The mandolin: Instrument of the year, 2023

[Mandolinsanity]

This is interesting: the Landesmusikrat Berlin has named the mandolin as its instrument of the year for 2023:
https://www.landesmusikrat-berlin.de...s-jahres-2023/
There are events taking place through the year. Well deserved recognition for our beloved instrument!

[grassrootphilosopher]

It helps that the patrons of the affair are prominent mandolin protagonists (Avi Avital, Caterina Lichtenberg, Juan Carlos Muñoz etc.).

As is typical for Germany the focus seems to be on classical music only... (go figure).

[DavidKOS]

It helps that the patrons of the affair are prominent mandolin protagonists (Avi Avital, Caterina Lichtenberg, Juan Carlos Muñoz etc.).

As is typical for Germany the focus seems to be on classical music only... (go figure).

from the article:

:Kommt die Mandoline als Nachfolgerin der Laute auf den ersten Blick eher aus dem höfischen Bereich, so war sie doch immer ein Volksinstrument, „eine Geige der Arbeiter“, die zu den Mandolinenorchestern, den „Sinfonieorchestern des kleinen Mannes“ führten. Sie war das Instrument der Wandervogelbewegung. :

They admit it's a folk instrument too. The worker's fiddle.

[Kenny]

An online translation, for what it may be worth, of the above:
“Although at first glance the mandolin, as the successor to the lute, comes more from the courtly sphere, it has always been a folk instrument, "a violin of the workers", which belongs to the mandolin orchestras.”

The last clause wants context, something invariably missing from automatic translations.

[grassrootphilosopher]

David,
you are completely right, that (speaking only for Germany) the mandolin was considered the violin of the working man. That was a true statement especially concerning the mandolin orchestras of yesteryear. Also the "Wandervogelbewegung" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandervogel; Wandervogel = bird of passage) as a movement to protest against industrialisation and sort of seek refuge in nature had instruments that could be taken along (guitar, mandolin, lute, flutes etc.).

I do think though that the way mandolin orchestras were organized the focus on music was rather classically oriented. It may blurr the lines when one thinks of the "Kunstlieder" like "Die Forelle" (Schubert) that are also percieved as "folklore" in the broadest sense. I live in a region where folk music is fairly alive and well. I do not see that the big organisations like the Landesmusikrat has this kind of folk music in their minds when they think of the mandolin nor do I see mandolins in use in these folk music settings.





I do not want to derail the thread. Any recognition the mandoliin can get it more than deserves. And we, on mandolincafe, are usually of a pretty limited focus (namely bluegrass). I do think that it is necessary to open peoples eyes to more than one genre on this (or any other) instrument. And unfortunately Germany is pretty limited in its offician recognition (I think).

[DavidKOS]

I do think though that the way mandolin orchestras were organized the focus on music was rather classically oriented.

I think you have a good point... and you have your "feet on the ground", so to speak. Maybe I'm also prejudiced since I have a classical music degree, and much of the mandolin music I enjoy is more on the light classical side than on the rootsy folk side.

BTW, I like the hackbrett and zither stuff!

[jesserules]

Seems like an opportunity waiting to be seized.

[brunello97]

from the article:

:Kommt die Mandoline als Nachfolgerin der Laute auf den ersten Blick eher aus dem höfischen Bereich, so war sie doch immer ein Volksinstrument, „eine Geige der Arbeiter“, die zu den Mandolinenorchestern, den „Sinfonieorchestern des kleinen Mannes“ führten. Sie war das Instrument der Wandervogelbewegung. :

They admit it's a folk instrument too. The worker's fiddle.

I've always thought the fiddle was "the worker's fiddle".

Mick

[Simon DS]

Great initiative, I hope everyone does well.
Yes it’s understandable that they would want to play Classical music - it’s nice, though the result may be that the ‘Folk’ who want to play folk music will associate the mandolin solely with classical music. Why not?

There may even be resistance to replacing the xylophone with a mandolin.
There are lots of good melodies, lots of interesting questions.

[Gelsenbury]

An online translation, for what it may be worth, of the above:
“Although at first glance the mandolin, as the successor to the lute, comes more from the courtly sphere, it has always been a folk instrument, "a violin of the workers", which belongs to the mandolin orchestras.”

The last clause wants context, something invariably missing from automatic translations.

Yes, the mandolin was considered a workers' instrument. Perhaps they were cheaper than other instruments. Mandolin orchestras in Germany emerged from workers' associations and the Wandervogel movement, to which that last sentence in the German text refers. This was basically a movement of young people trying to get back to nature, founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The mandolin was their favourite instrument.

Considering the musical tastes of the day and the interest in playing in large groups, it makes sense to me that the mandolin orchestras would play classical favourites and contemporary songs. This doesn't mean that no other music was played on mandolins. My grandfather played accordion in a dance band just after the war, and I've seen photos showing that the band also included a mandolin player. But mandolin orchestras were certainly the bigger cultural phenomenon, although certainly much disrupted by the war.

Hannes Wader, the famous German folk singer, said in an interview that "As a social democrat, you played the mandolin. It was just like that" (my translation). So even in the post-war years (Wader was born in 1942), the mandolin was a family tradition for the working class. But it received much less popular attention in the second half of the 20th century, with the younger generation consciously rejecting the culture of their parents, which they associated with wartime guilt and outdated values. As far as I know, the mandolin and the folk music tradition didn't die out completely but were much neglected.

I'm pleased to see the mandolin receive this recognition!

[stevo58]

The “Wandervogelbewegung:”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandervogel

[DavidKOS]

But as musical tastes evolved, tuba players and that kind of music no longer got the chicks.

