Cimarosa: Overtures Arranged for Mandolin Ensemble Quintetto a Plettro "Giuseppe Anedd"

• Domenico Cimarosa (1749 - 1801): Gli orazi e i curiazi (arranged by Salvatore Alù):
• 1 Cimarosa: Gli orazi e i curiazi (arranged by Salvatore Alù) 06:23
• Le trame deluse, ossia I raggiri scoperti (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 2 Cimarosa: Le trame deluse, ossia I raggiri scoperti (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 06:16
• Il matrimonio segreto (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 3 Cimarosa: Il matrimonio segreto (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 07:50
• I traci amanti (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 4 Cimarosa: I traci amanti (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 05:53
• Le astuzie femminili (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 5 Cimarosa: Le astuzie femminili (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 04:11
• L'apparenza inganna, ossia la villeggiatura (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 6 Cimarosa: L'apparenza inganna, ossia la villeggiatura (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 06:29
• La circe (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 7 Cimarosa: La circe (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 09:29
• L'italiana in Londra (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 8 Cimarosa: L'italiana in Londra (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 08:14
• Volodimiro (arranged by Michele di Filippo):
• 9 Cimarosa: Volodimiro (arranged by Michele di Filippo) 04:14
• Total Runtime 58:59

Info for Cimarosa: Overtures Arranged for Mandolin Ensemble

New, fun-filled arrangements, with historical authenticity on their side, of bright and breezy curtain-raisers by a once-celebrated contemporary of Mozart.

In a career not much longer than Mozart’s, Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) wrote an astonishing total of 64 works for the stage – as well as substantial collections of symphonies, concertos and sonatas – which were performed across the length and breath of Europe, from Lisbon to St Petersburg. No less than Haydn, Cimarosa had the gift of melodic fluency and an unerring feeling for what his audiences wanted. Haydn himself conducted performances of 13 Cimarosa operas at Esterháza.

Cimarosa specialised in light-hearted comedies, for which he supplied stylishly upbeat scores, shot through with Italianate lyricism, and a kind of impetuous vigour which was all his own. This quality makes his overtures particularly suitable for transcription to the kind of plucked-ensemble chamber versions heard on this enterprising new album. During the period after unification, the mandolin became a popular instrument much as the ukulele and the balalaika did elsewhere: relatively easy to learn, highly portable, and well suited to being played in ensemble as a kind of instrumental choir.

Thus many arrangements of well-known classical pieces were made for the kind of mandolin ensemble heard here, naturally favouring operatic items by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and the other masters of the bel canto style. The Romantic-era quartet, consisting of two mandolins, mandola in G and guitar was the preferred ensemble. Larger ensembles, known as plectrum orchestras, could achieve a quasi-symphonic texture, especially when supplemented by winds and bass instruments.

The Anedda Quintet have devised a unique synthesis of the two approaches, adding a strong bass component to the classic quartet line-up. This collection of Cimarosa is mainly comprised of modern arrangements by the composer Michele Di Filippo, who had already collaborated with the Anedda Quintet for a previous Brilliant Classics album of Rossini arrangements (95904). In adapting these orchestral scores, Di Filippo aimed to make the melodies sing out while preserving a sense of dialogue, tension and drama between instruments.

Quintetto a Plettro "Giuseppe Anedda"

The Quintetto Anedda (Anedda Quintet)
born as a tribute to the great mandolinist Giuseppe Anedda (1912-1997) who dedicated his life to the dissemination and re-evaluation of the classical mandolin. The quintet, has been considered one of the best mandolin ensembles in the world due to it’s great versatility and virtuosity, beeing also recognized as a promoter of the historical tradition of the plucked instruments, preserving the mandolin cultural heritage, but at the same time, working on new music as a vehicle for innovation.

With powerful but at the same time intimistic performances, the quintet approaches the repertoire with a new sound perspective, offering the audience different colours and musical textures on the interpretation that it’s capable of, and that has been, for twenty years, widely appreciated and recognized.

Courageously, the quintet’s music work, treads new paths, gaining the expectations of the public and critics. The aim is to deliver to the future, with ever greater effectiveness, the strength and ability to cross the history and musical forms of expression of the classical mandolin.

The results of this work, is reflected in radio, television, important seasons at historic opera/symphonic institutions and foundations, pubblications of cd’s with prestigious editor’s houses, as well as highly attractive festivals, that have been the stage for the main performances of the Quintetto Anedda.

The Quintetto Anedda, was founded in 2002 as a tribute to a great artist who devoted his whole life to the furthering of the classical mandolin.

Giuseppe Anedda was a virtuoso player who restored the mandolin to its rightful place in concert halls, freeing it from the constraints imposed on so-called lesser instruments and those associated with folk music.

His research in European museums and libraries and discoveries of original manuscripts for mandolin by many composers, such as Vivaldi, Pergolesi and Beethoven greatly contributed to freeing the instrument of the stereotypes that had been applied to it.

The musicians who make up the Quintetto Anedda are the product of Anedda’s influence. They are now acclaimed concert performers who work regularly with prestigious institutions. From the outset the ensemble has striven to fulfil Anedda’s dream of preserving a time-honoured cultural heritage, of breathing new life into a typically Italian tradition and of promoting the composition of new works for classical mandolin.

The ensemble performed at festivals and in concert halls in Italy and abroad (Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, Swiss, Croatia, Bahrain and Japan). Audiences and critics have expressed their appreciation of the Italian and international radio and television broadcasts.

The ensemble’s performance in the Paolina Chapel of the Quirinale Palace in Rome was broadcast live on Radio Rai 3, and is often replayed by the same national broadcasting company. After performing in Cagliari in front of the Mayor and other dignitaries, the ensemble told Anedda’s story. They were so impressed they named a street after him – via Giuseppe Anedda.

In 2011 a DVD was released in Rome, a live concert recorded at the Oratorio del Gonfalone. In 2012, on the anniversary of Giuseppe Anedda’s birth, the group successfully toured the main Italian cities that had been significant in the life of the Maestro. The Quintet were given the Medal of honour from the President of the Italian Republic.

Brilliant Classics has recently released a cd of the Quintetto Anedda containing the most famous overture by Gioacchino Rossini.

Currently the group is working on a new recording project for Brilliant Classics too on symphonies from Domenico Cimarosa’s works.

Booklet for Cimarosa: Overtures Arranged for Mandolin Ensemble