This is the way we play this famous Neapolitan song with our mandolin group -- I am not sure who arranged it for us, but I suspect it was the late (and much missed) Tony Judge. I am using a "quartetto romantico" line-up, i.e. a quartet of two mandolins, mandola in G and guitar (tenor guitar in my case). Played on a vintage Italian bowlback mandolin, made in Naples in the golden age of Neapolitan song. I posted a PDF scan of our arrangement on the Cafe a few years ago (link). 1890s Umberto Ceccherini mandolin (x2) Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin (mandola in G) Vintage Viaten tenor guitar Martin
Nice playing Martin !
Great arrangement and performance on this one Martin. The bowlback really cuts through here.
Nice one Martin, reminds me of surfing for some reason, maybe it’s the bowl back. Well done.
Nice arrangement and playing on your Golden age bowlback Martin! I recorded a simple version of this song four years ago. Must have been on my first bowlback, a Suzuki that I bought used. For accompaniment purposes, I strummed an ukulele. Somewhere in the future, I want to record a more elaborate version...
Great playing of a complex arrangement, Martin. Nice playing on your Suzuki, Christian.
Nice version, Christian. Interesting blend of the uke and mandolin; they sound good together. I realised, listening to your and Martin's versions, that the refrain that appears in notation around the 50 second mark on your video is the tune used in an old English Music Hall comic song entitled Two Lovely Black Eyes! It was written by a performer called Charles Coborn. The lyrics include: "Two Lovely black eyes/Oh, what a surprise/and only for telling a man he was wrong/I got two lovely black eyes!" Come now, altogether let's hear you all.
Two very good performances reminding us of the versatility of the mandolin! The tremolo skills in both videos are impressive.
Fine playing Christian, nice how the instruments weave together.
Thanks, all! Very nice playing, Christian, I like the focus on the pure melody of the song. Martin
And here's a version with guitar backup:
Beautiful version in your accomplished mandolin & guitar style, Christian. Promise fulfilled.
Beautiful
Fine variation on your original posting, Christian, and I still hear Two Lovely Black Eyes even more clearly in this latest version. You are making very fine recordings, with good balance between instruments.
Lovely, Christian…unfortunately, when I read John Ks comments about Two Lovely Black Eyes I wasn’t able get that tune out of my head !
Really good, Christian, but I am also humming Two Lovely Black Eyes. (I assume the non-British round here must think we are nuts.)