Mandolin in colonial america

[Neil Gladd]

This is an excerpt from a 2 part article I wrote for the CMSA Newsletter in 1985. This information is almost entirely from Oscar Sonneck's Early American Concert Life, published in 1949.

The mandolin first arrived in America at about the same time that it was beginning to become popular in Europe, during the second half of the 18th century. The earliest known performance on a mandolin in colonial America was given by Giovanni Gualdo, who had come here from Italy by way of England, where his "Six Easy Evening Entertainments" for 2 mandolins and harpsichord or cello were published (printed copy in Kings College, Cambridge, and an MS copy in the Library of Congress). He set up shop in Philadelphia as a wine merchant and music dealer in August 1767, and taught several different instruments, including the mandolin. His first concert was given on November 16, 1769 and included a "Solo upon the Mandolino, by Mr. Gualdo". He gave additional concerts on November 30, 1769 and October 12, 1770. Among the composers he played was Emanuele Barbella, so Gualdo may be responsible for the only complete surviving copy of Barbella's Six Duettos, now in the Library of Congress.

Unfortunately, Gualdo died in 1771 by "a Fall from his House" (as reported by Francis Hopkinson in a letter to John Penn), but not too long after his demise a few other mandolinists appeared. On June 17, 1774 a concert was given "for the benefit of Signor Sodi, first dancing master of the Opera in Paris and London, in which Mr. Vidal who has been a musician of the Chambers of the King of Portugal will play on diverse instruments of music". In the course of the concert, Vidal played "a duetto on the mandolino, accompanied with the violin." It should be pointed out that Signor Sodi was the brother of Carlo Sodi, who had performed on the mandolin at a Concert Spirituel in Paris in 1750. An additional mandolin concert was given in New York in 1774. After these concerts, I have no more references to the mandolin until it was re-introduced to American audiences a little over 100 years later. The mandolin had fallen out of favor in Europe in the mid 19th century, and the situation seems to have been the same here, although the necessary research to either confirm or disprove this has not yet been done.

If Barry is reading, maybe he can post his article.

[Jim Garber]

Wonderful, Neil. Thanks for posting that. I look fwd to more info on this topic.

Jim

[John Craton]

Thanks, Neil, I'm really glad to learn this. As fate would have it, your information clears both my recent opera reconstructions of guilt for being "mandolin-free," as one dates from 1730 (before Gualdo's evening entertainments) and the other from 1790 (after the last 18th-century reference to a mandolin concert on these shores). I could say I was brilliant in my choice of orchestration for being so historically astute, but the simple fact is it was pure coincidence that these fell into the right years — in other words, "dumb luck." However, it is good to know that the mandolin was known in Colonial America since I'd formerly thought it was almost completely unknown. This will make for some interesting possibilities if I ever buckle down to setting other period music.

[Neil Gladd]

There are more references, but these are the only ones I had at the time. Someday I will update it in my copious free time!

[jk245]

There is another article

www.cetrapublishing.com/artists/rossi/colonial%20paper.pdf

[Bob A]

I'd be more inclined to think he died from a fall from his horse; nearly as popular a method of population control at the time as the automobile today, and certanly more dangerous. Even in this enlightened time, these quadrupeds are not available with safety belts or airbags (unless ridden by members of the Legislature).

[btrott]

Here is the article Neil mentioned, from the Winter 1997 Mandolin Quarterly.

Barry

The Mandolin in Colonial America

"From every house a constant tuting may be listened to upon one instrument or another." So Landon Carter noted in his journal on a visit to Williamsburg, Virginia in 1771. Throughout English North America, music played an important part in the lives of the colonists. Musical instruments and music books are regularly listed in wills and inventories. Merchants frequently advertised instruments, music, and strings for sale. Tavern keepers often kept instruments on hand for their patrons to use. Dances and concerts took place in all the major cities -- Charleston, Williamsburg, Annapolis, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Much musical activity took place at home as well, with family and friends gathering to play through popular pieces. For the most part, the popular music of the colonies reflected the current tastes in England. Prior to the Revolutionary War, the colonists looked to England as the model for fashion. This hearkening to English tastes had the unfortunate consequence of limiting interest in the mandolin in the colonies, for, as Paul Sparks notes, "the mandolin never attained the popularity in Britain that it enjoyed in many other parts of Europe" (Tyler and Sparks 1989, 97).

