11:00am May 6, 2023, Selby / Fairview Neighborhood Arts Pop-up

Boden Interlude

Andrew Boden, from North Shropshire, U.K, is a retired music and computer science teacher who continues to compose, including for mandolin ensembles. The Interlude in D minor, from 2016, takes us back to the classical age with swooning lines

Boden Trio

We love Andrew Boden's sensibility so much, we included the Trio in A minor from 2018 that Lou found on MandolinCafe. It sounds a bit more modern, perhaps from the early 20th century than the preceding Interlude. Jonathan had to rearrange the second mandolin part to lie on the alto fingerboard, so the voicings differ from the original.

Sado Okesa

Bob Margo, a mandola mentor and model to many* mandola players, led us to Shigeyuki Tsuzuki's arrangement of a traditional Japanese folksong at the Kataoka Mandolin Institute in Tokyo's online library. Jonathan edited the arrangement and arranged his part for the alto voicing.
The first movement of Sado Okesa paints a party, perhaps a sending away young sailors on their first voyage. The second movement is in the Okesa style of folksong describing the longing of seafarers for lovers they left behind. Don't worry, the sailors come back to party again. The style is frequently associated with Sado Island, once a stopover port in the Japan Sea.

Sakura

Bob provided a pointer to another one of Shigeyuki Tsuzuki's folksong arrangement, which Jonathan also edited and arranged for his instrument. The song is intended to express falling cherry blossom petals dancing in the breeze.

Flower Duet

Perhaps the most well-known tune on the setlist is an operatic vocal duet from the first act of Léo Delibes opera Lakmé, rearranged for violin, viola, and cello. Jack graciously adapted the part to guitar.
If opera isn't your forte, you might recognize the tune from soundtracks ranging from Carlito's Way to The Simpsons "Once Upon a Time in Springfield"... maybe the trio eating donuts after the performance will jog your memory.

Rondo

Mark Davis arranged and distributed this Calace Rondo, originally a mandolin and guitar duet, as part of the Classical Mandolin Society of America's 2023 convention featuring a workshop on classical mandolin trios.

Mazurka

Mark also arranged this Calace Mazurka for the 2022 workshop.
Raffaele Calace, a turn-of-the century mandolin and liuto cantabile virtuoso, came from a Neapolitan family of mandolin luthiers, still active today, headed by Calace's grandson. The mandolin is often associated with Italian folk music, but Calace wrote method books and demonstrated that the mandolin could be used to perform modern complex modern pieces requiring rare talent. To many classical mandolinists, Calace's compositions are the gold standard of mandolin repertoire.

Bethlehem on the Ohio

John Goodin composed the next three tunes about utopian settlements established in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky in the early 19th century. "Equity" and "Shakertown" are actually the second and third parts of the Heavens on Earth suite, led by "New Harmony," which we replaced with "Bethlehem..." The Classical Mandolin Society of America en-masse orchestra performed the suite virtually at the 2020 national convention.

Equity

The Second Great Awakening was a period of revival of Protestant faith in North America. These three tunes represent the spirit of and reflection about the experiments around faith and community governance from the period on the American frontier.

Shakertown

The utopia of Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Kentucky inspired this tune from John. The settlement lasted through most of the 19th century as a Shaker community.