Friday 30 September 2011

Ecco La Primavera

A late mediaeval two-part song about the arrival of spring, by the blind Italian composer Francesco Landini. Fits two C ocarinas.  Make it sound happy!



Midis of the separate parts so you can play along:


ABC:

X:0
T:Ecco la primavera
Z:Jack Campin, http://www.campin.me.uk
F:http://octunes.blogspot.com
C:Francesco Landini (1325-1397)
M:3/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=144
V:1
V:2
K:ADor
[V:1] e3 d ^c2|d2 cB cA|B2 B2 cB|A2 G G2F|
[V:2] A3 A  A2|G4    A2|E2 E2 C2|D2 E C2D|
%
[V:1] E2 E2 z2|A2 GA GA|B2 c d2 c|B2 B2 z2|e4 c2|
[V:2] E2 E2 z2|A2 G2 F2|E2 E G2 A|B2 B2 z2|A4 A2|
%
[V:1] d2 (3cBA B2|A2 A2 z2 :: A3B ^c2|d2  e d2^c|
[V:2] G2   EF ^G2|A2 A2 z2 :: A3E  E2|D2 G2   F2|
%
[V:1] e2 e d2 e|c4 z2|e2 c2 d2|ed (3cBA B2|A2 A2 z2:|
[V:2] A2  B2 A2|c4 z2|A2 A2 G2|E2   F2 ^G2|A2 A2 z2:|

Dorogoi Dlinnoyu (Those Were the Days)

For most people in the UK, this is a song made popular by Mary Hopkin in 1968.  It's originally a Russian song first recorded in 1925, and still very popular in Russia.






ABC:

X:0
T:Dorogoi Dlinnoyu
T:Those Were the Days
Z:Jack Campin, http://www.campin.me.uk
F:http://octunes.blogspot.com
C:B. Fonin
M:4/4
K:AMin
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100 "Slow"
A2- A/A/B/c/ d2- d/c/B/A/|cA- A6|E2- E/E/F/G/ A2-  A/E/G/F/|D8 |
A2- A/A/B/c/ d2- d/c/B/A/|cA- A6|BB``B```c    B^F`^G```A   |B8||
M:2/2
L:1/4
Q:1/2=100 "Quicker"
z Hc Hc HB|B2 A A|z A A G|G2 F F|z D E F|G3 A|B A G F|E4 |
z  C  D  E|G2 F F|z F G A|d2 c c|z A B c|e3 d|c B A^G|A4|]

Papirossen

This is a Yiddish song by Herman Yablakoff (1903-1981) using a traditional Bulgarian tune.  It was originally a very sad monologue by a homeless boy selling cigarettes on the street, but for a long time it has been performed both as a slow song as and a fast klezmer dance tune (or as a slow song followed by an accelerating dance).  There are many versions of it on YouTube, some of which transform it almost beyond recognition.  Listen to a few, since adding ornamentation to it makes a huge difference, and there are many choices.

Technically this is an exercise for both the low and high E flats on a C ocarina.
MIDI

The ABC for the tune:

X:0
T:Papirossen
Z:Jack Campin, http://www.campin.me.uk
F:http://octunes.blogspot.com
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=80
K:CMin
    zC|CEEG Gccd | eedc G3z |eddc   cBBA |   AGGF F3F|
       FGGd dcc=B|=BAAG GFFE|EFFE   GFED |[1 E6     :|\
                                          [2 C4     ||
|:zGcd|e3d  edc=B|c2 G6     |c=Bc=B c_BAG|   GA F6   |
       FGGd dcc=B|=BAAG GFFE|EFFE   GFED |[1 E4     :|\
                                          [2 C6     |]

Tuesday 27 September 2011

St Columba's Homesailing Prayer and Alleluia

This comes from a manuscript by the harpist Jean Campbell in the National Library of Scotland.  I don't know any published or recorded version of it.  It seems to have been collected by Kenneth Macleod in the Highlands in the late 19th century and passed on to Campbell by Catriona Mackintosh.


There is a text:

At mouth of day, the hour of birds,
Stood the saint on the great white strand.
"O King of Storms, home sail the boat,
From far away,
O King of Storms, home sail the boat".
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,
O King of Storms, home sail the boat,
Alleluia, alleluia.

Aig beul an là, aig traigh nan eun,
Sheas an manach air an traigh mhor mhinn.
O Righ nan dul, cuir oirm am bàt,
O thiribh cein,
O Righ nan dul, cuir oirm am bàt.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,
O Righ nan dul, cuir oirm am bàt,
Alleluia, alleluia.