Despite this lack of popularity, concert programs and advertisements from eighteenth century America do, on occasion, mention mandolins. As well, some information has survived about the careers of two mandolinists in the colonies.

The earliest reference to mandolin in the English colonies comes in 1769, when an advertisement appeared in the Pennsylvania newspapers that John Gualdo had a shop where he sold musical instruments, "adapted and composed music for every kind of instrument," kept a servant who would copy music to order, and would teach ladies and gentlemen to play violin, German flute, guitar, and mandolin (Sonneck 1949, 70). Gualdo had come to Philadelphia in 1767 as a "Wine Merchant from Italy, but late from London," and advertised that he had opened a store in Walnut Street.

Apparently his venture was not as successful as he had hoped, for in October of 1769 Gualdo advertised his intent to leave the colonies for Europe, "to transact some particular and advantageous business for himself and other gentlemen of this town." The same advertisement requests that those owing Gualdo money "make a speedy payment" to enable him to discharge his own debts prior to leaving. However, for unknown reasons, Gualdo did not leave Philadelphia. Rather, the Pennsylvania Journal of November 9, 1769 carried an advertisement for a "Grand Concert of Vocal and Instrumental Musick; with solos on different instruments: the concert to be directed by Mr. Gualdo," to take place on November 16. The concert was in two acts, and included a number of pieces composed by Gualdo, including a violin trio; a German flute concert[o]; "a new Symphony after the present taste;" and a violin concerto, as well as "a solo upon the mandolin by Mr. Gualdo." Oscar Sonneck describes this performance as "the first composer's concert given [in English North America]."

This concert was followed by a series of subscription concerts put on by Gualdo, advertised in the Pennsylvania Gazette to begin on November 30 1769. The first of these concerts featured instrumental music by Geminiani, Barbella, Campioni, and [J.C.] Bach, as well as Gualdo's own compositions. The programs for the rest of the 1769 series have been lost, but the Pennsylvania Chronicle for October 1-8, 1770 contains an advertisement by Gualdo for an October 12 concert, which included among the pieces, a "Solo on the Mandolin," in addition to music for violin, French horn, harpsichord, and clarinet. A concert with a similar program to be held "two days after Christmas" was advertised in the Pennsylvania Journal on November 8. This concert would be followed by a dance for which Gualdo had composed six new minuets.

The December concert was followed by another, advertised to be held on February 8, 1771. The next advertisement for a concert directed by Gualdo appears on August 22, 1771, the concert to be held in October. However, prior to this concert, Gualdo suffered some misfortune, for Francis Hopkinson, prominent Philadelphia musician and composer, wrote to a friend on October 17 that "Sigr. Gualdo lies in Chains in one of the Cells of the Pennsylva. Hospital" (Sonneck 1949, 74). It is assumed that he died there not long after.

Despite a short career, Gualdo certainly had some influence in shaping the musical tastes in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, few of his compositions have survived. At the British Museum there is a copy of "Six Sonatas for Two German Flutes" by Giov. Gualdo da Vandero (Sonneck 1949, 73). The Rowe Music Library at Kings College, Cambridge has a copy of Gualdo's "Six Easy Evening Entertainments for Two Mandolins or Two Violins" (Tyler and Sparks 1989, 156). A manuscript copy of this work can be found at the Library of Congress.

About the same time that John Gualdo was establishing himself in Philadelphia, another mandolinist was giving performances in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1769, a concert was advertised that would feature Mr. Thomas Wall, performing on the mandolin and seven-stringed guitar (Hildebrand 1992, 345).

