L'Esperance Mandolin Ensemble 12/31/09

With all the confusion in the music industry as the record labels continue to grapple with the impact of i-Pods, ringtones, downloads and the demise of radio, it's refreshing to hear a local live performance like that of the L'Esperance Mandolin Ensemble, who played on New Year's Eve as part of Bright Night Providence at the Mathewson Street Church. This is pure entertainment, music without the incessant hype, people who play together on their own time strictly for enjoyment. The concert was an electic mix of genres and styles adapted for strings, presided over by Josh Bell , Concertmaster of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra and Director of the L'Esperance Mandolin Ensemble. BSRR spoke with Josh after the show.


BSRR:
Can you tell me how the orchestra started and when you got involved in it?


JOSH BELL:
Hibbard Perry was a mandolin and guitar teacher back in the late "Teens" and early 1920s. Starting in 1923, he began to conduct the first version of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra which he conducted until the popularity of the mandolin faded in 1939-1940. It was his dream from 1940 on to re-form this kind of music and we started playing together in 1971-72.


BSRR:
I've been told that Providence has a long standing association with the mandolin.


JOSH:
Giuseppe Pettini came to this country in the late 1880s as one of the first Italians to emigrate to America. He was already an accomplished mandolinist in Italy and when he arrived here (in Providence), he was probably in his late teens. He lied about his age and continued to lie about it until he was in his late 90s or early 100s. He died in 1966. In fact, his grandnephew is a member of our ensemble.


BSRR:
What are the different components of the mandolin orchestra?


JOSH:
Very much like a string orchestra. We have the second mandolins (which) play the same parts as first and second violins. We have a section of mandola players and a mandocello which is tuned the same as a cello in a string orchestra. A mandobass is tuned the same as a bass in string orchestra. We also have a guitar section.


BSRR:
How much classical material do you perform?


JOSH:
We do a lot of classical stuff. This program was designed more for a New Year's Eve celebration. The biggest market for classical music today is in TV and movie scores and commercials so it's not a stretch for us to be playing music that becomes popular in that way.


BSRR:
Just like John Williams.


JOSH:
I first played a John Williams number when I was in the seventh grade. He had written a piece for high school band that we played back in the 60s. He's just kept going.


BSRR:
One of the selections you did tonight was the "James Bond theme". What was the lawsuit you referred to during the introduction?


JOSH:
That piece was originally written for an Indian picture "A House For Mr. Biswa". The song from that movie featured that "dum de dum - dum" riff. When it was brought over to the James Bond theme, it was never actually given a name.


BSRR:
How about the theme from "The Magnificent 7"?


JOSH:
I think Duane - one of our mandolin players - found it first and said - 'Hey, why don't we play that one'?


(Other selections included "Ghostbusters", "Lady Madonna", and "Nutcracker Suite" - Editor's Note)


BSRR:
What message do you have for mandolin afcionadoes in relation to the future of the instrument and the popularity of the music?


JOSH:
The number one thing about the mandolin is it's an instrument that's accessible for people who want to play music. It's mostly about the joy of playing with other people. It's a very welcoming community of players. Within a year or two, almost anybody can find a group that they can play with and have a lot of fun making music.



Come to think of it, especially as we embark on a new decade, isn't that really what music is about?