In February 2020 the 4th Mandolin Festival in Goa, India took place.
At the festival the Warna Girls Mandolin Orchestra performed two pieces. The orchestra is composed of 12 young girls playing mandolins. Some girls are playing chords, the other girls play the melodie and other parts. They performed without printed music.
Traditional Folk Song from Goa
Obviously this song is a popular song, the audience started to clap hands and sing with the orchestra. You can also see Carlo Aonzo in the audience. He was invited to this mandolin festival and gave workshops and played in several concerts.
In the second video the orchestra plays a piece that reminds me to “My love is blue”.
The New Vintage Frets is an American mandolin ensemble based in Wisconsin. In 2018 this ensemble produced a CD titled: The Wisconsin/Vega Project CD
This unique CD offers present day recordings of century-old mandolin ensemble arrangements thoughtfully selected from Wisconsin-based mandolin orchestra libraries. Pieces in the collection were published in either the 1890s or early 1900s. The recordings were made in 2017 and 2018 with string parts played on antique, Vega brand mandolin-family instruments.
Raziel Tsur is a mandolin player, teacher and conductor from Israel. He is playing the mandolin with the Israeli Plectrum Orchestra. I have met him during the Eurofestival Zupfmusik in Bruchsal this year. Raziel was the mandolin soloist for the Violin Concerto by J. S. Bach, for La Folia by Arcangelo Corelli and for Asturias by Isaac Albeniz. You can find the videos of this performance on the website of the BDZ. I have made a playlist with those three videos:
Playlist – The Israeli Plectrum Orchestra Eurofestival Bruchsal 2018 #bdzef2018
A letter from Raziel Tsur
As for me, I am in a very good time of doing and investing in a variety of music fields.
In the field of education, this year I am running a musical project of 3 schools in the city, where about 200 students study mandolin in groups and in the orchestra. Then I add the motivate student for the to the local orchestra. This year I managed to establish the second youth mandolin orchestra of children aged 10-13, while our young orchestra continues to perform in the city and throughout Israel. This orchestra won first prize in the Israel National Education Ministry’s National Plectrum Convention. Conducting these two orchestras requires me to write arrangements for a repertoire and more.
About me as a performer, In the past year I have been privileged to purchase mandolin from the Israeli luthier “Arik Kerman”. His mandolins are known as a powerful and wide sound instrument that enables the musician to perform in a big concert halls. In Israel, I play as a soloist with a number of very serious ensembles, such as composer Gil Shohat and bass player Gilad Efrat. I an collaborating with famous Israeli pop singers and manage to bring the mandolin to these stage as well. I certainly see myself as the ambassador of the instrument and believe that the mandolin can move in a variety of musical worlds and can contribute to any musical field. Recently, I participated in the Jazz Festival “under the Apple Trees”, which is take place every year in Coutances, Normandy. performing along with “Gilad Ephrat ensemble”.
The “Dolce Mandolin Quartet”, which I founded about four years ago, continues to operate the Concerts activity in Israel.
These days I’m working on my own CD where I host a number of musicians while the mandolin is in the center. The CD is about classical mandolin and will include composers such as Bach and Vivaldi alongside De Falla and Piazzolla.
Today I have found this video (audio only) with a recording of a concert in memory of Giuseppe Anedda. The concert was given by the plectum orchestra of the Conservatory “C. Pollini” of Padua, the plectum orchestra of Breganze and the plectum orchestra “Terroni” of Brescia.
The program included a great selection of music for mandolin orchestra.
Concert in memory of Giuseppe Anedda for the centenary of his birth Music Conservatory “C. Pollini”, June 16th 2012
Track 1. Sonata in B minor Op.III n. 3 – Evaristo F. Dall’Abaco, performed by the plectum orchestra of the Conservatory “C. Pollini” of Padua
Track 2. Concert – William Babell, performed by the plectum orchestra of the Conservatory “C. Pollini” of Padua
Track 3. Concert in A minor for 2 violins, strings and harpsichord – Antonio Vivaldi, performed by theplectum orchestra of the Conservatory “C. Pollini” of Padua
Track 4. Concert in E minor RV 550 for 4 mandolins, orchestra and basso continuo – Antonio Vivaldi, performed by the plectum orchestra of Breganze
Track 5. Madrigale per mandoloncello and orchestra – Eugenio Giudici, performed by the plectum orchestra of Breganze
Track 6. Konzertstuck per accordion and orchestra – Fried Walter, performed by the plectum orchestra of Breganze
Track 7. Sinfonia Romantica for orchestra – Giuseppe Anelli, performed by the plectum orchestra of Breganze
Track 8. Concert in G major “Alla Rustica” RV 151 for strings and basso continuo – Antonio Vivaldi, performed by the plectum orchestra “Terroni” of Brescia
Track 9. Concert in B flat major RV 548 for oboe, violin, strings and basso continuo – Antonio Vivaldi, performed by the plectum orchestra “Terroni” of Brescia
Track 10. Russian Rag – Georg L. Cobb, eseguito dall’ Orchestra a plettro Terroni di Brescia
Track 11. Dicitencello Vuie – Rodolfo Falvo, performed by the plectum orchestra “Terroni” of Brescia
Track 12. Concert in B flat major for violin and orchestra – Giovan Battista Pergolesi, performed by the orchestras joined
Track 13. Czardas – Vittorio Monti, performed by the orchestras joined
Recording: Natali Giulio, Lorenzo Malavolta, Valerio Zanini Post-Production: Lorenzo Malavolta, Valerio Zanini
In the description of the video you can find links to the beginning of each of the pieces.