Leone, my Mandolin and I.Allemandes 1 to 6
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To download all of the documents attached to this article,
click on the button In 1768, Gabriele Leone published his mandolin method: “Méthode Raisonnée pour passer du violon à la mandoline et de l’archet à la plume.” It was one of the first methods published for the Neapolitan mandolin, and, as far as I’m concerned, it's the most important document on the mandolin from the 18th century. Before that, there was the “Méthode pour apprendre à jouer facilement de la mandoline à 4 et à 6 cordes” by Giovanni Fouchetti (1760, 1770 Paris and Bonn) and “La moderna scuola del mandolin” by Giovanni Batista Gervasio (1767 Paris).
Leone’s method was translated in English in 1785 under the title “A complete introduction to the art of playing the mandoline. Containing the most essential rules and examples for learners to obtain a proficiency.” |
This work by Gabriele Leone is full of very precious advice and comes with no less than 41 pieces: 24 Allemandes, 6 Minuettos, 2 duos, a Rondo, a Sonata and 7 Airs and Variations.
Sadly, the French version of the book is written in the 18th century French which is sometimes hardly understandable even by French speaking people and the English version is not available anymore; there is a transcription made by Mandogio from a print edition held in the Library of Congress (2017) but the music is not in there.
Let’s look at the first 6 Allemandes and see what we can learn from these beautiful pieces.
Sadly, the French version of the book is written in the 18th century French which is sometimes hardly understandable even by French speaking people and the English version is not available anymore; there is a transcription made by Mandogio from a print edition held in the Library of Congress (2017) but the music is not in there.
Let’s look at the first 6 Allemandes and see what we can learn from these beautiful pieces.
Who was Gabriele Leone?
Gabriele Leone (fl.1725 — fl.1790)
We know very little about his life. He was a very successful musician, a real virtuoso.
His music was published in London and Paris.
Those 6 Allemandes were published, along with 18 others, in his Méthode raisonnée pour passer du violon à la mandoline et de l’archet à la plume où le moyen sûr de jouer sans maître en peu de temps par des signes de convention assortis à des exemples de musique facile.
We know very little about his life. He was a very successful musician, a real virtuoso.
His music was published in London and Paris.
Those 6 Allemandes were published, along with 18 others, in his Méthode raisonnée pour passer du violon à la mandoline et de l’archet à la plume où le moyen sûr de jouer sans maître en peu de temps par des signes de convention assortis à des exemples de musique facile.
The Titles
The least we can say is that the titles of each of the 24 Allemandes are ambiguous.
Any Recordings?
Even if the Allemandes are beautiful and very delicate pieces for the mandolin, they're all very short: less than 45 sec. This is probably why they are rarely recorded. Gertrud Weyhofen recorded 9 of them on her CD Musique pour les fêtes galantes, and among them are La Curieuse, La Coquette and La Volage. |
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The Original Score
Of course, the score we presented in our downloadable documents is a transcription. The original score is somewhat tricky to read. Here are a few signs that might be useful to explain. |
Just for Fun!
Practising a musical instrument is often a lonely experience... especially when we practise duos. To be able to ear what it might sound like to play these duos, here are some back tracks of the second part. These are MIDI generated soundtracks; of course, they only sound remotely like mandolin but it's better than nothing! Just for fun...