Tune Of The Month For October, 2013: Xotis Romanes

[Pete Dunk]

He might be trying to do it because I did it. I don't necessarily strictly prefer it there, but I do think it sounds nice, and I thought the option was worth a look, and I figured it was a trick to accomplish and a breeze to undo.

 

 

I think Jack was trying to rewrite it because only the converter you pointed to can turn that rather odd looking code into a single stave with the counter-melody printed an octave lower than written using the command V:Countermelody octave=-1 which I've never seen before and doesn't work in any of the four ABC software packages I have installed so it most certainly won't work in Barfly. I know three different methods of printing two parts on a single stave using abc but none will print a voice an octave lower than written with a header command as far as I am aware. The converter is very clever for doing that but the coding isn't very useful if it isn't supported by the most popular software packages and requires an internet connection to work.

 

I get a nicely printed sheet of music but the second voice is printed at the pitch it was coded in not an octave lower.

 

Pete.

Edited October 3, 2013 by tallship

[cboody]

Err Pete: Easy ABC, using abcm2ps, properly interprets that octave command. That's pretty much as standard as it gets.... Just checked again and yes it really does. Maybe you need to update your abcm2ps.

Edited October 3, 2013 by cboody

[Ransom]

Yeah, the tune-o-tron doesn't do it either.

 

But I was confident that somebody would support it, because it's in the standard:

http://abcnotation.com/wiki/abc:standard:v2.1#clefs_and_transposition

[Pete Dunk]

Yeah, the tune-o-tron doesn't do it either.

 

But I was confident that somebody would support it, because it's in the standard:

http://abcnotation.com/wiki/abc:standard:v2.1#clefs_and_transposition

 

It is, however it's also described as 'Volatile'!

 

I will look at updating abcm2ps if needed Chuck but don't forget you are running the Mac version of Easy ABC not the PC one and is doesn't matter which version of abcm2ps you have if the interpreter ignores some commands!

[cboody]

 

Yeah, the tune-o-tron doesn't do it either.

 

But I was confident that somebody would support it, because it's in the standard:

http://abcnotation.com/wiki/abc:standard:v2.1#clefs_and_transposition

 

It is, however it's also described as 'Volatile'!

 

I will look at updating abcm2ps if needed Chuck but don't forget you are running the Mac version of Easy ABC not the PC one and is doesn't matter which version of abcm2ps you have if the interpreter ignores some commands!

 

Both versions of EasyABC are generated from the same source, and they pass all interpretations on to abcm2ps. So, updating abcm2ps should solve the problem. The command is described as Volatile because there was some serious fussing about exactly how to handle all the various aspects of transposition from some of the abc users. That said, the fact that Jef implemented it in abcm2ps pretty much insures it will stay around. But, if we want to discuss this much more we should probably take it off this topic!

Edited October 5, 2013 by cboody

[Steve Mansfield]

Here's my first take -

 

https://soundcloud.com/sfmans/xotis-romanes-concertina-net

 

I might have another go later with the baritone or maybe do a band arrangement, but here's a slightly-dodgily-double-tracked version on my Wheatstone treble EC.

[David Barnert]

Content removed: no longer applicable.

Edited October 13, 2013 by David Barnert

[David Barnert]

Yeah, the tune-o-tron doesn't do it either.

 

But I was confident that somebody would support it, because it's in the standard:

http://abcnotation.com/wiki/abc:standard:v2.1#clefs_and_transposition

It's in the standard defined by abc version 2.1, but BarFly, the Tune-O-Tron, and most other abc software stick to version 1.6, in which it does not appear.

[Jim Besser]

I've played this tune for a while in a group, but I want to work out a good solo arrangement on concertina, and I've finding it much harder than I expected. After the rich sound of the two melodeons in the YouTube clip I first heard, every Anglo arrangement I've tried sounds very thin. And I'm finding the B part hard to play without speeding up.

 

Maybe this needs a key change?

 

Count me dissatisfied and still struggling to find a way to play this on a 30 button Anglo that sounds right.

 

https://soundcloud.com/concertinist/xotis-totm-2

 

Paging Jody Kruskal: what would you do with this tune? I need some ideas.

Edited October 6, 2013 by Jim Besser

[Jim Besser]

One more: Randy Stein and me (2/3 of The Squeezers) playing around with arrangements.

 

I'm still too choppy. This is a simple tune I find very hard to play!

