Back to index of guitar tablature pages by Donald Sauter.
Back to page of Washington Guitar Society newsletters.
(This web page originally appeared as an article in the Washington Guitar Society newsletter No. 59, March 2002. That's Washington D.C. This web page appeared for years with the Minuetto presented only in my ASCII tablature. The image of the music was added in February 2011, and the pdf in November 2019.)
The premiere of Falstaff was in Milan on February 9 1893. It's interesting to note that the copyright date of the guitar arrangement is the same year as the first North American performance of the opera, in New York in 1895. I wonder if Ms. Luigi saw it in either city. I can't tell you anything about her except that four other pieces by her in my collection are original compositions, and that her name appears as "Amelie" on pieces published in 1895, and as "Amelia" in 1897.
The minuetto comes from the very last scene of the opera. Falstaff the opera is based on Shakespeare's Merry Wives Of Windsor. Sir John Falstaff is the rascally, vain, old "Fat Knight", and in the last scene he receives a well-deserved humiliation. He is told that he can meet Ford's wife Alice secretly at the haunted Herne's Oak, but of course it's all a set-up. The other characters show up dressed as elves, fairies and imps, and they frighten poor Falstaff half to death. He finally figures out what's going on, but not until after he's learned his lesson. Then, on the spot, there is a quick wedding ceremony for two couples, everyone still wearing his or her disguise. This Minuetto provides the background music, and when it is finished, blustery, old Dr. Caius lifts the veil of his new wife, assuming her to be the young and pretty Anne Ford. You can imagine his shock and disgust when "she" turns out to be one of Falstaff's smelly, red-nosed, drinking buddies! The "merry wives" had fixed it up so that the second couple was Anne and the young gentleman Fenton, thereby foiling Mr. Ford's plans to match his daughter with old Caius.
It may interest guitarists that Verdi wrote some lute music for the opera. In Act II, scene 2, Alice Ford takes up a lute and plays it as Falstaff shows up at her house for their first secret meeting. That one was a set-up, too, and poor Falstaff ends up getting dumped out of a laundry basket, through the window, and into the sewer below.
I thank the Library of Congress again for making its music collection so easily accessible.
This easy-to-read tablature is completely faithful to A. Luigi's published transcription in music notation. It uses only common keyboard characters - no graphics. It's very simple and instantly usable - almost. After printing out, you will need to add a few slur marks and neaten up a few other symbols, but that effort is negligible in the big picture of learning and playing a new piece. Click here for some general comments on the modern tablature, including tips on printing it out perfectly.
Title: Minuetto (Falstaff)
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi.
Source: Popular Guitar Solos; publ. Jean White, Boston.
Date: 1895
Tuning: EADGBE
Time sig: 3/4
Fixes, modifications and comments (M=Measure; p=Place in measure; s=String):
M17p4s3 Original was G#; changed to G natural here (as in M35.)
Instead of giving the 1st and 2nd endings as laid out in the original, I
repositioned the repeat signs (maybe slightly unconventionally) to give
the exact same flow of music. In the opera, none of the sections of the
minuetto are repeated.
Tablature elements to be added by hand:
Slurs:
M3p1-2s2.
M7p1-2s2.
M8p1-2s1.
M16p1-2s2.
M34p1-2s2.
All grace notes are slurred to the following note. This is executed
with a pull-off.
Take a moment to fill out the 16th-note beams.
Explanation of symbols:
^ (arrowhead) = arpeggiation. Original showed a curved bracket (
encompassing the notes of the chord. I believe this means to play
the chord with a thumb stroke. For a neater appearance, re-draw
the ^ arrowhead right at the top of the stem.
. = rest. Applies specifically to the previously sounding note on that string.
Grace notes: Fret numbers without stems are grace notes.
Leading measures in original sheet music:
1 7 12 17 22 27 32 37. Last measure is 42.
*** Download and edit out all material above and below the tablature.
*** Set up your printer for: 96 characters/line (12 characters/inch).
66 lines/page (6 lines/inch).
*** Print out starting with the title line below.
Minuetto (Falstaff) FALS: Page 1 of 1.
