Twelve Divertimentis for the Guittar
by James Oswald
Scottish composer, musician and publisher James Oswald (1711-1769) issued this collection in the late 1750s. The complete title page reads: "Twelve Divertimentis for the Guittar dedicated to Her Grace the Dutchess of Grafton. Composed by James Oswald. London. Printed for the Author & sold at his Music Shop on the Pavement St. Martin’s Church Yard, where may be had the first Book for two Guittars. Published by His Majesty's Royal License."
I published an article concerning Oswald and his related pieces for "two Guitars or two Mandelins" in the May 2003 issue of the Mandolin Journal which can be read online here. In that article I mention these solo pieces and the importance of Rob MacKillop's scholarship in this area. His current website contains an excellent discussion of both the music and the "guittar" in question as well as information concerning his own sensitive recording (ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU 221) of these pieces and a link to digital versions of the original printed music, supplied through the generosity of the Mackworth Collection, Cardiff University Library.
My work here is twofold. First, I have transcribed Oswald's originally published music using Sibelius software and I offer it here in PDF format. Second, I have "arranged" the pieces for easier performance on the modern mandolin. This has been achieved by transposing the pieces into the key of G major and changing many of the double-stop passages into single note lines. I am sure that more accomplished mandolinists can simply read the original music in C major as written. Only a few chords will need to be changed in that case. My arrangements are intended for mandolinists with beginner to intermediate ability. I suspect that this was the type of guittarist that Oswald had in mind when he published the pieces. Also I like the way these pieces sound in the lower register of the mandolin.
I have also taken the liberty of recording a few short movements as examples of what they might sound like on the modern mandolin (in this case a recently built oval hole Breedlove Olympic). My intent is to encourage others to feel comfortable playing Oswald's lovely music on our own modern instruments. For definitive performances I strongly encourage you to seek out Rob MacKillop's recording. Thanks to his generosity an mp3 sample of this recording, performed on an authentic 18th-century wire-strung guittar, is linked below.
In addition to this collection, my transcription of Oswald's Eighteen Divertimento's for two Guitars or two Mandelins can be found at this link.
As copyright laws have yet to be extended to include the life of the composer plus two hundred and fifty years these compositions are part of the public domain. I hold the copyright to my arrangements but they may be freely copied and distributed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.
John Goodin, Luther College, January, 2006
Devertimento I
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
(
mp3 of Rob MacKillop on "guittar" from his CD)
Devertimento II
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G) ;
(
Gavotto Moderato mp3 on modern mandolin)
Devertimento III
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
Devertimento IV
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
Devertimento V
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
(
Pastorale Andante mp3 on mandolin)
Devertimento VI
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
Devertimento VII
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
(
Tempo di Menuetto mp3 on mandolin)
Devertimento VIII
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
Devertimento IX
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
Devertimento X
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
Devertimento XI
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
(
Allegro Moderato mp3 on mandolin)
Devertimento XII
(original in C) ;
(arr. in G)
Created on ... January 19, 2006
Last updated on September 21, 2007