Thomas Wall, like John Gualdo, came to the colonies from London. In October of 1765, Wall arrived in Charleston, South Carolina to join David Douglas's acting troupe, the American Company (Rankin 1965, 104). While the theater was being readied for the winter season, Wall advertised in various South Carolina newspapers that he would give guitar lessons. As the American Company prepared to leave for the northern colonies in the spring of 1766, Wall advertised his intention to remain in Charleston as a guitar teacher, but evidently was dissuaded, for he continued to appear in the cast lists of the American Company during the 1766 and 1767 seasons in New York and Philadelphia. A handbill from Albany, New York from the late 1760s announced that Wall would teach "Ladies and Gentlemen to play on the Guitar." In addition to teaching, Wall also performed a variety of comic lectures including "a Critical Dissertation upon Noses" (New York Gazette 30 December 1768).

In the late 1760s and early 1770s, the American Company toured a circuit that included New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Williamsburg, and Fredricksburg, Virginia. As mentioned above, Wall performed on the mandolin and seven-stringed guitar in Annapolis in 1769, and in 1770, a Llewellyn Wall gave a concert in Annapolis on the same two instruments (Hildebrand 1992, 345). The combination of unusual instrumentation and shared surname, as well as the fact that the American Company was in Annapolis in 1770, would indicate that Thomas and Llewellyn Wall are one and the same.

In 1772, an advertisement appeared in the Maryland Gazette that "MR. WALL, COMEDIAN, Engages to teach Ladies and Gentlemen to play on the Guittar and Mandolin" (Heintze 1969, 41). The following year found Wall back in New York, where he advertised in the April 12 New York Mercury that he would teach both mandolin and guitar. It seems that Wall left the American Company after the 1773 season, for his name no longer appeared in the cast lists.

Wall next appeared in Williamsburg just prior to the Revolutionary War. The January 5 1775 Virginia Gazette noted that Mr. Thomas Wall would give a lecture on electricity "with demonstrations' at a local tavern.

Wall's whereabouts during the war are unknown, but it is likely that he spent the late 1770s in Maryland. In 1781, Thomas Wall co-founded the first theater company to be established in the U.S. following the war. He initially acted as manager, then later as performer with the Baltimore Company of Comedians. The group toured the new United States from 1782 to 1785, before folding. Wall continued to perform on the mandolin at this time. An Annapolis playbill from September 14, 1781 notes "Singing by Miss Wall (a Child of Seven years) [Thomas Wall's daughter] accompanied on mandolin" (Hildebrand 1992, 345). During 1784, the Baltimore Company performed in Richmond, Virginia, and Wall posted an advertisement that he would instruct ladies and gentlemen on "The Guitar and Mandolino." As well, Wall "also instructs Gentlemen in the use of the small sword (Richmond Gazette and Weekly Advertiser 27 November 1784)."

Wall apparently left the Baltimore Company following the 1784 season, and his fate is unknown. Possibly he returned to the theater in the 1790s, for playbills from the 1797 season of the Douglas Company note a Mr. Wall as a member of the cast. On July 20, 1797, a performance in Edenton, North Carolina included "music on guitar, a Critical Dissertation on Noses, to conclude with Shakespeare's Seven Ages or All the World's a Stage, pronounced by Mr. Wall."

There are a number of other fleeting references to mandolins in colonial America. In the Pennsylvania Journal of June 15, 1774, a "Grand Concert and Ball" was announced, to be held for the benefit of Signior Sodi (Sonneck 1949, 76). The program included "a duetto on the mandolin, accompanied by violin." This was to be performed by Mr. Vidal, "who has been a musician to the King of Portugal." Vidal also contributed a sonetta and a capriccio on the guitar, as well as composing two marches for the performance. It is possible that Vidal is the B. Vidal who was a composer and guitarist working in Paris in the 1780s (Eitner 1905, v.10, 80-81).

