Il mandolino it has a case to pear form, deep and panciuta, hole of resonance oval, short manico with metallic traversine, to cavigliere to spato it slightly slanted to behind, in the antichi and posterior instruments in the modern ones brass or, lateral piroli steel ropes (budello in less recent) that they come pinched from a plettro (that can have several forms) of bone of turtle or whale, horn or, in most recent, than material plastic.
The ropes, double, are 4, come to an agreement like violino: me-the-king-sol.
Several models of mandolino exist:
* the “Neapolitan classic”;
* “from Milan” (with the little deep case and 6 double ropes);
* the “Roman” (with the slightly convex keyboard and the triangular manico);
* the “sicialian” (with double ropes to triple lows and in the acute ones);
* the “padovano” (with 5 double ropes and small case);
* the “senese” (with 4/6 simple ropes);
* “fiorentino” (with wide manico and the 5 orders of ropes),
* the “genovese” (with cavigliere to falcetto and 5/6 simple ropes).
At the end of sec. the XIX and till approximately the half of sec. the XX, other models of mandolino were born:
* “it arranges Buckets” – with crushed case, not bombata, and 2 small longitudinal slits to the place of the “rose” (the great circular hole centers them);
* _ “mandolino from Tuscany” of Lybert and Maurri – similar to the Roman but with rope simple (instead that double), of which 2 of silk wrap and 2 of budella, and keyboard equal to that of the mandolino Neapolitan;
* “new system” of the Serafino Company Cottages – with triple ropes (therefore 12 totals), volume of voice the greater and greater roundness of sound, difficulty in coming to an agreement every group of 3 ropes in unison, high cost (approximately the double quantity of the normal schools mandolini);
* “mandolino Lombardic to double metallic ropes” of the company Cottages – it obviated to the frequent breaches that introduced the 6 simple ropes of the Lombardic normal school mandolino and of which 3 were of silk wrapped of silver-plated copper thread and 3 of minugia of various diameter;
* “mandolyra” of the companies Rubino and Calace of Naples – to Lira form, they introduced the advantage of a free manico in all its extension (that it reached “I give” over to the pentagramma with 5 cuts in throat);
* “licence Luck” – many similar to the licence Buckets, this mandolino introduced of ulterior lateral slits to virgola form.
In that same period numerous new were introduced forms of mandolino, which the “mandoliarpei”, the “Dionisio” (whose case expanded on the single skillful side) and many others, some anchor today constructed, which the “Sestini”, the “Terzini” and the “Ottavini” (whose names indicate the relative reduction to the normal proportions).
The origins of the mandolino Neapolitan go back to XVII the century; in that age, in fact, the “Vinaccia House” of it begins the production. First mandolini they had ropes of budella, piroli in wood and an extension limited to the “king” over the rigo with 2 cuts in throat. Later on the keyboard extended till “” over the rigo with 5 cuts in throat. These instruments came embellished with inlays and ivory threads; the case had from 15 to 20 scannellate sticks.
To the Vinaccia, in successive age, it must the substitution of the ropes of budella with those in steel and, to their successor Paschal Vinaccia, the invention of the mechanics, still in use even if perfected, for the regulation of the tension of the ropes, that it renders the tuning very easyr.
To the factory “Calace” they must instead the following innovations: form of the armor case; ricopertura in order to isolate the harmonic table from the arm of the suonatore; hole with flank straight; shield of various type, keyboard in black and white; 2 holes to of over of the ponticello for the resonance; dark harmonic table and polishes; pyramidal shovel; fermacorde to 8 buttons for independence of the ropes; liuto cantabile to 5 double ropes (me-the-king-sol-I give) and extended keyboard to 24 or 29 keys.
Generally in the construction of the bonds mandolini chosen, valuable woods are used:
* for the case, it comes used the maple tree or the rosewood;
* for the manico, rosewood or ebony;
* for the keyboard, nearly always the ebony;
* for the thread between the sticks, faggio.
The forming sticks the case vary from 17 to 33; in the better instruments often “they are scannellate” (concave) and that is sometimes combined with metallic threads (in those of large pregio).
In order to embellish to the manico and the harmonic plan, they are used ornaments inlaid, of ivory or turtle or celluloid or nacre; for the shovel it is used to carve a “human curl” that can represent also witness or animals.
All the parts of the mandolino come painted with a compound of spirit, rubber and varnish, except the harmonic plan, in order not to limit the transmission of the vibrations and, therefore, the sound.
Ricapitolando, the mandolino Neapolitan it is composed give:
* case in wood to pear form average;
* the plan or harmonic table, having an opening dictates “rose”;
* the manico, than integral the keyboard;
* the shovel, in which the mechanics for the tension of the ropes is inserted;
* the ropes, in number of 8, come to an agreement in unison every two, that they produce the following sounds: me, king, sol.
The ropes, before fixing to the mechanics, rest on “capotasto”; in the inferior part, instead, they rest on “ponticello” (the small list of ebony on which often a bony thread is placed), before being fixed to the case with of the little ones buttons of bone (or having brass) or with a metallic platelet 8 hooks.
The diameter of the steel ropes (, often covered with silver-plated copper thread) grows as it is proceeded towards the serious one.
Important Neapolitan constructors of mandolini have been: The Vinaccia siblings and eredi, the siblings Maratea, Paschal and Gaetano Esposito, Raffaele Calace and its descendants, Carl Loveri, Gennaro Rubino, Antonio Ranaldi, Luigi Ricci and Alexander Abbate.
Pieces for mandolino have written: Munier, R.Calace, Marucelli, Mezzacapo, Pietrapertosa, W. To. Mozart (Don Giovanni), G. Greens (Otello), P. To. Pocket (Lucia Saint), M. Coast (Histoire of a Pierrot), N. Spinels (To Low Port), and. Sarria (the Idiot and the Intriguer), Q. Valverde (Los Cocineros), G. Stones (Water cheta), G.F. Haendel (Alexander Balus), To. Vivaldi (Concert for mandolino and orchestra – 2 Concerts for 2 mandolini and orchestra), L. van Beethoven (2 Sonati some – Slowly and Andante with variations for mandolino and pianoforte), G. Mahler (WAYS Sinfonia), Wolf Ferrari (the curious women – the jewels of the Madonna), M. de Make it (the vida short), G. Paisiello (the barber of Seville), I. Stravinskij (Agon), To. Schoenberg (Serenata op. 24) and P. Case (the veneziano concert).
© Copyright 2003 Vincenzo Schisano. All rights reserved (From http://www.virtualsorrento.com/)
Liuteria Amendola Rocco
_________________________________________________________________________________________
