A Mandolin in Naples and Venice

[ardcarp]

Lucie Skeaping presents a concert by Il Pomo d'Oro and mandolin player Raffaele La Ragione, featuring Baroque concertos from Venice and La Ragione's native city of Naples by Vivaldi, Paisiello and Francesco Lecce.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bz6b

Article about the mandolin on Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin

or from Encyclopaedia Brittanica https://www.britannica.com/art/mandolin

[JasonPalmer]

Looks lovely, thanks for bringing it to my attention. Usually busy elsewhere Sundays but will try a listen again in the week.

[smittims]

Thanks, ardcarp, for the alert.

It's curious that the mandolin had a 20th-century revival: Mahler, Schoenberg, not the composers one would expect. It was always a joy to see Hugo D'Alton come on stage amid all the vast forces asembled for Mahler 8.

[MickyD]

And even Beethoven wrote for the instrument! I have a disc somewhere of a sonata for it accompanied on the fortepiano by Richard Burnett of Finchcocks.

[ardcarp]

To be perfectly honest, whilst I am intrigued by the mandolin's history, I find too much of its plectrum plucked tone becomes tiresome on the ear. I think I enjoyed the programme because, despite its title, two of the four items were without mandolin! This is in no way a criticism of the excellent player. We own a round bellied Neapolitan-style mandolin hanging on a wall at home (the four double string version, tuned like a violin) and it is a lovely ornament. Never played...except for the odd twang by an interested visitor. I am intrigued by the way they are made (as lutes are) by having the very thin strips of wood glued edge to edge. There is no other structural element, so it seems a miracle they hang together. Apparently they are made on a mandolin shaped mould.