SARABANDE and GIGUE by VICTOR KIOULAPHIDES on the Mandoloncello of the Mandolin family.

The Sarabande and the Gigue are the fourth and fifth of five dances belonging to the 'Suite for Ali' composed by Victor Kioulaphides. The work was written for the English mandolin virtuosa Alison Stephens (1970 - 2010), who premiered it at the Dartington Festival in 2009.
The composition is intended as a tribute to all the great masters of the High Baroque and originally meant to be performed either on the (octave) mandola (GDAE) or on the mandolin.

Here Alex Timmerman performs the Sarabande and the Gigue on a mandoloncello, one of the largest instruments of the Italian mandolin family. Like the liuto cantabile (or liuto moderno) with its five double strings, this kind of plectrum played tenor mandolin with four double strings had developed around 1890. A development already set in motion a century earlier by the Neapolitan musical instrument makers of the famous Vinaccia and Fabricatore families. The mandoloncello is strung with four double metal strings and known as the tenor/bass mandolin of the Mandolin family. The tuning of the mandoloncello is in fifths (CC-GG-DD-AA).
The reason to perform the Sarabande and the Gigue on mandoloncello is because original music composed for this instrument is scarse and knowing that the composer has no objection what-so-ever to do so, gave me the opportunity to play this wonderful but - in Northern Europe, unfortunately often so neglected instrument.

The mandoloncello seen in this video was made around 1920 by Claudio Cavelli in the Neapolitan style. Its design was also influenced by the Roman design since two characteristics of the Roman mandoloncello type are incorporated in this instrument; its V-shaped neck and it's slotted headstock with the sideway-placed tuning mechanics.
The mandoloncello is strung with four pairs of metal strings and played with a plectrum. In this case I use a rigid 6-cm. long 'Roman' style plectrum made of imitation tortoise shell celluloid. The strings used here are custom made by the German String Makers Firm FISOMA. The four string pairs are all bronze wound over a plain steel core. Like the luito moderno, the mandoloncello was mainly used to play the tenor parts in Mandolin orchestras. The music is mostly notated entirely in the bass clef, although occasionally a treble clef is used for the highest frazes.

Unfortunately, and in my opinion entirely unjustified, the popularity of the mandoloncello vanished after World War II, as was the case with the Chitarrone moderno, the Liuto cantabile and the Alto mandolin (Mandoliola). Their role in mandolin orchestras and plectrum quartets was taken over by respectively the Double bass, the Spanish guitar and the (octave) Mandola. This video hopes to show that in our modern time the mandoloncello, with its own sound, still has a role to play. Both, as a soloist instrument and as an instrument in an orchestra or ensemble strength.

Alex Timmerman - December 2010.


To learn more about Victor Kioulaphides and his compositions, please visit his website:http://home.earthlink.net/~vkiou­laphi...
To download pdfs and soundfiles of music for mandolin including the Suite for Ali composed by Victor Kioulaphides for free, please visit this web page: http://www.paperclipdesign.com/vk/

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Victor
• Kioulaphides
• Prelude
• Sarabande
• Gigue
• Suite
• for
• Alison
• Stephens
• Alex
• Timmerman
• Liuto
• moderno
• cantabile
• Mandoloncello
• Mandocello
• Mandolin
• Consort

[Bratrecord]

oh yes! use of mandocello was truly left in oblivion, and it is a pity. This is one of the many assessment errors from our culture of plucked string orchestra performers

aaahhhh!

[OrchestradiMandolini]

Hi @Bratrecord,

Thanks for listening and for your comment. You are exactly right about the Mandoloncello! Like the Mandoliola (Alto mandolin) and the Liuto cantabile, the Mandoloncello has been, and unfortunately still is, a neglected instrument of the mandolin family. With this and other videos I hope to raise the interest for studying and playing these fantastic instruments again. And hope is justified because more and more people start playing them again!

Best greetings from Holland.

[Bratrecord]

The 12-string guitar.

Unfortunately in the past 3 years I left the world of concerts to devote myself completely to the transcript to the arrangement and the meticulous research and listening and reading notes for all orchestras posted on youtube

otherwise I would have had time to insert a 12-string guitar in orchestra

bye Andrew

[Bratrecord]

It is true. and there is another instrument that has never entered in the organic of a PSO and it would have every right . A tool that if used wisely, and few know how to use (it sounded more often by American instrumentalists)

Go on

[cathal627]

Brilliant music, I only play Mandolin but would love to try an instrument like that!

[victorkioulaphides]

A truly sublime performance of the Sarabande, and an appropriately vivacious one of the Gigue. Bravo! (Not to mention the most astonishing feat of playing this piece on a much larger instrument than it was intended for!) Lovely left-hand ornaments, too...