Signior Sodi, the promoter of the concert, also has some connection with the mandolin. Pietro Sodi was a dancer and dancing master who came from Europe to the colonies. He performed and taught in New York, Charleston and Philadelphia. According to Konrad Wolki, Sodi composed a "Divertissiment des Mandolines" for his brother Carlo Sodi, who performed on violin and mandolin with the Paris-based Comedie-Italienne (Wolki 1984, 11).

Another performance on the mandolin took place on May 17, 1774 in New York, where a Mr. Caze put on "An extraordinary instrumental and vocal Concert in two acts, consisting of different solos, upon various instruments, unknown in this country, to be executed by gentlemen of the Harmonic Society" (Sonneck 1949, 174). The second act of this extravaganza included "A French Ariette accompany'd with Mandolin and Violin" and "A Duo on the Mandoline and Violin." Unfortunately, the names of the performers are unknown.

Several composers whose music was quite popular in the colonies wrote pieces for the mandolin, but no record has been found of their mandolin pieces being performed here. The music of the Italian composer Nicolo Piccinni was frequently performed in concert here. Piccinni is known to have written at least one overture for mandolin (Tyler and Sparks 1989, 192). Barbella also wrote several works for mandolin, and his music was quite popular in the colonies. Their works remain a possible source for early mandolin performances in America.

Although not as popular as the German flute or violin, the mandolin was certainly known throughout the colonies of English North America. It seems to have been most popular just prior to the Revolutionary War. The majority of references to mandolins are in relation to concert performances. The music that people played in their homes and in the taverns for their own amusement is invariably poorly documented. Further research in this area may uncover more examples of mandolins and mandolinists in colonial America


BIBLIOGRAPHY


Eitner, Robert. Biographisch-bibliographisches Quellen-Lexikon der Musiker. Leipzig: Breitkopf and Hartel, 1898-1904. 10 v.

Heintze, James. Music in Colonial Annapolis. M.A. Thesis. American University, 1969.

Hildebrand, David. Musical Life in and Around Annapolis MD (1649-1776). PhD. Diss. The Catholic University of America, 1992.

New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Stanley Sadie, ed. London: Macmillan, 1980..

Rankin, Hugh. The Theatre in Colonial America. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1965.

Sonneck, Oscar. Early Concert-life in America (1731-1800). New York: Musurgia Publishers, 1949.

Tyler, James and Paul Sparks. The Early Mandolin. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1989.

Wolki, Konrad. Geschichte der Mandoline. trans. Keith Harris. Arlington, Va.: Plucked String, 1984.

[billkilpatrick]

great article - thank you.

what was the most popular instrument for people heading west? ... the banjo? ... violin?

seems like the mandolin would have been perfect.

[JeffD]

An additional mandolin concert was given in New York in 1774. After these concerts, I have no more references to the mandolin until it was re-introduced to American audiences a little over 100 years later. The mandolin had fallen out of favor in Europe in the mid 19th century, and the situation seems to have been the same here, although the necessary research to either confirm or disprove this has not yet been done.

I'll offer a speculation, with the caveot that I am not a historian. In high school I looked forward to history class because the book was always so big I could hide a small book inside it and read it class. I am living to day with the consequences of my cheat: I wish I knew more history.

Anyway, could it be that the mandolin was less popular during the first many decades of American independance because the folks tried to assert a cultural independance from Europe - disdaining things from Europe. Coffee over tea for example. Banjo over mandolin.

Just a thought.

[Neil Gladd]

I'd be more inclined to think he died from a fall from his horse

Considering that Gualdo was also a wine dealer, I always assumed that he had a few too many and fell out of a window.

Thanks for posting your article, Barry!

[mrmando]

Well, Gualdo apparently had money troubles, so he might've been pushed...

Guere's Gualdo?

[JimD]

Anyway, could it be that the mandolin was less popular during the first many decades of American independance because the folks tried to assert a cultural independance from Europe - disdaining things from Europe. Coffee over tea for example. Banjo over mandolin.

