“One of the last of the season’s musical events was the Mandolin Festival of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, which was given last evening in Talma Theatre, under the direction of William Place Jr, conductor. It is only recently that such a programme of plectral music has become possible, and the revolution brought about by the development of the mandola and mandocello … has changed the tinkling charm of mandolin music into a serious musical quality that is to be reckoned with. To William Place Jr, who has devoted himself to the establishment of these instruments upon a plane of musical consideration, praise is due for his devotion to a worthy cause … he has written much music of considerable merit, and a tribute of deserved applause recalled him again and again after the presentation of his ‘Plectral Symphony,’ the first symphony be it said, ever written for plectral instruments … In his harmonious work, the simple theme was well worked out, bringing forth a remarkable quality of tone which was a revelation to those who had not kept up with the mandolin in its transformation to a concert instrument … The orchestra, under the direction of Mr. Place, was flexible and intelligent in its interpretations[.]”
Providence Journal (1913)
“One of the features was the playing of the Philo-Plectra Orchestra of a concert overture written by Mr. Pettine and a Plectral Suite by Mr. Place played by the Providence Mandolin Orchestra. These two orchestras, assisted by others, formed the Festival Orchestra which played a number of selections. The concert was of a classical nature and there was a good sized audience present.”
The Crescendo (July 1915, p. 21)
“Ready for the next revival? How about the return of mandolin bands? At the turn of the century, such bands were thriving in every small town in America before fading by World War I and disappearing by World War II … Back then the mandolin was used to play popular songs – the main intent of the light-hearted [Boston] Excelsior Society – and to play classical music, the focus of the more serious 17 piece Providence Mandolin Orchestra … [who] threw the audience off-stride by playing an elegant baroque concerto, dances and mood pieces, featuring an exotic array of mandolins, tenor mandola, mandocello, and mando-bass. They were joined by a choir of five classical guitars, as the music eddied through subtle nuances and spritely allegros.”
Steve Morse, The Boston Globe (May 13, 1982)
“The Providence Mandolin Orchestra has existed in various incarnations on and off since the turn of the century. The present day PMO was founded by the late Hibbard Perry in 1973 and is conducted by Mark Davis, of Mair-Davis duo fame. The thing I like best about this recording is that it contains new original American music for mandolin orchestra … there are two pieces by Robert Martel (Evening Sky and Sky Colored Lake) and two more by Owen Hartford (Rondo Bachanal and Family Squabble). The Martel works are musically interesting, well-orchestrated, and not overly difficult. Evening Sky is a slow and simply, but haunting piece, while Sky-Colored Lake has a folk/bluegrass inspired modal melody, propelled by open fifths in the accompaniment. Owen Hartford’s Rondo Bachanal is marked by a gentle syncopated melody, and some lovely ninth chords created by passing tones and suspensions. Family Squabble is in a fast 7/8 which makes it more of a challenge to perform, but the orchestra does a good job, and the music ends appropriately on an unresolved chord, as family squabbles often do. The Three American Folksongs of Michael Nix are not mere arrangements, but well composed settings of these classic tunes. Wagoner’s Lad beings traditionally enough but then goes through a polytonal section (the melody in one key and the accompaniment in another). Darlin’ Corey … sounds a little bit like “Bill Monroe meets Stravinsky’ at times, with huge, irregular block chords pitted against the melody. Hush-a-bye is a sad lullaby which brings the set to a whispered conclusion … This is the sort of diverse programming that mandolin orchestras need to be playing if they are ever to flourish again in America as they once did, and I am glad to see that the Providence Mandolin Orchestra and other innovative groups … are leading the way”
Neil Gladd, Review of Song without words CD recording, Mandolin Quarterly (Summer 1996)
“The Providence (R. I.) Mandolin Orchestra gave an entertaining concert on February 9th [1997] at the University of Connecticut’s von de Mehden Recital Hall. Director Mark M. Davis in his leadership of this outstanding string orchestra proved to be a worthy successor to Walter Kaye Bauer, a past president of FIGA, who was similarly respected for his innovative development of a mandolin/banjo symphonic orchestra … Guest soloist was Margaret Cushing [whose] tonality and artistry on this venerable instrument, the recorder, were remarkable … The musicianship of the orchestra was excellent. The individual members performed with precision at a professional level. It is difficult to find something to critique … An enthusiastic audience demanded an encore.”
Hube Enders, FIGA Magazine (1997)
“At Rhode Island School of Design we stopped in just as the Providence Mandolin Orchestra was finishing a free concert. This 25-piece string ensemble (many guitars and mandolins) closed with ‘The Allman Brothers’ “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and the sound was positively soulful.”
Peter Zheutlin, “Take Two”, The Boston Globe (July 11, 2002)
“’Trudy got tickets for the Providence Mandolin Orchestra,’ Marcy said. This time Gwen couldn’t hide her smile. ‘It might sound a little strange but it’s one of those uniquely Providence things,” Trudy said earnestly. “Like the Waterfire events, or Buddy Cienci’s spaghetti sauce.”
