Most of the music in this book comes from editions or manuscripts from England in the late 1500’s. There are also a few French pieces. The cittern was popular in Italy England and France. Aside from various tunings there weretwo main kinds of instruments being played during the 16th and 17th centuries: the 4 course (four sets of doubled strings) and the 6 course cittern with several editions of music to go along with both. The pieces I have chosenfor this book were all written for the 4 course instrument and fall into three main categories: dance music song arrangements and free pieces. The free pieces are basically preludes that explore the melodic range of theinstrument. As the title suggests these pieces can be played very freely and need not have a very strict tempo. The dance pieces are not really meant to be danced to but rather take their form and rhythm from the popular courtdances of the time. These can be played with a wide range of overall tempo but once a tempo is chosen should be strictly adhered to. The song arrangements are settings of popular songs of the time as well as more formal vocalsettings. Care should be taken in making the melody clear and singing. Since the range of the cittern and mandolin are the same John Holenko has kept the melodies intact. Because of the difference in tuning however thevoicing of the harmonies have been changed so as to fit on the mandolin.

Medieval Mandolin Voume 2 by Allan Alexander. These medieval pieces sound great on the mandolin. They also lay right under the fingers. There is both notation and TAB and no page turns for any of the pieces in this book. The reason? This book is made for musicians, by musicians. You can get the book with a CD and the guitar and mandolin are separate tracks. You can turn the mandolin totally off and play with the cd. There is no 'Tick Tick' before the pieces, instead there are two measures of intro with the guitar, so you can sit and listen to the CD and become familiar with the pieces without it sounding like a learning CD. There are chords with the music and at the end of thebook, there are examples of what the guitar is doing for many of the tunes in both tablature and notation. These tunes sound terrific, and are a great addition to any repertoire. You can use them for any kind of gig, or you can try doing some medieval fairs, medieval feasts or medieval weddings. The bowl back mandolin looks so much like the lute, most people would never know the difference. Often when I play the lute, they ask me if it's a mandolin. I play lute, guitar and more recently mandolin. I know the music. These pieces are particulary suited for the sound of the mandolin. I love playing them. The book is beautiful and scored professionally. The paper is heavy stock. The titles may not make a lot of sense, but these are great pieces. Many have variations to make them longer. Medieval Mandolin Voume 2 by Allan Alexander. These medieval pieces sound great on the mandolin. They also lay right under the fingers. There is both notation and TAB and no page turns for any of the pieces in this book. The reason? This book is made for musicians, by musicians. You can get the book with a CD and the guitar and mandolin are separate tracks. You can turn the mandolin totally off and play with the cd. There is no 'Tick Tick' before the pieces, instead there are two measures of intro with the guitar, so you can sit and listen to the CD and become familiar with the pieces without it sounding like a learning CD. There are chords with the music and at the end of thebook, there are examples of what the guitar is doing for many of the tunes in both tablature and notation. These tunes sound terrific, and are a great addition to any repertoire. You can use them for any kind of gig, or you can try doing some medieval fairs, medieval feasts or medieval weddings. The bowl back mandolin looks so much like the lute, most people would never know the difference. Often when I play the lute, they ask me if it's a mandolin. I play lute, guitar and more recently mandolin. I know the music. These pieces are particulary suited for the sound of the mandolin. I love playing them. The book is beautiful and scored professionally. The paper is heavy stock. The titles may not make a lot of sense, but these are great pieces. Many have variations to make them longer./ Recueil / Mandoline