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View Full Version : Want to hear Calace's Tarentella?



Jonathan
Jul-08-2004, 9:06am
Some of you probably know this already, but for those who don't - go to the Calace website and turn your speakers on. You'll hear a fine rendition of Raffaele's "Tarantella" played on mandolin, piano, and (I think) liuto. Does anyone know who's playing what?
#I find it interesting that the tempo is slower than one would expect - especially with all the fast and furious tarentelli one tends to hear (including the finale of Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony). The Calace performance is certainly bouncy and spirited, and includes some rubati not indicated in the printed music. Perhaps now my colleagues and I in the Baltimore Mandolin Quartet will feel justified in playing such pieces at a reasonable clip, rather than trying to make them into virtuoso showpieces (which tends to lead to sloppiness and dropped notes, alas!)

Jonathan

vkioulaphides
Jul-08-2004, 9:21am
Uhm... where on the Calace site, Jonathan?

Not having heard this performance yet (obviously) but speaking in general, aesthetic principle, yes, you are absolutely right: Tarantellas were never meant to be done at lightning speed; yes, zippy, sparkling, leaping... certainly. But never scrambled! As you correctly note, the usual performance-practice goes a-mile-a-minute.

Trivium, which you (more so than others, perhaps) will appreciate: My teacher and mentor (David Walter) did Toscanini's entire stint at NBC; naturally, Italian and Italianate works figured big in the Maestro's repertoire. Still, he absolutely refused to do Mendelssohn's "Italian", as he felt that the piece, both in its compositional conception and in its performance-tradition, had gotten totally out of hand, especially in terms of the tempi— and this, mind you, coming from a conductor who showed no little fondness for fast tempi! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Also, when we played Calace's Tarantella at Carlo Aonzo's 2003 workshop, the tempo was bouncy but never frantic— truly Italian!

Jim Garber
Jul-08-2004, 10:12am
The Calace site (http://www.calace.it/) has been updated with music and animation.

I believe that that recording is actually old Raffaele himself playing his own on an 78rpm recording.

Jim

vkioulaphides
Jul-08-2004, 10:17am
Aha! I was desperately looking for a link to hit, while still having the sound turned off on my Control Panels— I HATE those annoying, incessant bleeps and churps!

Oh... and, the tempo is p-e-r-f-e-c-t! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Eugene
Jul-08-2004, 1:28pm
I think the recording is Raffaele himself on liuto cantabile, Maria on mandolin...and somebody whose name I don't know on piano.

Jim Garber
Jul-08-2004, 5:14pm
There are two versions on the Japanese collection I have. Both have Josephine Heidenreich on piano. One has Raffaele on mandolin solo with piano and the other has Maria on mandolin and Raffaele on liuto moderno.

Actually I just noticed that there is a third version with Raffaele on mandolin accompanied by a pianisty whose name is indicated in kanji. Must be a Japanese musician.

BTW are there any additional recordings of Raffaele reissued on CD?

Jim

Plamen Ivanov
Jul-09-2004, 1:38am
Hello,

I find the tempo proper too. The tarantella is a dance. The player should be merciful to the dancers. Otherwise they will brake their legs. I personaly play tarantelas a little bit faster. Just a little bit.
When it`s about tempi, I always think of Mozart`s "Marcia a la Turka". Poor soldiers! Not to speak, that there is nothing turkish in this piece...


Good luck!

vkioulaphides
Jul-09-2004, 5:48am
I agree with Plamen on both counts:

Yes, there is always a range of tempi for any dance, and I can think of several tarantellas that would sound best (to my ear, at least) a bit faster than Calace's; on the other hand, his is a rather complex one, with all sorts of artsy touches— far beyond the earthy, steamy, sweaty folk-dance. Most (modern = frantic) renditions of tarantellas make me reach instinctively for my fly-swatter.

And also yes, Mozart's famous rondo is rather, ehm... loosely titled. Ostensibly, it echoes the sound of Turkish military percussion ensembles (cymbals of various shapes and sizes, drums, tambourines, etc.), which were first heard in Mozart's cultural milieu as the Ottomans besieged Vienna. Beyond that, precious little. As Plamen writes, another victim of the "fast = exciting" fallacy.

Plamen Ivanov
Jul-10-2004, 4:30am
Right, Victor! It`s hard to imagine for example Rossini`s popular Tarantella played in such tempo as the tempo of Calace`s tarantella, performed by the composer himself or Maria.

Good luck!