The Providence Mandolin Orchestra is pleased to announce the following concert, with special guest artist Robert Paul Sullivan:
June 17, 2006, 8 P.M.
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Road
Concord, Massachusetts
I.
Suite No. 6 Hermann Ambrosius
Prelude
Minuet
Sarabande
Gavotte-Trio
Badinerie
Song of Japanese Autumn Yasuo Kuwahara
Song for My Father Clarice Assad
Concerto per orchestra a pizzico Victor Kioulaphides
Sinfonia
Notturno
Rondo
Concerto in C Major (RV 425) Antonio Vivaldi
Allegro
Largo
Presto
Robert Paul Sullivan, mandolin
II.
American Songs Traditional
(announced from the stage)
Robert Paul Sullivan, mandocello
Abendmusik: Nocturne de Salon, Op. 227 Ferdinando Carulli
Allegro
Largo
Allegretto Grazioso
Summer Music Robert Martel
Morning Song
Meditation
Evening Dance
Mark Davis, guitar
Robert Paul Sullivan, guitar
Concierto de Media Luna Jose Luis Barroso
Recuerdos
Elegia
Danza
Chagall’s Mandolin Hankus Netsky
Eastern Wind
Song of Longing
Silenced Voices
Song of Passion
Sirba
Robert Paul Sullivan, mandolin
Program Notes
By Robert A. Margo
Italy is the ancestral home of the mandolin, spiritually and literally. It was in Italy that the “mandolino” and “mandoline” first made their appearances in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The mandolino had six courses (double strings) tuned mostly in fourths while the mandoline had four courses tuned in fifths like the modern mandolin (or violin). Vivaldi wrote his “mandolin” works such as the familiar RV 425 for the six course instrument although these are frequently performed on the modern mandolin, as in today’s concert.
By the mid nineteenth century the mandolin had fallen into disuse in European art music but remained popular as a folk instrument in Italy. A revival ensued in the late nineteenth century, and the mandolin soon became one of the most widely played instruments in the Old and New Worlds. Virtuosos burst on the scene, tutors written, ensembles of all sizes and types formed, and vast quantities of music published. It was during this “Golden Age” of mandolin that ensembles of mandolin family instruments became very popular. The contemporary American version of the mandolin orchestra mimics the bowed strings variety, featuring sections of mandolins (violin), tenor mandola (viola), mandocello (cello), mandobass (double bass) and classical guitar for harmonic support.
Today’s concert features two of the classics of the modern repertoire for mandolin orchestra, Hermann Ambroisus’ “Suite No. 6” written in a friendly, neo-baroque style; and Yasuo Kuwahara’s “Song of Japanese Autumn”, a romantic work whose cadenza is spiced by pentatonic scales and arpeggios that hazily evoke the music of the composer’s homeland. Jose Luis Barroso’s “Concierto de Media Luna” wears its Spanish origins on its sleeves with pointed references to flamenco harmonies and rhythms. The concert also features a remarkable new work, Victor Kioulaphides’ “Concerto per orchestra a pizzico”, composed for the Dutch ensemble Het Consort and given its United States premiere in February by the Providence Mandolin Orchestra. Written for the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, Clarice Assad’s “Song for My Father” is filled with the subtle harmonies and infectious rhythms of the composer’s native Brazil.
Other than the human voice no instrument has been partnered more often in chamber music with the classical guitar than a second guitar. Ferdinando Carulli was one of the most prolific of the early nineteenth century guitarist-composers. Carulli’s “Nocturne de Salon” falls easy on the ear with its sprightly melodies. Robert Martel is a classical guitarist and composer from Massachusetts. His works for mandolin orchestra have been performed widely, including by the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, which featured his piece “Sky Colored Lake“ on its recording “Songs Without Words“. True to its title, Martel’s “Summer Music” for guitar duo features breezy harmonies and relaxed rhythms.
A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and scholar, Hankus Netsky teaches improvisation and Jewish music at the New England Conservatory. He is the founder and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, an internationally renowned Yiddish music ensemble. He has composed extensively for film and television, and has collaborated with such artists as Itzhak Perlman, Robin Williams, Joel Grey, and Theodore Bikel. Inspired by Chagall’s depiction of the mandolin in his paintings Netsky’s four movement concerto deftly mixes both Yiddish sounds and improvisation (by the soloist).
Robert Paul Sullivan studied guitar with Hibbard Perry, Rey de la Torre, Oscar Gighlia, and Emilio Pujol, among others. He has taught at the University of Rhode Island, Syracuse University, Clark University, and the New England Conservatory. A master of all instruments plucked, his recent performances have included the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s opening Gala concert of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with conductor James Levine in Boston and New York; Boston Celebrity Series; Alea III; New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra; Rhode Island Symphony Orchestra; Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra; Boston Ballet; Boston Opera Company; Musica Viva, and Broadway productions of Chicago, Ragtime, Fiddler on the Roof, and Man of La Mancha. Several of Sullivan’s students have gone onto important careers, including John Muratore, Hopkinson Smith, and Crawford Young.
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Originally Posted by (margora @ June 09 2006, 09:36)
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