EADGBE Tempo di Menuetto. Leading measures: 1 11 19 27 36. Giuseppe Verdi.
dolce dolcissimo
___ ___ ^ ___ ___ ^ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________________________________
___0|_5_0______|________|_0_2_0____|_______0|_5_0______|_______0|_5_0____|____________||____||__
____|_________0|_3_2_2_3|_2_____3_2|_2_0_.__|_________0|_3_2_2__|_2___2_0|_2_0________||____||__
____|_____2_2__|________|_2________|_2_1_.__|_____2_2__|________|_____2_1|___1_2_2_._*||*___||__
____|__________|________|_2_0______|_2______|__________|________|________|_______2_._*||*___||__
____|___0___4__|_0___0_2|_0___4_2_0|________|___0___4__|_0___0_4|________|_______4_.__||____||__
____|_________4|________|__________|___0_.__|_________4|________|_0___0_0|___0________||____||__
p pp 3
____ ^ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ^ _____ ^ ^ ___ ___
|.-| | | | | | | | | |-| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________|______________|________|_________0|_5_0______|_______0|_5_2______|_____________||___
_0__2_0___2|_2___0_______2|_2_0____|__________|_________0|_3_2_2_2|_____3_2_0|_2_0_________||___
_1____1_2__|_________2____|_2_1_1__|__________|_____2_2_1|_1___2_0|_______2_1|___1_2_2_.__*||*__
______2_1__|___________1__|_2___2_4|_4_2_2_.__|_________0|_____2__|_4___3_2_2|_______2_.__*||*__
___________|_______2_4____|_____2_2|_2________|___4___3_2|_1___0__|_________2|_______0_.___||___
_0_________|_0_0_4________|________|_____0___.|__________|________|_________0|___0_________||___
3
^ ____ ___ ___ ___ ____ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ____ ___ _____ ___ ____ ___
| | | |.-| | | | | | | | | |.-| | | | | | | | | | | |.-| | | | | | | | | | |.-| | |
_______________________________________________________________________________^________________
___||_2___0__2|_0________|___________|____________|_2_______0__2|_0__________|_____2_0__2|_0____
___||_3_______|___3_3_0_3|_0_________|____________|_3___3_______|___3_3_0_3_0|_0___3_2___|_2_3__
_2_||_2___0__2|_0________|___2_2_0__2|_0_________2|_2_2___2_0__2|_0_____0____|_0_2_2_0___|_0____
___||_0_0_____|_0___4____|_0___4_2___|___4_4_._4__|_0___________|_0___4______|_0_________|_0____
___||_________|_____5____|_______0___|_5___0_5____|_____________|_____5______|_____0_0___|______
___||_________|_______3__|___________|____________|_____________|_______3____|___________|______
dolce 3
___ ___ ^ ___ ___ ^ ___ ___ ^ ___ ___ ___ ___ _____ ^ ^ ___
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
______________________________^___________________^_____________________^_______________________
_______||_0_||_5_0______|__________|_0_2_0____|_______0|_5_0______|_________0|_5_2______|_______
_3_.___||___||_________0|_3_2_2_._3|_2_3_2_3_2|_2_0_.__|_________0|_3_2_2_.__|_____3_2_0|_2_0___
_2____*||___||_____2_2_1|_4___2_._4|_2_____4_2|_2_1_.__|_____2_2__|_4___2_._0|_______2_1|___1_2_
_0____*||___||_____2___2|_____2___2|_2________|_2_2_.__|_________2|_2___2_2__|_4_____2_2|_______
_______||___||___0___0__|_0___0____|_0________|_0_2_.__|___0___4__|_0___0_.__|__________|_______
_______||___||__________|__________|__________|___0_.__|__________|__________|__________|___0___
p cresc. ff cresc. f
___ ____ ___ ___ ____ ___ ___ ____ ^ ^ ^ ^ ___
| | |.-| | | | | |.-| | | | | |.-| | | | | | | | | |
_____________________________________________________^__________________________________________
_________|_____________|_____________|______|_____0|_5_.___||___________________________________
_____0__2|_0_______0__2|_0_______0__2|_0____|___2_2|_2_.___||___________________________________
_2_._1___|_1_2_2_._1___|___2_2_._1___|_1____|_2_2_2|_2_.___||___________________________________
_2_._____|_____2_._____|_2___2_._____|_2____|_2_2_2|_2_.___||___________________________________
_0_______|_____0_______|_____0_______|_2____|_0_4__|_0_.___||___________________________________
_____0___|_0_______0___|_0_______0___|_0____|______|_______||___________________________________
Contact Donald Sauter: send an email; view guestbook; sign guestbook.
Back to Donald Sauter's main page.
Rather shop than think? Please visit My Little Shop of Rare and Precious Commodities.
Back to the top of this page.
Helpful keywords not in the main text: amelia luigi; women guitarists; female guitarist; william shakespeare; william shakspere.
Parents, if you're considering tutoring or supplemental education for your child, you may be interested in my observations on Kumon.