Sole Mio...." compilations

Some folks think that Irish music is defined by "Celtic Woman", "Riverdance" and "The Chieftains" (or whatever PBS runs during fundraisers), but if you're into it, you could list 100 bands/artist. (Real) Italian folk stuff is the same. (In fact, everywhere is similar in that respect, if you take the trouble to start digging.)

Rough Guide To The Music of Italy The Rough Guide CDs are a pretty good place to start listening if you're completely in the dark to the genre/country/etc.

some stuff in my collection:
Baraban - Naquane
La Piazza - Milandé
Campagnia Strumental Tre Violini - Matuzine (fiddle music from northern Italy)

More than enough to keep you broke ordering from overseas...
Italian Folk Groups That's just one page...hit the various regions links at the top of page for much more.

Niles H

[billkilpatrick]

We play loads of this music with our ensemble, and in addition to decades-old arrangements we've taken from local mandolin orchestras, we've recently added quite a few from old scans obtained from various online sources and Cafe friends, as well as from Sheri Mignano's invaluable tunebook. Great fun, really! We played at the opening of an Italian deli in Liverpool last year, and have just been booked for a wedding (at just about the grandest wedding venue in the area) because the couple happened to walk past the deli when we played there and thought "that's exactly what we need for our Italian-themed wedding".

Indidentally, I've recently stumbled upon a wonderful album at this blog. There's a download link as well -- no doubt unauthorised, but the album isn't easy to find any other way online for legitimate purchase. Maybe Bill can get it in Italy? No mandolins on this one, but the arrangements are wonderfully lively and inspiring.

Martin

tantalizing stuff ... unfortunately, i can't download the recordings.

[mandopops]

The Italian Mandolin is a blast from my past.Many moons ago, when I was gigging regularly around Chicago,I was doing loads of Italian gigs.Restaurants,private parties,outside fests etc...I played w/a couple of groups.One was a sit-down off the sheet music, the other was a strolling thing,obviously memorized parts.
The group would vary in size depending on the $$-,trios(2mandos w/guitar,Quartet(add Bass) or quintet(add mandola).We were usually well fed on top of getting paid.The tunes (often other non-Italian tunes like old standards were included) would be the usual neopoliton songs along w/ Opera selections & Mazurkas,Polkas,Tangos,& Tarentellas.I,when I was living in New York City I & a concertina player ,when short on cash,would go thru the restaurants in Little Italy &"Pass the Hat". All this was fun for me,after all I am half Italian.Footnote:The 1st Italian tune I learned, Jethro taught me "Sorrento".I still have the music for this stuff & I like playing it.This is good work-out for tremolo.I think the older style is looked down upon,but I like it.I was a student of Giovanni Vicari when in I lived in NYC & that helped me appreciate the Italian & Classical schools of Mandolin playing.Ciao!

[brunello97]

Wow, Niles, what an amazing resource. Thanks for posting that. This will take weeks to go through if not more. Really fantastic.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

I was a student of Giovanni Vicari when in I lived in NYC & that helped me appreciate the Italian & Classical schools of Mandolin playing.Ciao!

Wonderful, Pops! tell us more about GV. I have two of his old LPs and play one tune I learned from it on my myspace page. A few of the older folks from the New York Mandolin Orchestra took some lessons from him years ago. That is all i ever heard of him -- that and his Spanish persona on some recordings, Juan Vicari.

[Jim Garber]

I finally got one part of that Italian music blog to download and lo and behold I found a tune called Dondolando that is pretty much the same as Sogne di Bimba that I learned from my Giovanni Vicari LP. Interesting tunes on that CD.

[JeffD]

I need some specific help on this. I can play the melodies without much problem, at least of the two I am working on, and I am coming along on the phrasing. But what I need to do is come up with an appropriate accompaniment to the singing. Something that fits in, but does not compete with the melody line.

I am used to: chords back up melody. But here I need something more. I need to figure out a counter melody I guess, or just know what notes to hold and where. I have tried to emulate the accordion part of some of the CDs I have, but I think I really need to write out a harmony or supportive part, and then learn it. But I really don't have the music theory or enough experience with the genre to do this.

Besides putting in 20 years with this music and developing an intuition, what can I do? Is there any of you who have a talent for this that would be willing, perhaps to help out. Feel free to PM me, or keep it in the thread if it is of general interest.

[mandopops]

To Jeffd about back-up parts.If you have a couple tunes in mind, I might have 2nd mando parts I could dig out to give you a couple of suggestions.Usually the 2nd parts are not note for note harmony parts,but can be fills or counter melodies.Playing chords is not out of line,I just think the big CHOP CHOP is well "idiomaticly incorrect".An easy 2-3 strum on a waltz is fine, in general just a double stop will suffice.Or just simple arpeggios will sound great.You can play lines in between phrases that lead to the next chord or note, then when the vocalist is to hit the note you hit the harmony.Also,on a tune like "Sorrento" you can do a answer line,singer sings a line-mando repeats it.Does this makes sense?Anyway,if you have a couple of tunes in mind I'll see what I've got.
To jgarber,let me put some thoughts together on Mr.Vicari & I'll respond.He was an astounding player & gentleman & I was quite fond of him.

[billkilpatrick]

I need some specific help on this. I can play the melodies without much problem, at least of the two I am working on, and I am coming along on the phrasing. But what I need to do is come up with an appropriate accompaniment to the singing. Something that fits in, but does not compete with the melody line.

I am used to: chords back up melody. But here I need something more. I need to figure out a counter melody I guess, or just know what notes to hold and where. I have tried to emulate the accordion part of some of the CDs I have, but I think I really need to write out a harmony or supportive part, and then learn it. But I really don't have the music theory or enough experience with the genre to do this.

Besides putting in 20 years with this music and developing an intuition, what can I do? Is there any of you who have a talent for this that would be willing, perhaps to help out. Feel free to PM me, or keep it in the thread if it is of general interest.

jeff - i had (have) a similar problem while singing and playing oud. this might not sound as good in the treble register but on the oud, what i did was simply play tremolo on one or two bass notes while singing. finding the right balance when performing solo is just as difficult as between two players.

on really complicated vocal pieces i sometimes stop playing altogether.

[mandolirius]

Does anyone play "Romance D'Amour"? I recently learned it off the Howard Frye recording "Gypsy Mandolin". The chords are proving to be a bit of a problem. I can hear several possibilities and went looking for a chart online but couldn't find anything. If anyone has a chart I'd appreciate a look at it. Thanks.