I assume you haven't seen the girls go for Mexican banda tuba players.

[seankeegan]

Every year is the year of the mandolin

[Mandobart]

I've always thought the fiddle was "the worker's fiddle".

Mick

Yes, especially when I see pictures of my coal miner grandfather with his violin.

[randybrown]

As is typical for Germany the focus seems to be on classical music only... (go figure).

There's a much longer tradition and depth of classical mandolin music than any other genre. Mind open...

[Mandolin Cafe]

Germany's Instrument of the Year in 2022 was The Drum Kit.

2021 it was the Organ.

[grassrootphilosopher]

There's a much longer tradition and depth of classical mandolin music than any other genre. Mind open...

Unfortunately that is not true. This is my opinion.

The term classical music was coined around the 18th century. It is a term used for music steeped in western european tradition therefore disregarding african and asian music styles/forms (these I use as an example).

If one disregards this, classical music can be characterized as being formal and complex concerning the harmonic organization. Polyphony is definetly one of its features.

This would make sacred medieval music (Gregorian chants f.ex.) not classical as they are monophonic. Therefore other music forms preceed classical music.

If one is inclined to define any form of "organized" (probably "written") music (see Oswald von Wolkenstein f.ex.) as classical music there is no denying that any kind of folk music as being music transmitted by word of mouth through a community is as old as time.

I would therefore argue that classical music is definetly not older than folk music in the true sense of the word. This goes for the depth and the tradition as well.

[randybrown]

“Classical music”, in my use, refers to composed, structured, and often notated music. Not an era. Mandolin was highly popular in the Baroque and Renaissance periods. Lost favor when orchestras became popular.

Regarding folk music: all music owes its original to folk music.

[DavidKOS]

Unfortunately that is not true. This is my opinion.

The term classical music was coined around the 18th century.
.

The Classical Period in Western music history was the time of Mozart, Haydn, young Beethoven, etc.

However most people casually use the term to cover the entire Western Art music tradition, which in that case lumps the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Classical, Romantic, Modern, 20th century, etc. periods together.

[milli857]

“Classical music”, in my use, refers to composed, structured, and often notated music. Not an era. Mandolin was highly popular in the Baroque and Renaissance periods. Lost favor when orchestras became popular.

Regarding folk music: all music owes its original to folk music.

The mandolin did not exist during those periods. Some precursor may have been played, but the mandolin as we know it originated in the 18th century.

[Dagger Gordon]

According to MandoIsland, which I think is a German website, there are over 200 mandolin orchestras in Germany, which seems like a lot of mandolin players.

https://www.mandoisland.com/?page_id=3515

[Simon DS]

Yes, the mandolin was considered a workers' instrument. Perhaps they were cheaper than other instruments. Mandolin orchestras in Germany emerged from workers' associations and the Wandervogel movement, to which that last sentence in the German text refers. This was basically a movement of young people trying to get back to nature, founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The mandolin was their favourite instrument.

Considering the musical tastes of the day and the interest in playing in large groups, it makes sense to me that the mandolin orchestras would play classical favourites and contemporary songs. This doesn't mean that no other music was played on mandolins. My grandfather played accordion in a dance band just after the war, and I've seen photos showing that the band also included a mandolin player. But mandolin orchestras were certainly the bigger cultural phenomenon, although certainly much disrupted by the war.

Hannes Wader, the famous German folk singer, said in an interview that "As a social democrat, you played the mandolin. It was just like that" (my translation). So even in the post-war years (Wader was born in 1942), the mandolin was a family tradition for the working class. But it received much less popular attention in the second half of the 20th century, with the younger generation consciously rejecting the culture of their parents, which they associated with wartime guilt and outdated values. As far as I know, the mandolin and the folk music tradition didn't die out completely but were much neglected.

I'm pleased to see the mandolin receive this recognition!

Dennis, was there a gender association with mandolins in Germany during the 20th century? And was this rejection of the older generations linked to changing working conditions in Germany? And the association between acoustic instruments and Naturnahes Leben ‘the Good Life’? And a population density six times higher than USA making orchestras easier to populate?

I did once meet some people in a small mountain village in the Austrian Dolomites. At a reception there I let them know that I liked to play the guitar. Some of the older people were horrified and later asked a friend of mine if I was a hippie, and how many drugs I took (none) and how could I waste a whole day in the summer practicing playing music.

[Simon DS]

Now we’re cookin’!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ansport-ticket

[Dagger Gordon]

I let them know that I liked to play the guitar. Some of the older people were horrified and later asked a friend of mine if I was a hippie, and how many drugs I took (none) and how could I waste a whole day in the summer practicing playing music.

So do we assume that had you said you played the mandolin, then all would have been well?

[Simon DS]

So do we assume that had you said you played the mandolin, then all would have been well?

Interesting that you make that remark Dagger (about foreign guitars) because only the next day someone (young) in the village told someone (young) in the village to tell my (young) friend that someone (young) in the village had, what turned out to be a very beautiful (old) 7 stringed instrument that looked a bit like the offspring of a small guitar and a mandolin, strange, almost dangerous-looking but it sounded like stepping through a door back into a seventeenth century Italian farmhouse, love itself! … and this instrument was something that might, just might be for sale…

But it was a family instrument so I took a different position. You know, when the more you say you like the mandolin the more they don’t want to sell it. So I liked it a lot, and during the evening with candles and chianti I think we got up to about five times it’s real value! And then years later I heard that she’d had it fixed up and learned how to play it in the village. So everyone in the village was happy!