Well, it had to happen: I thought that it was about time that I had a go making a simple and accessible arrangement of Greensleeves, although there are already plenty available.
The main theme (bars 1 – 16) of this one is really easy, taken from The Lute Society's Fifty very easy pieces for lute, which is a transcription of an MS at Trinity College Dublin.
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| Anon: Green Sleues for lute. MS, Trinity College Dublin |
The rest of the piece is an adaptation of a version by Francis Cutting (1550 – 96) in the British Library, transcribed by Sarge Gerbode. After a couple of tries, it's quite easy, too. Such a relief after Loth to depart.
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| Greensleeves by Maister Cutting. British Library, London |
I am currently making a fuller arrangement in Gm, which has more of interest (and so is a bit more difficult), and I will post it soon.
You can hear the same pieces played together on the lute by the indefatigable Luthval – well worth a listen.
History of Greensleeves
Loads of myths have accumulated around this tune, and I can do no better than to direct you to an impressive history and analysis published by Early Music Muse here.
Available to download here:
pdf (preview)
pdf (download)
TablEdit (download)
MIDI (download)
