PRELUDIO No. II Op. 49 for mandolin by Raffaele Calace (1863-1934) performed here by the well-known Dutch mandolinist Sebastiaan de Grebber.
Raffaele Calace was born in Neaples as the son of Antonio Calace, a celebrated musical instrument maker. Besides being an apprentice at his father's workshop to take over the family business at a later point in his life, he turned out to be very talented in playing the mandolin and liuto cantibile and became one of the most famous mandolin virtuosi of his time. After his studies at the Music High school of Neaples he made it his mission to globally elevate the mandolin to the highest level. Raffaele Calace hoped to achieve this with giving concerts throughout Europe and even further, for example in Japan, where he performed before the Emperor and his family. Besides being a performer he also wrote about 200 compositions for his beloved instrument. Most of these works either solo or in combination with other instruments, belong to the best and most beautiful music ever written for the mandolin, demanding a highly developed technique and musical understanding of the performer. This is certainly the case with the 10 Preludes composed by Raffaele Calace for mandolin solo as they belong to the most artistic and virtuoso of the original music composed for the mandolin.
Sebastiaan de Grebber studied the mandolin at the music school De Muzerie and ArtEZ Music Conservatory in Zwolle (Netherlands) under the guidance of Alex Timmerman, in Italy at the Conservatorio C. Pollini in Padova, with the Italian mandolinist Mr. Ugo Orlandi, and at the Messiaen Academie/Highschool for the Arts in Zwolle. To complete his music studies at the Messiaen Academie Sebastiaan gave a final concert after which the jury, enlarged for the occasion with Maestro Ugo Orlandi of the Conservatorio C. Pollini, unanimously in their opinion granted him the highest possible predicate: Master of music with distinction. Besides being a real ambassador for the virtuosic and original Italian mandolin repertoire of the 20th Century, Sebastiaan's interest lies in the Modern music of our own time. A wonderful example of original Italian mandolin music that shows a highly virtuoso character is seen in this video with Raffaele Calace's Preludio No.II Op. 49.
An interesting aspect of this video is furthermore that Sebastiaan de Grebber tries out a brand new Roman concert mandolin build in July 2010 by the Dutch luthier Hendrik van den Broek. It was made exactly after an original soloist/concert Model No.5bis made by the great Roman Master luthier Luigi Embergher in 1927.
It is the aim of Hendrik van den Broek to continue the production line of modern concert mandolins set out around 1900 by the Roman musical instrument makers of which Luigi Embergher (1856-1943) became one of the most honored and famous.
Sofar Mr. Van den Broek succeeds in prolonging the line of the celebrated Roman concert mandolins, for many recognize his art and craftsmanship. His mandolins show superb quality of tone and excellent workmanship. And because of the excellent string set-up and 'fine tuning' of the ebony fingerboard, his instruments are of an extraordinary playability.
The maple wood used for the bowl is of the highest quality with fluted ribs arranged in a beautiful book matched pattern, while for the sound table -- thé most important part of the mandolin -- the finest spruce wood is chosen.
With an instrument like this in the hands of an outstanding musician like Sebastiaan de Grebber, music - and especially the original music for solo mandolin composed by the celebrated Neapolitan Raffaele Calce - truly comes to life!
Enjoy!
A video by Het CONSORT, Zwolle, Netherlands - July 2010.
The music of the Prelude No. II by Raffaele Calace and other music of his hand can be ordered from the Calace firm in Napels (Italy). Here is a direct link to their website: www.calace.it/
For more information about Sebastiaan de Grebber, his concerts and CDs, please visit his website: www.degrebber-m...
or
the Dutch Mandolin Chamber Orchestra of which Sebastiaan de Grebber is the Concert master:
www.mandolineor...
12 сен 2024