Campbell's manuscript is an arrangement for the harp.  I have done one based harmonically on hers but with the melodic bits of the harp part recomposed for another instrument with the range of a C ocarina, but an octave lower.  So the piece could be performed using soprano and alto C ocarinas and a guitar.

 MIDI

Here's the ABC for the bare tune and my arrangement.

X:0
T:St Columba's Homesailing Prayer and Alleluia
Z:Jack Campin, http://www.campin.me.uk
F:http://octunes.blogspot.com
S:NLS Acc.11770 (Jean Campbell)
N:"given me by Catriona Mackintosh who was working with Kenneth Macleod"
M:3/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:DMin
C2|D4    E2|{E}D4    C2|D4    E2|{E}D6   |\
   F4    F2|   EG E2 E2|D2 C2 DE|{E}D2 z2
C2|D4    E2|   A4    G2|E4    D2|   D4    \
D2|D2 C2 DE|{E}D4    C2|D4    E2|   A4 G2|E4 D2|D4||
M:4/4
z2|d3d d2d2|c2e2 d2d2|A3 A A2A2|AGA2 DCD2|
   d3d d2d2|c2e2 d4  |AGA2 d2d2|AGA2 D2CD|{E}D8|]

X:0
T:St Columba's Homesailing Prayer and Alleluia
Z:Jack Campin, http://www.campin.me.uk
F:http://octunes.blogspot.com
S:NLS Acc.11770 (Jean Campbell)
N:"given me by Catriona Mackintosh who was working with Kenneth Macleod"
N:harmony based on Campbell's arrangement
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
V:1 transpose +12 program 1 74
V:2 transpose -12 program 1 46
K:DMin
[V:1] z4 "Dm"z4|z8       |z4||[M:3/4] C2|"Dm"D4 E2|"Dm"{E}D4 C2|
[V:2] AGA2   d4|AGA2 D2CD|D4||[M:3/4] z2|z6       | z6         |
%
[V:1] "Bb"D4 E2|"Gm"{E} D6|"F"F4    F2|"C"EG E2 E2|"Bb"D2 C2 DE|
[V:2] z6       |z6        |   AF Fc cA|   EC CG GE|    BF Fd dG|
%
[V:1] "Gm"{E}D2 z2 C2|"Dm"D4 E2|"Am"A4 G2|"C"E4 D2|"Dm"D4 D2|
[V:2]        GD DB E2|    D6   |    E6   |   C6   |    D4 F2|
%
[V:1] "Bb"D2 C2 DE|"Gm"{E}D4    C2|"Dm"D4 E2|"Am"A4 G2|"C"E4 D2 |"Dm"D4||
[V:2]     BF Fd dG|       GD DB E2|    D6   |    E6   |   C6    |    D4||
%
[V:1][M:4/4] z2|"Dm"d3  d d2 d2|"Am"c2 e2 "Dm"d2 d2|"F"A3  A "Dm"A2 A2|"Am"AG A2 "Bb"DC "Dm"D2|
[V:2][M:4/4] z2|    D2 D4    F2|    E2 A4        F2|   C2 A4        F2|    E2 F4            D2|
%
[V:1] "Dm"d3  d d2 d2|"Am"c2 e2 "Dm"d4  |"Am"AG A2 "Dm"d2 d2|"Am"AG A2 "Bb"D2 "Am"CD|"Dm"{E}D8|]
[V:2]     D2 D4    F2|    E2 A4       D2|    E2 A4        D2|    E2 F4            A2|       D8|]

Tunes for ocarinas

I am going to use this blog to post tunes that suit models of transverse ocarina I play.  These will mostly be the Italian 10-hole type; any tunes for these will also work on an Asian-type 12-hole.  I will also post some music specifically intended for the Pacchioni Doppia Semplice double ocarina.

I already have a large collection of music that will work on these instruments, using less than the full range of a C ocarina - my Nine Note Tune Book, in ABC notation.  All the tunes I post here will use a larger range than that.

I will post tunes for C, G, F and possibly B flat ocarinas (ocarinas at these pitches are currently easily available).  The tunes will be at the original pitch.  I don't regard transposed music as very useful for the kind of stuff I play; if you got an ocarina at a pitch other than C, you got it because you wanted to play music in a different pitch range, so get used to reading it that way.  Recorder players do that all the time and it doesn't take long to learn.