Sunset Over Ayr

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  1. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    This is a Scottish slow air in waltz time, usually listed as "traditional" although there is a suggestion that it may have been written by Bryan Bonnett of the Ranters Dance Band in the early 1960s. It's a beautiful tune.

    My recording is based on an arrangement for contra dance band by our member Evelyn (harper). I'm swapping the voices a bit, starting out playing the tune on octave mandolin with mandolin harmonies. Tenor guitar and mandocello backing comes in when I get to the B part, with OM and mandolin swapping around for the repeat.

    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin
    1921 Gibson Ajr mandolin
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Ozark tenor guitar

    The pictures are evenly split between Ayr in Scotland and the Point Of Ayr lighthouse on Talacre Beach, which marks the northernmost point of mainland Wales -- chosen mainly because it's my nearest beach, about 15 miles from where I live.

    [MP3=1]http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=119239&d=1400108789[/MP3]



    Martin
  2. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Lovely tune and a fine arrangement, Martin. Well up to your usual high standard. Have you posted the score anywhere for those of us who might wish to pursue this one?
  3. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Hi John -- thanks for the comment. I really like the tune. There are a few online versions with melody and chord symbols out there (e.g. Link1, Link2). The arrangement I have played was sent to me by Evelyn directly -- drop her a PM here at the Cafe if you're interested in the score.

    Martin
  4. harper
    harper
    I would be happy to send the score to whomever is interested. Glad you like it.

    Regards,
    Evelyn
  5. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Thanks Martin. Have also sent pm to Evelyn requesting her arrangement.
  6. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Here is another one of my lockdown retakes of tunes from the regular repertoire for our weekly practice group/jam. This is one of Evelyn's loveliest arrangements, and playing it is always joyous.

    1921 Gibson Ajr mandolin (x2)
    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin
  7. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    I printed the scores from your links Martin - what a glorious song it is..I look forward to playing it.
  8. Jairo Ramos
    Jairo Ramos
    the only thing that can be said is that it is beautiful ...
  9. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Lovely. Very well played, Martin.
  10. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Really nice indeed, even better than the first version, which was already very good.
  11. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Arriving late at the feast this time round. Here is my arrangement of this lovely tune, played on octave mandolin, mandolin and guitar. Recorded as usual via REAPER into my laptop (which still runs on Windows XP though no longer with any internet access).

  12. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    Very nice John.
  13. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    That’s a lovely arrangement of the tune. And you play it with such a warm feeling, John.
  14. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    Lovely arrangements, Martin and John. This tune seems to resemble the character of Paul McCartney's Mull of Kintyre (or the other way round, chronologically).
  15. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    That's very nice playing and arrangement, John -- it sounds quite different without tremolo.

    Bertram: the funny thing is that the Mull Of Kintyre is due west of Ayr, and visible from Ayr Beach, meaning that the sunset as seen from Ayr will be over the Mull Of Kintyre. Quite some coincidence...

    Martin
  16. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Thank you, all. It is an enjoyable tune to play and lends itself to lots of different arrangements and instrumentation. Thanks for revisiting the tune, Martin. You are certainly on a roll just now with your playing and posting.
  17. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, John. I'm really only recording on the weekends at the moment as I'm quite busy with work. However, these are all revisited tunes from our regular repertoire, so I don't have to learn them in the first place. The original recordings from many years ago were basically sight-read as and when I was trying out potential pieces before sharing them with the group (one of the reasons why I'm doing these recordings in the first place), so most of these recordings were done on the very day when I first tried to play the piece. The new retakes benefit musically from being played free-hand without click track, and from years of practicing them more or less regularly with the group.

    Martin
  18. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison

    Sunset Over Ayr. Thanks to Martin and John who inspired me to play do this tune, which got stuck in my head until I just had to play it. The paintings are all done by Scottish artists with permission to use, and I had so many it hurt to have to remove some to fit in the time allowed. Mandolin by me, back track by Emory Lester.
  19. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Four lovely versions of ths Scottish air!
  20. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Very fine version, Ginny, and a lot of Scotland covered in your selection of pictures, from Highlands to lowland Ayrshire.
  21. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Beautiful stuff, Ginny. It sounds so much like Emory Lester! Did you record this in his studio? Remarkable acoustics, anyway.
  22. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    Thanks Dennis And John. And CC.
  23. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Very nice, Ginny. The way you play the tune in combination with the very distinctive rhythm of Emory's accompaniment gives quite a different feel to the tune from Evelyn's arrangement that we use. I like it!

