ISBN 9781513459844. 8.75x11.75 inches.

This book presents 42 English folk songs arranged for the intermediate classic guitarist in standard notation with phrase and dynamic markings plus light fingering. The collection includes popular melodies like Sprig of Thyme, Seventeen Come Sunday, and Blow the Wind Southerly, but also lesser known but no less beautiful tunes like Cupid the Pretty Ploughboy, Dabbling in the Dew and Saucy Sailor. All the arrangements present the basic tune faithfully and simply before offering more elaborate and sophisticated variations suitable for concert performance. Without compromising their sophistication, these polyphonic arrangements are elegant and idiomatic to the guitar, all but devoid of excessive physical demands; even barre chords are kept to a minimum so the player can relax and focus on tone and interpretation. The primary objective of this collection is to draw attention to these deserving melodies, some of which are now rarely heard. Longtime fans of the genre will recognize a few songs once performed by folk-rock groups like Steeleye Span and The Fairport Convention, here presented anew for the solo classic guitar. Its an excellent collection - good to play for pleasure, good for learning and consolidating rhythm, good for sight-reading. Just marvelous. It should meet a lot of needs. Gilbert Biberian These are very accessible arrangements of 42 English folk tunes, some of which are familiar and many others which deserve to be better known. They are all tuneful and have interesting harmonies and rhythms in arrangements which will be well within the reach of intermediate guitarists. These fine settings would be useful pieces for a teacher looking for supplementary material and also for the performer looking for unhackneyed repertoire. They are thoughtfully presented with good fingering and phrasing, with idiomatic guitar writing and interesting harmonies. Congratulations to Peter Worley for presenting this compendium of gems from a lesser known tradition. Gerald Garcia.

Chording to the Dance Masters is a selection of dance tunes that were collected originally between about 1500 and 1620. Printing made many of these tunes popular throughout Europe during these times, some of them composed by the printer/publishers themselves, but many more of them existed previously as rustic dance tunes or popular chansons. The works were originally published to be played by three to five instrumentalists, with no particular instruments specified. They suited consorts or ?choirs? of instruments that were depicted in the illustrations of Agricola, Mersenne and most notably Praetorius and are now preserved in museums around the world.

Many editions exist in the 3, 4 or 5 parts as originally published, and these are an absolute joy to perform from, where the interweaving parts create interesting harmonies that demonstrate the skills of these renaissance composer/arranger/publishers. Playing with modern reproductions of the early instruments will recreate textures and sounds unique to this period. However, not everyone is lucky enough to either own these instruments or else have contact with others with whom they could form ensembles. This book aims to widen the experience out to those who would like to play these tunes on their own or with the accompaniment of a guitar, keyboard or other available chordal instrument. Fake books abound for those who wish to play Jazz, Folk, Classical and Popular music where the melody is annotated with chords so that players can access these tunes in their own way. As far as I am aware, this has not often been done for the player who wishes to busk their way through music of the Renaissance period.

I have attempted to include all the chords implied by the polyphonic parts of the original publications, simply because it is in the transitions of the harmonies under the melodies where the genius of the original arranger/publisher resides. Those who go on to explore the original versions may look forward to the way in which each line presents the player with intrinsically beautiful counter melodies.

At first, the rapidity of chord changing can be a bit daunting, so I have marked out what I consider to be the essential chords for accompaniment in boxes. Playing just these will provide adequate accompaniment, whilst leaving the more adventurous scope to enhance their performance by referencing some of the other chords. You can hear the chording arrangements together with the original 3, 4 or 5 part versions of all 44 pieces on a YouTube playlist which has been made as a companion to this volume at

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYRWH2nycMkMoIoEYEMVPa_EXY6NVDpNS

As well as the solo or player in a duo, this book would also be of value for someone who is used to reading chords rather than melody lines wishing to join in with a renaissance consort. The selection I have chosen represents quite a few of the ?standards? that have become regularly played since the revival of renaissance music in the late 1960s. It is hoped that should this volume prove popular, companion volumes with all the parts provided for the same pieces could make essential repertoire for the budding renaissance dance consorts of the future.