Buy The CD This collection represents a selection of tunes I’ve gathered through being a part of the New England folk scene for over 20 years. New England is a great place for players of traditional Celtic music (or as it was formerly, “music of the British Isles and Ireland”). In addition to professional, full-time musicians, there are legions of accomplished tune-mongers from all walks of life, actively participating in this very vibrant scene.

Tune sessions are a staple at pubs, parties, folk festivals, and summer music camps. The contra dance circuit is also an essential part of this world, and I’ve played loads of dances from Maine to Alaska.

The Green Mandolin is an obvious nod to the Celtic provenance of this repertoire, but also represents a wink and a nudge in the direction of the Green Man, that mythical medieval figure of the woods and trees.

Below, I have transcribed all of the tunes from The Green Mandolin, with the exception of the cittern solos. The tunes are Transcribed with Tabledit and are in the TEF file format, to download the free TEFView reader, click here.

1. Devanney’s Goat/ Pigeon on the Gate – citterns (trad. Irish) - Irish session tunes picked up along the way. Pigeon on the Gate is normally in Em, played here in Dm.

2) Loftus Jones/ Cook in the Kitchen – mandolin solo (O’Carolan/trad. Irish) - Loftus Jones is the first of three tunes by blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670 - 1738) on this recording. The tune is usually in A; I learned this version in G from Mick Moloney’s version, and have undoubtedly changed it a bit over the years. The Cook in the Kitchen I got from Mary Cay Brass, in a kitchen outside of Spokane, WA, on an Airdance trip.

3) Farewell to Aberdeen/ Robertson’s Reel – mandolins (trad. Scottish/Tom Anderson) - This set was an Airdance set. The first tune is also known as The Boy’s Lament for his Dragon.

4) Vals efter Manneberg – mandolins, cittern (trad. Swedish) - Learned from the great whistler Sarah Bauhan.

5) Poor Old Woman/ Apple Hornpipe/ Devil in the Bush – mandolin, cittern (trad. New England/Fr. Canadian/English) - I took this slow version of Poor Old Woman from a version Rodney Miller and I did on our New Leaf CD. I also learned Apple Hornpipe from Rodney, while Devil in the Bush is a Northumbrian tune from the William Vickers manuscript. It is currently found in Pete Cooper’s excellent book English Fiddle Tunes, which is where I found it.

6) Doc Boyd’s Jig/ Rakes of Kildare/ The Clare Jig – mandolins, cittern (trad. Fr. Canadian/Irish) - Doc Boyd’s is a version of the "Gigue du Forgeron" (Blacksmith's Jig), a French-Canadian tune by Joseph Allard. I got it from an old Dave Swarbrick recording. Rakes of Kildare and Clare are Irish session tunes. Clare is also called Ward’s, and refers to Jim Ward of the original Kilfenora Ceili band.

7) Captain O’Kane – cittern solo (O’Carolan) - This Gm version is from Pete Cooper, who says that it is based on that of a 19th century English fiddle player, John Moore of Shropshire. It is also frequently played in Em.

8) The Newmarket Polkas (Walsh’s/Dan Mac’s/Terry Teahan’s) – mandolin, cittern (trad. Irish) - Patrick Street recorded this entire set on their Irish Times album, which is where I learned it.

9) Blind Mary/ Rambling Pitchfork – cittern, mandolin (w/ Susie Burke on guitar) (O’Carolan/trad. Irish) - Mary was apparently a harping compatriot of Carolan; virtually nothing is known of her. The Rambling Pitchfork I learned from the inimitable Rodney Miller.

10) Breton medley: En Dro/ Gavotte – cittern (w/ Keith Murphy on guitar)(trad. Breton) - The En Dro comes from the playing of Patrick Sicard, while the gavotte has been recorded by several musicians (Alan Stivell, Pierre Bensusan). I first heard a great two-guitar version by Micheal O’Domhnaill and Mick Hanly on the old Celtic Folkweave LP.

11) Chief O’Neill’s Hornpipe /Byrne’s Hornpipe – mandolin (w/ Keith Murphy on mandolin) (trad. Irish) - Irish session tunes from who knows where.

12) Hardiman the Fiddler/ Drops of Brandy – mandolin (w/ Keith Murphy on guitar) (trad. Irish) - Both of these tunes are Fairport Convention favorites.

13) The Green Mandolin/ Nordicana – mandolin (w/ Keith Murphy on guitar) (David Surette) - My own tributes to rhythmic irregularity and Northern-style tune-mongering.