 

https://soundcloud.com/concertinist/xotis-romanes-squeezers-10-8

 

Played on a Jeffries G/D C/G Lachenal/Dipper Anglo and Wheatstone English.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Jim Besser

[felix castro]

It is nice your version, I like it a lot, nice played.

I have noted that in some recordings musicians don't play half tones that are more evident in the version from Akiva Ben Horin.

I have just put a only melody version trying to show some half tone notes and ornaments that I think are nice for the tune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2wJ3KqIzkw

 

Next I shall put some bass line, I think.

 

In you tube with the following description:

TOTM CNET October 2013.
Xotis Romanes, (Romanian Scottishche) learnt from Perepau Jimenez & Marta Cruz,
It is a tune from the klezmer tradition, and it seems that was learned by them from the flautist Akiva Ben Horin.
Here I play only the melody line trying to show half tone ornaments that are very suitable for the tune.
It is played in a C/G Suttner anglo concertina 38 buttons A8 model, ebony ends, Jeffries copy, but with custom layout more similar to wheatstone layout, with the Eb pulling note on the left side as I have the C# doubled in the same button of the right side.

Edited October 9, 2013 by felix castro

[Geoff Wooff]

There we are then Jim,

felix's version is smoother... is this because he plays it on a C/G ?

 

Nice ideas there Felix !

[felix castro]

Hello, thankyou very much Geoff for your comments.

Jim recorded also on a C/G, perhaps are differences in style. I play it usually more rithmic with chords, but with only melody I tried to play it in a more sinuous way, for having a more eastern europe flavour (in my thoughts), I alternated passages with more ornaments and passages in a less ornamented style.

 

Researching in the web, there is interesting information about klezmer music in wikipedia, that shows its eastern europe origins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klezmer

And about the name of the tune, as I suspected, xotis romanes is probably a direct translation of its name,

Nigun Roimani could mean probably romanian song, as the wikipedia tells that.

Nigun means "melody" in both Yiddish and Hebrew, a mid-paced song in 2/4.

Chotis is a tune in a 2/4 or 4/4.

And perhaps Roimani means romanian in yiddish.

[Robert Fisher]

One more: Randy Stein and me (2/3 of The Squeezers) playing around with arrangements.

 

I'm still too choppy. This is a simple tune I find very hard to play!

 

https://soundcloud.com/concertinist/xotis-romanes-squeezers-10-8

 

Played on a Jeffries G/D C/G Lachenal/Dipper Anglo and Wheatstone English.

 

Nicely done. Great to hear two good concertina players playing together. I'd be intrigued to hear someone duet with another instrument (Bassoon would be good :-)

[David Barnert]

I've taken up the challenge and learned the duet arrangement on a duet concertina. And because in a previous TOTM exercise I admitted to occasionally using sound editing software to "clean up" a performance, I submit this month's effort as a video (the inauguration of my presence on youtube: user name - Dr. Sleep). Both hands visible and no edits. You have my word that all the audio and video here is a single unedited (except to remove extraneous stuff from before the beginning and after the end) take. Although certainly not the first take.

I am playing a 46-key Hayden, but not my usual Wheatstone. Because of it's rustic sound, I decided to do this one on my old clunker, the accordion-reeded Bastari. My right hand is playing the melody while my left hand plays the countermelody (in the lower octave) plus a few extra notes to keep the rhythm moving. In the last bar of the tune, the right hand plays both the A of the melody and the C of the countermelody leaving the left hand to provide the final two rhythmic notes.

http://youtu.be/wuOcmZKql20

[cboody]

Bravo David!

[Randy Stein]

 

I've taken up the challenge and learned the duet arrangement on a duet concertina. And because in a previous TOTM exercise I admitted to occasionally using sound editing software to "clean up" a performance, I submit this month's effort as a video (the inauguration of my presence on youtube: user name - Dr. Sleep). Both hands visible and no edits. You have my word that all the audio and video here is a single unedited (except to remove extraneous stuff from before the beginning and after the end) take. Although certainly not the first take.

I am playing a 46-key Hayden, but not my usual Wheatstone. Because of it's rustic sound, I decided to do this one on my old clunker, the accordion-reeded Bastari. My right hand is playing the melody while my left hand plays the countermelody (in the lower octave) plus a few extra notes to keep the rhythm moving. In the last bar of the tune, the right hand plays both the A of the melody and the C of the countermelody leaving the left hand to provide the final two rhythmic notes.

http://youtu.be/wuOcmZKql20

 

very nice David.

 

rss

[felix castro]

Wonderful, I hope one day can do something similar with a duet.