Claudio Mandonico
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CLAUDIO MANDONICO (born in 1957) Conductor of the Citta Di Brescia plectrum orchestra, Mandonico is among those contemporary composers whose production is largely dedicated to mandolin. In 1986, he passed his composition diploma at the Brescia conservatory under the direction of Giancarlo Facchinetti after having studied saxophone, piano, double bass at the Brescia Youth Centre. In his pieces for plectrum orchestra, he offers a repertoire reaching the fringes of the classical universe with jazz and pop music influences. Ceciliana, a piece composed during the early nineties, is a very good illustration. It is built on a theme by the jazzman Max Roach, and it develops ten variations of different styles and writings; the theme settles in a chaconne melodically declined in the first variations, then progressing in an intermingling of fine curls. The diminutions, both melodic and rhythmic, give chore to the initial sound material and generate an ever increasing reality which settles into successive waves. Some variations allude to other influences : the lightness of a suite for lute by J.S. Bach, or the splendor of a saraband. Progressive dissonances lead to two successive solos, the first one a mandolin solo and the second one a mandola solo. The orchestra, playing the part of a jazz rhythmic section, supports those two improvisations which, as they move along, make the whole piece swing. The Finale is tender and expressive, shedding a cool and transparent glimmer on the major theme. HERMANN AMBROSIUS (1897-1983) Born in Hamburg, Herman Ambrosius spent his first years in Magdebourg, then in Berlin, Chemnitz, and in Leipzig where he received his musical education. He finished his studies at the Berlin Academy of Arts in Hans Pfitzner’s class. The Leipzig-Connewitz Bandoneon-Verein was his first contact with popular music. He started to compose for plectrum orchestra after he met Erich Kramer and his Leipziger Lautengilde. His Suite n°6 for plectrum orchestra was created on September 21st , 1935 during Cologne federal music festival (the Bundesmusikfest). It is the first German piece of music for plectrum orchestra to renew with the dance movements of the baroque suite. His compositions are meant for various formations, from the solo instrument to the great symphonic orchestra. Among his work for mandolin, his plectrum quartets are some of the most developed pieces. The one in G major is situated half way between two tendencies: the simplicity and classicism of the one in D major, and the modernity of the one in E minor. Elements coming from the old tradition (imitation composition, rhythmic games and processes) are combined with the lyrical and expressive inspiration of accompanied melody (in the slow movements), as the low pitched instruments such as mandola and guitar take care of the melody. CARLO MUNIER (1859-1911) Carlo Munier was born in Naples. He started studying the mandolin, then the guitar with Carmine Laurentiis. He was fifteen when he entered the piano, counterpoint, and harmony classes of the Naples conservatory. He graduated at nineteen and got the first composition prizewinner and the second harmony prizewinner. During that period he gave some of his pieces in concert. In 1890, he founded the very first plectrum quartet ever known (two mandolins, a mandola, and a mandocello or a guitar). He developed his teaching activity through various means : a Mandolin Complete Method, which included the Scuola del mandolino (1891, published in 1895) and the Scioglidita op. 199, 213, 225, 227 (all of them daily exercises for the agility of the fingers). Il metodo grande completo was the first and complete method for the instrument. Meunier’s concert production was rich, about three hundred and fifty compositions. The simple conception of his first pieces (many virtuoso passages on a basic chord progression with no thematic work) give way to a more far-fetched writing in his later works (among those are the three quartets). His D major quartet is an ambitious work showing his desire to give birth to a repertoire close to that of the great tradition. It recalls symphonic music in the very orchestral style as well as in the shape, structure, and linkings of the four movements. The slow movements are very expressive, they use the rich melodic potential of the mandolin and mandocello, offering them melodies coming from the Italian Opera. In the last movement, one can hear elements coming from popular tradition. RAFFAELE CALACE (1863-1934) Raffaele Calace was born in Naples in a family of musicians and instrument makers. His passion for composition and the instrument his father made, mandolin, started very early. He travelled a lot after his musical studies at the Naples conservatory where he learnt harmony, counterpoint, and composition. Then he took the succession of