Re: Mandocello History ?
There was similar fashion in early 20th Century England for mandolin orchestras, similar to what Graham describes for Italy and the contemporary movement in the USA. Before commercially recorded music and radio broadcasts there was a huge grassroots music movement in UK cities, fed by the growing prosperity of the middle class and a hunger for 'cultural enrichment' or just music-based socialising. Both Europe and America seem to have shared similar socio-economic contexts for the early 20th Century 'home-made music' boom (which seems to have happened in isolation from any local folk music activities, at least in the UK). The outbreak of the Great War in Europe seems to have put a brake on these music-making trends, then new technologies helped suppress them as the century progressed.
Canny instrument makers (as with Gibson in the USA) recognised and served this demand from many newly-formed local bands. This applied to all forms of music and many classes of instruments, not just string ensembles. Concertina bands were formed across the UK (with the Salvation Army prominent) and, most famously, brass bands - often sponsored by local employers. The brass band tradition remains important in northern England, although much diminished, whilst the other types of bands have all but disappeared.
In the early 1900s J E Dallas of London would outfit entire bands/ orchestras with a complete suite of mandos, ranging from sopranino to upright bass, including both octave mandolin (which Dallas called a 'mandolo') and mandocello. One of the Dallas adverts shows a military band that had been outfitted in this way, presumably to give the officers and their wives a rest from the usual brass and wind performances, when playing indoors. These were well made and robust enough for some to occasionally turn up in playable condition. I have examples of Dallas mandolin, tenor mandola and (octave) mandolo, which I play and I have seen examples of the mandocellos for sale but for rather more money than I paid for my trio.
Kevin
Anglocelt
mainly Irish & Scottish but open to all dance-oriented melodic music.
Mandos: Gibson A2, Janish A5, Krishot F5, Taran Springwell, Shippey, Weber Elite A5; TM and OM by Dave Gregory, J E Dallas, Tobin & Davidson.
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