New York Mandolin Orchestra
What the what? Yes, there is a New York Mandolin Orchestra. Yes, it was founded in 1924. Yes, there was a free concert (I gave a modest donation) at the Church of the Holy Trinity, about a block and a half away from my apartment on a lovely Sunday afternoon.
For the record, a mandolin orchestra has first mandolins, second mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, and, in this case, a mandobass (I'm not making this up, you know). Additionally, two of the mandolinists played guitar in the concert, but I have no idea where or when.
There were nineteen pieces on the program so I am not listing all nineteen. My first takeaway was that a lot of the pieces sounded very similar to one another. Mandolins have a limited volume range, and there is not a lot of sostenuto (sustained writing) for mandolins. They require a lot of strumming (think frantic Vivaldi violin bowing) to imitate a sustained sound. That said, I enjoyed the concert quite a bit.
My favorites included an arrangement of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (appropriately written in 1924) and Rachmaninoff's Vocalise (I've pretty much given up on hearing the original version).
Passage Work (Catherine Hawkes) was commissioned for this performance, and the composer was in attendance. Always a great feature of a concert. It had a contemporary feel while also mixing calm and energetic. It was appropriately festive.
The final work on the program was Palladio by Karl Jenkins. You may know it better as Exsultate Jubilate. (Not one of my favorites.) Surprisingly, I liked the mandolin orchestra arrangement a lot.
Now, a few words about audience comportment. When they make an announcement about turning your phone off, please heed it. Yes, a phone went off during the concert.
Please turn your phone off during the concert. A patron in the row in front of me was so busy scrolling through photos that no applause was offered. Zero. One patron was so busy with the me-machine that it was dropped to the floor. One patron was so busy chatting with a person in the row in front that shushing was warranted. No, it was not me, but I sure was thinking about it. Yes, it was a free concert. No, that does not allow boorish behavior.
That said, explore the opportunities available to you.
ConcertMeister
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