Baroque dance by Sperontes

  1. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    "Sperontes" was the pseudonym used by Johann Sigismund Scholze (1705-1750), a German Baroque poet and composer mainly known for setting his own poems to self-penned or collected melodies. I found this tune in a small booklet of "14 Dances By Old Masters" published by Hohner for diatonic harmonica. It works nicely on mandolin, too. No source or original title given beyond the composer's name and the generic title "Tanz" (Dance).

    This uses the other mandolin (in addition to the Kentucky I have used on "Red Carpet Waltz") which I brought back from my trip to Germany last week. This one is a De Meglio-style bowlback, with a "Carlo Rinaldi" label inside. I remember it as being quite harsh and difficult to control from when I last played it 15 years ago, but I like the tone much better now and have recorded three short baroque dances with it this weekend. Unfortunately, it gave me pain in my left hand so I had to stop playing -- not sure why as the action is nice and low. Must be an unusual hand position compared to my other mandolins.

    Carlo Rinaldi mandolin
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar


    https://youtu.be/VqPlZqxlW3A

    Martin
  2. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Nice playing of this baroque dance, Martin. It might be that this mandolin sounds a little harsh compared to your Vinaccia mandolin. But it suits the baroque dance.
  3. Simon DS
    Simon DS
  4. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Yep, it's definitely a "dance"! Don't you love those generic names? Very nicely played, and a new tune to me!

    I'm not going to spend the time doing more systematic research, but my impression is that your left arm is closer to the body and a little more across the body than in your other videos, perhaps because of the smaller size of this mandolin. Perhaps that's the difference that caused strain in your left hand.
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