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Thread: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor guitar

  1. #1
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor guitar

    Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-75): Praeludium I (for two violins and piano)

    This prelude by Shostakovich is usually played on two cellos and piano (lots of professional versions on Youtube), although the published score is for two violins and piano (played one octave higher than on cello).

    For my own recording, I am playing the piece at the same pitch as the cello version, but on two octave mandolins -- I was intending to play it as a mandocello duet, but it sits so high in the cello's range that it would need a 28-fret mandocello. It goes up to fret 21 on the OM as well!

    I have replaced the original piano part with my own stripped down tenor guitar part using the same chord progression.

    Sheet music (scored for violin, viola and piano) is at Musescore:

    https://musescore.com/user/17924446/scores/3670491

    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin (x2)
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin

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    Registered User Eric Hanson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    BRAVO!
    VERY well done!!
    I really enjoyed that. Thank you very much for posting.
    Eric Hanson
    Click #016/ Born on 2/29/08 - Sold to the next Conservator of this great mandolin!
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  5. #3
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Many thanks, Eric. It's a fun piece to play and transfers fairly easily to OM (or indeed mandolin, an octave higher). Good practice for position playing on a slow piece.

    If anybody wants to try their own guitar accompaniment, the chords I have used are:

    Structure: A-B-A-Coda

    A part (16 bars in 4/4 time): Bm/Bm/G/A7/D/G/A7/F#/Bm/B7/G6/D6/C/A7/Bm/Bm
    B part (8 bars in 3/4 time): G/Bm/A7/D/A7/Bm/Em/F#
    Coda (3 bars in 4/4 time): Bm/Bm/Bm

    Martin

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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Thanks again for some great music--never expected to play Shostakovich on my Stiver! And I have a friend who plays classical mandola so we will enjoy this. Is there a way to put it in bass clef so I could play on my K4? I don't know if Musescore does this.

  7. #5
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Quote Originally Posted by Doc James View Post
    Thanks again for some great music--never expected to play Shostakovich on my Stiver! And I have a friend who plays classical mandola so we will enjoy this. Is there a way to put it in bass clef so I could play on my K4? I don't know if Musescore does this.
    Yes, Musescore does this. Just drag the bass clef symbol onto the staff in question, after transposing into the right octave (the linked score is for two violins). I attach the parts at the pitch in my recording, written as a duet of CGDA mandola (alto clef) and mandocello (bass clef). Note that you need at least 22 frets to play the mandocello part -- my Suzuki mandocello has only 18 frets, but I think the K4 has 25 so you should be OK.

    Martin
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Five_Pieces_For_2_Violins_and_Piano_-_I_Prelude-Mandola.pdf   Five_Pieces_For_2_Violins_and_Piano_-_I_Prelude-Mandocello.pdf  

  8. #6
    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Love this! I'm a big fan of Shostakovch!

    I'm looking at arranging the Jazz waltz #2 with cello and mandolin, the mandolin will only be accompaniment... so it will be interesting.

    First time arranging for Mandolin!



    C
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    Hey... I have a blog here!
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    Feel free to stop on by and let me know what you think!

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    Moderator JEStanek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Very nice.
    There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946

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    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Martin,

    Any chance you'll work on the remaining 4 pieces?
    :-)

    C
    "The Loar" LM-520
    Ludwig & Ludwig 8-370X Marimba
    Slingerland Modified Drumset
    Hand made profesional djembes from Guinea and Maili West Africa
    and toys... lots and lots of toys.

    Hey... I have a blog here!
    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/blogs/53556
    Feel free to stop on by and let me know what you think!

  11. #9
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Quote Originally Posted by Carl23 View Post
    Any chance you'll work on the remaining 4 pieces?
    Not at the moment. I am, however, working on Waltz #2 for mandolin quartet. Should be done later today...

    Martin

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    Registered User Carl23's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Jonas View Post
    Not at the moment. I am, however, working on Waltz #2 for mandolin quartet. Should be done later today...

    Martin
    Great tune, who gets the lead line?

    C
    "The Loar" LM-520
    Ludwig & Ludwig 8-370X Marimba
    Slingerland Modified Drumset
    Hand made profesional djembes from Guinea and Maili West Africa
    and toys... lots and lots of toys.

    Hey... I have a blog here!
    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/blogs/53556
    Feel free to stop on by and let me know what you think!

  13. #11
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    Quote Originally Posted by Carl23 View Post

    Any chance you'll work on the remaining 4 pieces?
    A year on from my recording of the prelude, here is my mandolin duet version of the second movement, the Gavotte.

    Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Five Pieces For Two Violins And Piano
    II. Gavotte


    This is the second of Shostakovich's violin duets, which were reworked from previously-published compositions. This gavotte is a setting of a movement from his Ballet Suite No. 3, which in turn was adapted from incidental music he wrote in 1934 for a play based on Balzac's The Human Comedy.

    The score is available at Musescore:

    https://musescore.com/user/17924446/scores/3670511

    I have played the two violin parts on a vintage Italian bowlback mandolin, to a computer-generated piano accompaniment.

    If anybody wants to try their own hand, I attach a PDF of the two mandolin parts on a single page as well as an MP3 of the piano accompaniment, as generated by Musescore using the built-in piano sound font.

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin (x2)



    Martin
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Shostakovich gavotte two mandolins.pdf  
    Attached Files Attached Files

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  15. #12

    Default Re: Shostakovich: Praeludium for two octave mandolins & tenor gui

    That's really great. I just put my head back, closed my eyes, and enjoyed.

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