October seemed to fly by in a flurry of new arrangements and unexpected projects. After posting Carolan’s Dream on 20th September my aim was to focus on more Carolan arrangements. That was the plan for October. How to make God laugh, right! An unexpected email from my publisher, Productions d’Oz, changed everything. D’Oz wanted to publish some of my recent material.
Many of you have purchased sheet music from my Payhip store (much gratitude!) and it’s a system that seems to work well. I arrange a piece, make a YouTube video, share on Patreon and then, when I have enough material, I make a little book. The downside of this process is there are no hard copies, only digital. I’m not sure just how much that matters these days. Like many people I mostly use my tablet to store and organise my sheet music so am happy with downloads. But I know some folks do prefer a hard copy. And, I must admit, there is something special about holding an actual book. So, when d’Oz said they were happy for me to continue with my Payhip store but would also like to publish some of the content it seemed like a win win situation.
Given how many people are playing baritone, or low G, at the moment I thought I would start with a new edition of Bold and Beautiful. I’m also really pleased with this collection of arrangements. But I did want to make some changes. The original edition contains three Carolan pieces and since I’m putting together a separate book of Carolan I thought it would be better to swap these pieces for something new. But what?
My first choice was a new, extended version of Cockles and Mussels (aka Molly Malone) for baritone. It’s a well known song and I love the plaintive, haunting tune. On the 7th October I uploaded the new version of Cockles and Mussels that I was preparing for d’Oz.
The next inclusion was Spanish Romance. I recorded this on my low G Lipson tenor in August and also did two video tutorials for my Patrons. The switch from low G to baritone is only an issue in the notation as the key changes with the tuning (assuming DGBE). The low G version is in A minor / A major and the baritone version is in the original key of E minor / E major. As yet I haven’t recorded the baritone version for YouTube.
Another un-recorded addition to the new book is the beautiful Lagrima by Tárrega, or the Teardrop Prelude. It’s a favourite piece for classical guitarists and I recorded a high G version many years ago. The new baritone version is in the original key and a new recording is on the to do list.
Another addition is an arrangement of Tourdion (French Dance) attributed to Pierre Attaingnant. Although he was probably the publisher rather than the composer. This is the easiest piece in the book, hence its position as number one. It’s a simple chord melody arrangement. I must admit I do love my high G campanella version but this is a good piece for advanced beginners wanting to explore chord melody technique. Once again there isn’t a YouTube video of this particular arrangement.
Before we go any further I should give the new book a plug. D’Oz always do such a lovely job with their publications. Full details are on are the d’Oz website. Note: they currently only have a digital version available. The printed version is not out until 8th December 2026. Hm…
Here’s the link to the page on the d’Oz website:
Meanwhile, I haven’t been slacking on the uploads. October saw a total of five new videos (I’m not counting the shorts as they are all snippets from long format videos). Something worth mentioning, before I talk about the new videos, is that while considering what to include in the new edition of Bold and Beautiful I exchanged a number of emails with my good friend Paul Mansell. Paul has now published two books for baritone and we considered the issue of overlap. In the end we both agreed that given our backgrounds some doubling up was inevitable and, since we have different approaches, it didn’t really matter. I know many of you already support Paul but if you haven’t come across his work then please have a look at his website as he has some excellent material. Click here for Paul’s website shop.
Despite that conversation I found myself searching the web for something new. Enter Emanuel Adriaennsen (c.1554-1604). Wow! What a rabbit hole that has been. Adriaennsen was a Flemish lutenist, composer and teacher. In double quick time I made five new arrangements that now form a little suite of Renaissance dances. I managed to record four of the pieces before the end of October.
Below is the YouTube Playlist with all five pieces:
If you subscribe to me on Patreon you can access all five arrangements in one PDF booklet. If you don’t subscribe you can still purchase it as an individual post. Or…
I’ve also made the score available from my Payhip store. Here.
Thank you all for your continued support! November is already shaping up to be a productive month. I have a couple of concerts in the pipeline for 2027. There’s also the Southern Ukulele Store workshop day in early December. I can’t find the page for that so it might be sold out but do give them a ring if interested.
Meanwhile, happy plucking!
Sam ❤️🎶🖖🌸
Hi Sam. I really do appreciate all the work you put into your arrangements. You certainly are doing your bit to expand the classical ukulele repertoire. You make me want to be a better player. Thank you. I have a whole section in my music library of your stuff. I am really enjoying learning to play the Andriaennsen arrangements; I get visions of dancers bouncing around in an Elizabethan court. Your new version of “Bold and Beautiful” should arrive soon in the mail as it’s coming from Québec. ( I’m in Canada). I like to have both a digital and hard copy. My iPad isn’t always charged up, and I find it easier to make notes on the paper copy. I’ve also explored Paul’s site and ordered a few things from him. Between the two of you, I’ll be busy for quite a while.
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Thanks for your support Karen! I hope you enjoy the new edition of B & B. Did you manage to order a hard copy? The website says it won’t be available until December. But maybe that is in Europe. And I’m sure Paul will also appreciate ordering some things from his site. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more Adriaennsen! They really do bring a ray of sunshine to these grey and miserable days.
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I oredered a paper copy directly from productionsdoz.com and my credit card was charged right away. There was no indication that it wouldn’t be available until December. I’m assuming it’s in the mail and on its way to me.
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