his father with his brother Nicola. He was eager to improve the making of the instrument so he only took on composition at the end of the nineteenth century. The first edition of his huge work, made of nine volumes of two hundred pages, was published in Japan between 1974 and 1985, which gives an idea of the extent of his work. Among his creations one can find pieces for chamber music from the duet to the octet, pieces for plectrum orchestra, two six volume methods for the mandolin and the liuto cantabile, an instrument Calace invented which was tuned like a cello with an added E string. In the CD you can hear ten preludes for solo mandolin composed between 1905 and 1934, the year of his death. The concerto for four plectrum instruments and guitar is one of the nicest pieces written by Calace. If the guitar has a minor role, accompaniment and harmonic support, the other four instruments are brilliantly brought out through a very expressive writing which shows, if need be, the love and knowledge Calace had for the mandolin, mandola and liuto cantabile. Although called concerto the piece is closer to a fantasia. One movement includes and links together successive and sometimes recurrent thematic elements. The reference to the concerto is more in the spirit of the work and in the way it is composed. Each of the four instruments is a soloist playing with the rest, and taking up for itself the thematic elements. The importance given to the liuto cantabile shows the interest Calace had in the instrument that he himself played. MARIO MACIOCCHI (1874-1955) He was born in Rome and studied music at the Sainte-Cecile Academy. He was a cello player and performed in the famous Roman Quintet. He came to Paris for the Universal Exhibition, settled there in 1900, and founded the Paris Mandolin Orchestra which he conducted for many years. He is an emblematic and leading figure in the world of mandolin with more than eight hundred pieces composed for plectrum orchestra. Imperia sums up both his style and that of the early twentieth century plectrum orchestras. The orchestral writing is inspired by the great symphonic orchestra. At that time, many transcriptions from famous pieces were played, in particular overtures of the great operas, Italian or by Mozart. In Imperia the influence of that tradition can be heard in the pursuit of orchestral effects, of progressive crescendos, which need a certain volume, and therefore a fairly high number of musicians. Those effects, along with a very sensitive writing and the use of Italian popular melodies, are to be affiliated, all things considered, with a Rossini. DIMITRI NICOLAU (born in 1946) Born in Greece, he studied music there and in France. He also made research in popular music, taking a deep interest in that of the Balkans and the Mediterranean area. In 1967, he had to leave the country because he opposed the Colonel political regime. He obtained political asylum in Italy. Now an Italian citizen, he lives and work in Rome. He has a degree from the Rome Experimental Movie Centre; he composes for the radio, cinema, and television. His work is actually made of more than 260 pieces (symphonic and chamber music, operas, vocal music) among them many for plectrum orchestra. Simple Suite was composed for the first session of the EGMYO, European Guitar and Mandolin Youth Orchestra; it is a beautiful four movement piece. One notices immediately a reference to the popular and traditional music from the Balkans, present throughout the piece especially in the use of irregular tempos. Pocket Ouverture, the first movement, is built on two thematic ideas : the first is rhythmic with bars of seven quavers, each section starting in an imitation of the former which then leads to the second idea, more melodic and calm. The second movement, Tabarin, is light and gay. The double bass solos are a bit jazzy and tinged with humour and irony. The third movement, ... Im Traume, is more introspective, more nocturnal. It shows the composer’s very delicate writing as well as his perfect knowledge of the orchestra instruments. The melodies of a very finely cut tone intermingle and move around the outline of an omnipresent mandola to create a subtle airy and dreamy atmosphere. The fourth movement breaks with the intimacy of the former and releases all the energy of a sunny dance, just like a festive dizzying bacchanalian. ARGENTEUIL’S ESTUDIANTINA The Argenteuil’s Estudiantina is a plectrum orchestra whose goal is to present and play the repertoire composed for that type of formation. It is composed of mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars, and double bass which makes it the almost exact replica of the string orchestra (with a bow), the difference lies in the way the string is stricken and vibrated : plucked with a plectrum. This type of orchestra was born in Italy during the second half of the nineteenth century.