James Oswald, a prominent Scottish composer, music publisher and teacher, composed and published 12 divertimentos in London around 1759 for the popular wire-strung cittern known then as the "guittar". The body of work was intended to help meet the demand for easy to intermediate solo guittar music. Arranged here for the modern mandolin in both standard notation and tablature, each piece includes three or four short movements full of pleasant melodies and interesting ideas. Whereas the original compositions were published in the key native to the guittar tuning (an open C major chord), this book offers the music in a variety of mandolin-friendly keys. The transpositions adhere to Oswald's original intent that the music be easy to play and pleasant to hear. While suitable for teaching and performance these divertimentos are, above all, fun and satisfying to study and play.
