I've been playing tunes with Emma over teh last year. She's returning to the USA soon so we a re rrecording some of our favourites. These are Well- known French dance tunes, respectively by Gilles Chabenat and Patrick Bouffard

Crested Hens / Valse Nouvelle

The first composed by Scotsman J.Scot Skinner, the second by Canadian, Joan MacDonald Boes.

Hector the Hero / Sweetness of Mary

Frieze Britches / Humours of  Ballyloughlin

Josephin's Waltz by Roger Tallroth.  Lord  Inchiquin. by Turlough O'Carolan

Josephin's Waltz / Lord  Inchiquin

Two Welsh traditional waltzes.The names translate as "Three and Six" as in three shillings and sixpence, I guess, and the "Hunter's Elegy".

Tri a Chwech a Marwnad Y Heliwr

Patrick Kelly's Waltz

In the early eighties I ran the Aberystwyth University Folk Club and guest artists would often stay at our flat. One such was hammered dulcimer player, Jim Couza. I learned this tune by ear, from him. Attributed to J.S.Bach, originally intended for keyboard in G and played here in D. The guitar part is my arrangement for DADADE tuning.

Minuet

Not sure where I got these two jigs from. Possibly Danu?

Bank of Turf / Trip to  Athlone

Two fairly famous Irish Jigs. The second sometimes referred to as the "Swedish Jig". It's not. It's Irish!

My Darling Asleep / Arthur Darley's (Swedish) Jig

O'Carolan's Concerto

I first heard  this tune, perhaps surprisingly,  on the album  Meiteal by Seamus Begley & Steve Cooney  who are better known for Kerry polkas than galliards! I learned the  tune from them and worked up my version from this. I subsequently came across  a version with variations by Julian Bream. I imagine Cooney & Bream worked from classical scores.  Mine is a "folk" version in the sense that I don't read music and my arrangements are made by ear, or more truthfully, by accident!  It's also played in a "folk" tuning:  open G (Root 5th sus 2nd) on the Tres-Guitar made for me by Colin Kendall.

My Lady Hunston's Puffe (Galliard by Dowland)

I made this double-necked instrument to reflect my playing habits. I play fingerstyle in open tunings. I don't get on very well with capos because I find that  I loose volume and resonance. Also, I play a lot up the neck and rely on the dot markers, which go "out of phase" when using a capo. I find this somewhat disorientating. To avoid these problems I usually take out two guitars, one in open D the other in open G, the two most common keys for traditional music. This G/D double-neck does both open keys, without the hassle of two instruments. It has the added advantage that the strings on the neck that's not being played resonate sympathetically, like hardanger fiddles and the nyckelharpa. To my ear, this enhances the sound when played solo and is particularly good for arrangements with a lute-like vibe.
The tune is my arrangement of  an adapted  Manx Primitive Methodist hymn. I stole it from Leveret's 2016 album, In the round.


The Good Old Way

Paddy Fahy wrote many fine tunes. I'm told this is  his #20. I  initially  had this tune many years ago from the recordings of Martin Hayes. My son Dylan's being playing it a lot recently. It sneaked into my head so I had to arrange it. Played on the D-neck of the double neck guitar.

A reel by Paddy Fahy

A tune we played back in the days of the Ship and Castle Irish session in Aberystwyth (mid-late 90's), though in those days I did it on tenor banjo. This arrangement is heavily influenced by Martin Hayes' treatment of the tune. Played here on the D-neck of my double-neck guitar.

The Old Bush

I first heard this played by Calum Stewart  and Heikki Bourgault at Cwlwm Celtiadd 4 or 5 years ago. They call it Yellow on the Broom, but I understand  it's a.k.a. The Sweetness of Mary. I've recently finished building a hardwood (sapele)-topped guitar (pictured, thanks Catherine). This is what it sounds like.

Yellow On The Broom

I'm in love with Leveret. This is another of their tunes that I've pinched. Played here on a hardwood-topped cutaway guitar I finished last month. I hope you like it Matt Rusby.

Not Basingstoke

I had this tune originally from Lunasa, though I recently heard a nice version by Pierre Bensusan. Played here on a nine-string guitar I finished recently (pictured). I called the model "Neidr naw pennog", Welsh for nine-headed snake. The three treble strings are doubled and tuned in unison. This gives a bouzouki/cittern-like quality to the sound. I'm not a fan of twelve-string guitars because I don't like the doubled bass strings. Nine-string is a happy compromise. If I do this sort of thing again, I'll double the top four strings.

The Last Pint

Driving around France this Summer with my Gurdy-playing son, we inevitably listened to a lot of French dance music. This is the tune that will forever evoke Summer 2012. Heard first from Mister Klof  and later  a great version on Gurdies by Giles Chabenat & Patrick Bouffard himself. 
My son Dylan and his mate Sam do a pretty good job of it too as a fiddle duet: see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lovwlMPaiBk&list=UUH-4bkUH_zH7LvfDtly2a5g&index=14&feature=plcp

Valse Nouvelle (Patrick Bouffard) arr. for guitar

Traditional Welsh Waltz.  I play it here on a Cuban Tres (pictured) by Colin Kendall.  I have the Tres  strung as a Guitar with six evenly spaced strings.The instrument is shorter than a conventional guitar so I can have it pitched in G (Root, 5th, Sus 2nd). You can see/hear  the Tres being played on my YouTube channel: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxv_0j1HPGc&list=UUH-4bkUH_zH7LvfDtly2a5g&index=8&feature=plcp

Bwlch Llanberis (Llanberis Pass) arr. for Guitar

Beautiful tune. My son Dylan has been playing this  around the house a lot on a melodeon, so I learned it  by accident.....by osmosis.   By the time I came to play it, I had it  it in my head so clearly  that this arrangement just happened. I may refine it, it but I'm fairly happy with it as a first attempt.

Abbess (Andy Cutting) arr. for guitar

http://www.youtube.com/user/AndyCairns12?feature=mhee

Andrew John Cairns

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