The Sweetness Of Mary

This sweet tune - a strathspey - was written in 1987 by Cape Breton composer Joan MacDonald Boes. I've arranged it for tenor guitar and mandolin, with guitar backing. There are variant structures and keys for this tune, depending on where and with whom it's played, but I'm playing it here in its original form, in the written key of A. The tenor guitar and mandolin are a matched pair made for me by Sussex luthier and fellow musician Ian Chisholm.
I've since recorded a 2nd version, which you can see at:
• The Sweetness Of Mary #2
Check out Ian's work at:
www.ianchisholm...
www.willflyguit...

[@rbspace454]

Nice job, sir. I really enjoyed your version of my grandmother's song. I was about 6 years old when she first released this album with my dad.

[@MadRushMusic]

Gorgeous rendition of a special tune. Really love it! Thanks.

[@WillFlyGuitar]

Cheers! 🙂

[@farnorthpicker56]

Beautiful tune, and beautifully done!

[@WillFlyGuitar]

Thankyou Arnold - appreciated! :-)

[@awheel]

I've been playing these tunes since I was a boy and I'm waiting for you to release a CD. You're interpretations have a wonderful flavour all their own. I'll be the first to order when you put it up on your website!!

[@panoramarick]

Beautiful. Sweet, indeed.

[@WillFlyGuitar]

@rbspace454 And a great tune it is - you had a very talented grandmother! Glad you liked my version. :-)

[@mawalls2001]

beautiful, really nice tone, too.

[@GJHamann]

Great Canadian tune, eh! thanks for this.

[@shawnyboie]

hey man where are you form i see u know the year and name of the tune and where it's from im a caper, i play this tune also!!!! and is that a mandolin with 4 strings or a ukulele... it soundfs like a mandolin but usually they have doubled strings great job man

[@WillFlyGuitar]

I'll be putting this up, with some other mp3s, on my "audio" page very soon - download stuff for free! :-)

[@WillFlyGuitar]

@shawnyboie It's a tenor guitar. :-)

[@shawnyboie]

i play it on the fiddle

[@breboes08]

My brother actually found this video...Joan Macdonald Boes was my grandmother :)

[@shawnyboie]

now you have to play a good strathspey after it and a few reels

[@frankmacinnis7119]

Jerry Holland released this march on an Lp many years ago .

[@WillFlyGuitar]

I have the Jerry Holland version - very nice too - but the tune is actually a strathspey, not a march. :-)

[@MrTenorGuitar]

@musicianscotland Anything you'd like for Christmas? :-)

[@Gott6666]

Lovely.
I bet you have much silence within yourself.