• French and Italian Tunes for Mandolin and Fiddle

    French and Italian Tunes for Mandolin and Fiddle

    CONCORD, N.H. — New England-based mandolin and guitar player David Surette has announced the publication of French and Italian Tunes for Mandolin and Fiddle, set to be released the first weekend of March, at the 18th annual March Mandolin Festival.

    French and Italian Tunes is a collection of music from a variety of sources: medieval and Renaissance dances; bourrees, branles, marches, rigodons, and schottisches from France; jigs, an dros, hanter dros, and larides from Brittany; tarantellas, monferrines, marches, and polkas from Italy; mazurkas, waltzes, and valse musettes from Italy and France; airs, folksongs, and a carol from France and Italy.

    All music is arranged and transcribed in standard notation and mandolin tablature, with chord symbols indicated. The level of the material ranges from simple folk tunes to complex and intricate Italian classics and French valse-musettes, and will provide an enjoyable assortment of tunes, a number of which may be somewhat unfamiliar to many players.

    Selections

    • Bourree from Malicorne
    • Branle des Chevaux
    • Branle Poitevin
    • La Crousado
    • French Bourrees
    • Les Garcons de la Montagne
    • Marche Nuptiale de Berry
    • Rigodons
    • Schottische Catinaux
    • Schottische a Vermoux
    • Cercle Circassien
    • An Dros
    • Hanter Dros
    • Hanter Dros
    • Laridenn
    • Antidotum Tarantulae
    • En Route Pour Naples
    • Giga Emiliana
    • Mauro's Monferrine
    • Monferrine
    • Schiarazula Marazula
    • Tarantella (Calace)
    • Tarantella from Calabria
    • Tarantella Napoletana
    • Trottolina
    • Italian Mazurka
    • La fille du fermier
    • Le Houx Mazurka
    • Mazurka (Cristofaro)
    • Speranze Perdute
    • Tra Veglia e Sonno
    • La Trotteuse
    • Eliz Iza
    • J'ai Vu le Loup
    • Torna a Surriento
    • Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle
    • Vieni Sul Mar

    Ordering: by check made out to David Surette for $17 to POBox 433, South Berwick. ME 03908. For online payments, use Paypal to burkesurette@gmail.com. If you order before March 15, the book will be shipped for free, so you only pay $15. Multiple copies are available at a community pricing: if you play with a group you can do 5 for $60, or 6 for $70, or 7 for $80, etc.

    Additional Information

    Comments 14 Comments
    1. Mandophile's Avatar
      Mandophile -
      is it possible to see a sample of one page? thank you.
    1. David Surette's Avatar
      David Surette -
      hmm
    1. David Surette's Avatar
      David Surette -
      I hope this helps. The pages are only visible when I click on them and open them in preview, and I can't seem to delete this post and start over.
    1. Mandophile's Avatar
      Mandophile -
      the gremlins may still be around from last weekend's attempt to update website?
    1. Mandobar's Avatar
      Mandobar -
      David is a great teacher, and I’ve worked on a couple of these tunes with him in lessons. Lots of good stuff here! Not to be missed.
    1. brunello97's Avatar
      brunello97 -
      I ordered a copy. I've been playing some of these French tunes on my button boxes. Can't get enough.

      The box / bowl duo-teronomy has kept me in smiles for some time now.

      I have a couple work trips over to the Euro-CoronaV-Centro coming up quickly. Maybe it's time for an organetto, David.....

      Mick
    1. Jim Garber's Avatar
      Jim Garber -
      I found a few of the tunes on youtube and they sound very nice so I will take a chance. I love mazurkas, bourees, waltzes and tarantellas.
    1. David Surette's Avatar
      David Surette -
      The advance sales are going in the mail tomorrow!
    1. dulcillini's Avatar
      dulcillini -
      This book just arrived in the mail and I am anxious to work on some of the tunes. I can't think of a better way to work though this national issue: stay close to home and play music! I am going to begin with Vieni Sul Mar.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Got a copy a few days ago. This is a really beautifully published work, and though I can't say I've played through them all, a really great collection of music for those I have.

      If you're planning on supporting working musicians, I can't see how you can do any better than buying a copy of this for yourself which will also help benefit the author--maybe only a bit, but something is better than nothing and I don't know about you, but we can all use something else to think about these days.
    1. David Surette's Avatar
      David Surette -
      Thanks, for the nice comments, Scott. Just wanted to let folks know that there are now recordings of all the tunes available here at Bandcamp: https://davidsurette.bandcamp.com/
      This is an audio companion to the book of the same title, a collection of French & Italian traditional tunes for mandolin and fiddle selected and arranged by me. These are home recordings, designed to present the tunes simply and at a moderate pace, to help players trying to learn them. However, they are also played musically, and contain some additional interpretive elements: occasional droning, double-stops, light ornamentation and slight variations. As such, you may also enjoy listening to them, especially with a fine meal, a tasty beverage, and a charming companion.
    1. ukcarrie's Avatar
      ukcarrie -
      Quote Originally Posted by David Surette View Post
      Thanks, for the nice comments, Scott. Just wanted to let folks know that there are now recordings of all the tunes available here at Bandcamp: https://davidsurette.bandcamp.com/
      This is an audio companion to the book of the same title, a collection of French & Italian traditional tunes for mandolin and fiddle selected and arranged by me. These are home recordings, designed to present the tunes simply and at a moderate pace, to help players trying to learn them. However, they are also played musically, and contain some additional interpretive elements: occasional droning, double-stops, light ornamentation and slight variations. As such, you may also enjoy listening to them, especially with a fine meal, a tasty beverage, and a charming companion.
      Hello David - the recordings are lovely. I wondered if the book is print only or whether you are making it available for download (I live in the UK). Thanks Carrie
    1. David Surette's Avatar
      David Surette -
      Hi Carrie, I am glad you are enjoying the recordings. I had not really planned for the book to be downloadable, but maybe I should reconsider that? Drop me a line at burkesurette@gmail.com, and we can figure out a way to get you what you want!

      David
    1. DavidKOS's Avatar
      DavidKOS -
      My copy arrived and I'm very happy with it. Although I am enjoying it, it is going to be a gift to friends that like French and Italian music.

      The book covers a lot of variety, including 60 tunes from various parts of France (including Breton music) and Italy, and covering a rather large time period with tunes dating back centuries along with more recent material.

      All of it is in both staff and TAB, particularly a few Italian faves (Tra Veglia e Sonno among them) that are not usually seen in TAB. As always I encourage folks to learn to read standard staff notation, but for those who prefer to learn tunes from TAB and by ear, this is a big help and a fine addition to mandolin learning materials.

      It was fun to see tunes like "La Crousado" and "Les Garçons de la Montagne", bourrees I first heard in the early 1980's at Lark Camp, played on vielle-a-roux (hurdy gurdy). I think it is also the first time I've seen them in TAB - which is probably true for many of the other tunes as well.

      The TAB and staff notation is clear and easy to read, and the suggested fingerings favor open strings (where I would play a 7th fret 4th finger note) a for a nice ringing folksy sound. That's appropriate since one of the primary groups this book was intended for are "those who play primarily Celtic or Old-time repertoire" and wish to expand their repertoire.

      I would also mention payment and shipping were easy to deal with. I'd like to offer thanks to David Surette for all the work that was involved in the making of this book.