    Martin
  24. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Beautiful version by Ginny and Emory.
  25. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Strange, I missed all these.
    Lovely tune thanks Martin, John and Ginny.
  26. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    Beautifully clear and solid Ginny.
    Would you share the names of some of those artists with us?
  27. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    Thank you. I'd love to share the artists names- I'd also like to have some of these in my house. However, my husband asks me to delete all my storage of photos after the video has been posted due to storage concerns - which mean nothing to me - but for each video sometime I have approx 50 pictures and don't use them all but I still have them stored..so perhaps he has a point. The pixs were in a filter labeled 'permission to re-use'.
    Currently, I am 'lying in fallow, an artistic condition that often precedes a period of great creativity. "
    I thought that quote was much more poetic than - I'm in a rut !
    I will work on it. Thank you for your comments here and on my page. I do appreciate them !
  28. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Great paintings Ginny.

    Really Bertram, the questions you ask!
    -who cares who painted the darn things? The question is how much dosh did the present owners get for it.
    Actually on second thoughts, thanks Bertram, I’m going to have a go at this for my next vid.
    You guys can listen to me play octave in the forest while you watch paintings by perhaps poor artists who perhaps live in a forest.

    Oh, Ginny, one way to get the names of artists on your vid would be to use Smartify or Magnus. You simply photograph a painting in the vid and the app tells you who painted it. Then just make a list with timestamp in details under the vid. The other thing is that 50 photos at 3 megs each is only bout 150 megs. It’s vids that take up a lot of space.
  29. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    My wife suggested I learn this tune after hearing John's beautiful recording. So here's a musical and visual greeting to all the families affected by this crazy part of world history. Better times will come.



    The instruments are my Fylde Touchstone Walnut mandolin ("Elodie"), a Blue Moon octave mandola ("Esclarmonde"), and a Clarke tin whistle.
  30. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Left a comment on your YT.
    I’ve been waiting (probably with Ginny) for five minutes for you to post this Dennis.

    -best yet Dude!
  31. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Your wife's suggestion was certainly a good one, Dennis. You have a very fine performance here, and your visual content is really evocative too.
  32. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Wunderschön! Thanks , Dennis, for your beautiful version.
  33. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Lovely, Dennis. We've always played the tune with tremolo on the sustained notes, but it certainly sounds very nice with natural sustain as in your and John's recordings.

    Martin
  34. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Sorry to see the animals having such a hard time there Dennis.
    Here are some animals who are fighting back!
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...lin-teufelssee
  35. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    I quite enjoyed that Dennis. A variety of visuals, I like your garden and Adrian's picture and the shadows at the end. All sweet and played with heart and nice instruments, who have names like mine..is Clark the whistle's name? Cuz that would be cool.
  36. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    I agree with every one's comments, wonderful playing of a very catchy tune indeed.
  37. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Many thanks, everyone. I enjoyed learning and playing this tune.

    Clarke is the brand name of those whistles, but it would be a good name for the whistle itself!
  38. Brian560
    Brian560
    Very enjoyable presentation Dennis. The tin whistle was a pleasant surprise
  39. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    Dennis' whistle playing inspired me to give this one a go, but I resurrected my flute instead of the whistle. Played on my GDAE tenor guitar, English concertina, a Martin 00028K and an Azumi Altus flute. I can't get this tune out of my head.

  40. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    All beautiful. David your flute really adds to the feel of this..loving it.
  41. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Beautiful David, the flute sounds great too.
  42. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Wonderfully beautiful, David! The warm tone of the tenor guitar and of the alto flute go so well together. Thank you.
  43. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    David, you've done it again! I can see what you mean about the earworm quality. It's an easy tune to learn because it sticks in your head. Super nice playing!
  44. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Great choice of instruments, David, and a lovely delivery. Super pictures which suggest a Scottish west coast sunset so well.
  45. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Very nice, David -- it's always a thrill when the instrumentation changes on the repeat to take it up a level. Must learn either flute or concertina...

    Martin
  46. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    During a family visit we had the rare (and short) possibility to play and record some music together. I draw a sheet music of this slow air out of my to-do pile.
    After the first play through Jörg discovered the possibility of using the first beats of a well-known minuet by J. S. Bach to accompany this lovely melody. Great idea and well done, Jörg.

  47. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Great to see your family group performance, Frithjof! Don't you feel scared hemmed in between all these guitars?

    Martin
  48. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Well... Frithjof has a lovely family! How can that be?

    Many thanks Frithjof, wonderful performance of this tune. It would be nice to see more.
  49. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Martin - Not a bit! I feel very cozy. This is the whole family of my brother-in-law all playing on the whole family of my own guitars.
    Simon - thanks. ... but you can't see my lovly family.
  50. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    You have a very musical family, Frithjof! That must have been a lot of fun, and you sound great.
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