The problem with this theory is that banjos weren't big for another 60 years or so. Thomas Jefferson mentions them as an instrument of the Africans living in Virginia in the 1780s -- so there were banjos. They were not really a part of popular culture for some time.

I think that Barry's assertion (via Tyler and Sparks) that the mandolin wasn't that popular in England and therefore not that popular here seems to make the most sense.

[btrott]

what was the most popular instrument for people heading west? ... the banjo? ... violin?

Bill, As you find the movement West in the late 18th century, I think that portability and cultural issues probably would have made the fiddle/violin the most popular instrument. Banjo was just getting known in the late 18th century. You can read more about its early years at the Banjo Museum. Looking at inventories taken for processing wills and at store advertisements from the 18th century in Virginia, the two most common instruments would seem to be the fiddle and the German or transverse flute.

Barry

[btrott]

I think that Barry's assertion (via Tyler and Sparks) that the mandolin wasn't that popular in England and therefore not that popular here seems to make the most sense.

I concur with Jim here. Mandolin just was not as popular an instrument in this period in the English-speaking world, whether in Europe or in the States.

Barry

[John Flynn]

Speaking of Thomas Jefferson, I have read that his wife Martha played the violin, the guitar and the cittern. No doubt she could have held her own on the mando without too much trouble!

[JimD]

Jefferson played the violin.

The women in the family (wife, daughters), played harpsichord, guitar and cittern (English guittar). I'm not sure any of them played violin. I'll have to check.

If I recall, they also had one of the first pianos in America.

[Nick Royal]

Regarding the most popular instrument in early America, I would think that the violin (fiddle in folk terms) might have been that instrument.

One thing interesting about fiddle playing is that a strong fiddler could have accompanied square dancing prertty much on his own.
Nick Royal

[JimD]

Nick -- you raise a good point about the fiddle. Barry mentions that in Virginia the most common instruments in inventories were the fiddle and German flute.

I have been looking at manuscript music from the 1780-s-1820s in Salem (and Essex County) Massachusetts. This seems to be leading to a similar conclusion. There are as many fiddle manuscripts (lesson books and fiddler's repertoires etc.) as there are flute manuscripts. Keyboard books (harpsichord, piano, organ) lag behind a bit probably because of the higher cost of the instruments.

Of course I am only about 1/8 of the way through a very large collection. Percentages may vary as I get through the whole bunch.

[btrott]

Speaking of Colonial mandolin, here's a picture from a gig I did with a number of my colleagues in Williamsburg playing at a reception for the Queen when she was here in May. Unfortunately, she was at the more high class reception inside.

Barry

[JeffD]

what was the most popular instrument for people heading west? ... the banjo? ... violin?

the two most common instruments would seem to be the fiddle and the German or transverse flute.

Barry

So the stereotype of riding the covered wagon playing a concertina is not likely.

[JeffD]

a gig I did with a number of my colleagues in Williamsburg

Now that is mandolin payers hat.

Way cool.

[Neil Gladd]

OK, if we're going to play dress up... Here I am in my colonial outfit, doing my impersonation of Pietro Denis. They were selling these patterns during the bicentennial. My Mom bought me the fabric for Christmas, and my Home Economics major sister made it for me. I wore it for my senior recital, but sadly, it has shrunk several sizes since then.


Are the sleeves too puffy?

[Eugene]

Speaking of Colonial mandolin, here's a picture from a gig I did with a number of my colleagues in Williamsburg playing at a reception for the Queen when she was here in May. Unfortunately, she was at the more high class reception inside.

Very nice. Who made the mandolin and is it patterned after a specific original? ...And no, I personally have no intent of playing dress up.

[brunello97]

Well, Jerry may have had the shirt, but Kramer had the Bruno.
Odd that this scene was edited out....

Mick

[Neil Gladd]

Well, Jerry may have had the shirt, but Kramer had the Bruno.

Thank you very much!