The Early Mandolin - Paperback

The name "mandolin" was used to refer to two quite different instruments: the gut-stringed mandolino, played with the fingers, and the later metal-stringed Neapolitan mandoline, which was played with a plectrum. This is the first book devoted exclusively to these two early instruments about which information in reference books is scant and often erroneous. The authors uncover their rich and varied musical history, examining contemporary playing techniques and revealing the full extent of the instruments' individual repertories, which include works by Vivaldi, Sammartini, Stamitz, and Beethoven. The book's ultimate aim is to help today's players to produce artistically satisfying performances through an understanding of the nature and historical playing style of these unjustly neglected instruments.

Back Jacket

This book aims not only to identify the two early mandolins, their physical characteristics, tunings, playing techniques, and musical histories, but also to present, for the first time, the full extent of their repertories, which include works by Handel, Vivaldi, Alessando Scarlatti, Hummel, Beethoven, and Sammartini, whose recently discovered sonata for the mandolin is published here.