Elaine Cunningham, Shadows in the Darkness, (MacMillan, 2004, p. 65)
“The Providence Mandolin Orchestra, founded in 1971 and currently directed by Mark Davis, boasts ‘well over two hundred pieces in its repertoire … from Renaissance dances to Baroque concertos, turn-of-the-century nostalgia, and avant-garde expressions’. But while their life has been longer and the instrument more traditional, the PMO does not shy away from innovative music and programming. At their concert they performed music by Japanese composer Yasuo Kuwahara, Spaniard Jose Luis Barroso, and a commissioned work by Clarice Assad, the daughter of Brazilian guitar legend Sergio. The orchestra’s performance was much more than idiomatic plucks and trills – it was a virtuosic display of the endless possibilities of this attractive instrument”
Classical Guitar Magazine (2007)
“If you missed the Providence Mandolin Orchestra’s recent concert at Goff Hall, you missed a local treasure. The internationally appreciated PMO is a unique musical delight. Goff Memorial Hall, when not at its day job as part of the Rehoboth Town Library, doubles as a Country Western dance hall – and it just so happens to be an acoustic wonderland for mandolin orchestra. After songs end, a little tail of resonance wags in the air. The effect was ideally suited for the powerful musical piece called “Lament for Kosovo.” At song’s end, conductor Mark Davis remains frozen in the fetal self-hug of his final cut-off while the musical residue evaporates, and the audience remains silent, as if stunned. At this concert, the PMO establishes how nimbly a mandolin orchestra can mix the sweet sound of baroque chamber music with the haunting quality of Celtic instrumental airs or the bright timbre and progressive layering of multi-track, 12-string guitar. And for such an assortment of small, plucky instruments, the PMO spans an amazing dynamic range. In a section of Owen Hartford’s rolling “Grooves #1,” Davis takes the mandolins from crisp, plucked-out half-notes that evoke celestial harps to sparse tings of mandolin sprinkled on air, to a high, ringing ensemble swell. Featuring music from diverse international cities, the program, entitled “A Day in the Life of a City,” showcases the vital, contemporary music scene centered around composition for mandolin orchestra — outside the U.S., that is. The opening song, “The City Awakens,” was written by Dutch composer Emiel Stopler specifically for Providence Mandolin Orchestra. A bright, pleasant opener accented by soft, rhythmic guitar tapping, the song falls into an easy groove of call and response between guitar and mandolin. But before long, like dawn’s mercurial awakenings, the feel switches to a beat so jaunty it sets bassist Bob Asprinio to bobbing. Another piece written expressly for mandolin orchestra, Betty Beath’s richly emotional “Lament for Kosovo,” takes full advantage of the nuanced voicings to spin a narrative of moods. From underneath the guitars’ soft, sweet melody a bass section plods out minor, Slavic-sounding scales. At one point, the mandolins scuttle down the scales like filmic violins for a scene in which someone, perhaps a caped anti-hero, breezes down a series of staircases. The piece features a painful caesura – it seems no one breathes — until guitars tip-toe into the stillness, soft and almost heartbreaking. But in many other pieces, the music has an air of light whimsy. “Dreamtime,” a capricious piece by another Dutch composer Annette Kruisbrink, makes use of string areas beyond the mandolin’s bridge and nut, where aggressive strokes scratch like claw-swipes from mischievous elves. The concert’s fun numbers included intriguing arrangements of three Lennon/McCartney songs, starting with a “Penny Lane” that clipped along, mandolins voicing those well-known trumpet lines. Songs from the Beatles’ orchestral experimentation have signature moving bass lines that work well for the mandolin orchestra. Robert Margo’s arrangements play with the complex dialogue (or elegant wrestling match) between bass and treble voicings. “I am the Walrus” ends with mandolins ascending ever-higher and bass descending ever-lower, as if towards heaven and hell. The various stringed voices are so well-articulated that the familiar nature of these Beatles songs only highlights the orchestra’s versatility. For example, anyone familiar with the way “I am the Walrus” breaks into musical mayhem will be amazed at what excellent mayhem a group of nice mandolin-type instruments can make. And in “A Day in the Life,” the crescendo of the “turn you on” section shows that a three-man bass section — two mandocellos (Dan Moore, Matt Snyder) and an upright bass (Asprinio) — can pack a lot of umph. Margo’s arrangements wrap clever humor in surprise packages, like sneaky chromatic runs, sprightly melodic ellipses, tantalizing pauses (and, I could swear, a humming of “ah”s in “A Day in the Life”). Also, the audience got to participate in “I am the Walrus” by singing “Oh!” whenever conductor Mark Davis jabbed his finger in the air. Audiophiles, the PMO will be collecting some of their exciting new material this spring on a CD – but you haven’t peaked until you hear this orchestra live in a resonant room.”
Marianne Massina, ArtsmashRI Blog (December 7, 2009)
“The concert was the best attended and most well received event in the five-year history of the Arts in the Village series. The house was sold out, with standing room only, and the inspired performance of the PMO musicians earned three standing ovations. The bond between the performers and the audience members reached a level of intimacy and aesthetic appreciation that is rarely experienced and will long be remembered by all who were present”.
Shawn Kendrick, Arts in the Village
“The PMO is a fine group, with a lovely mix of sound(s); Mark [Davis] conducts with rare finesse and a keen sense of musical direction.”
Victor Kioulaphides, composer, New York City
“I’m especially pleased with this week’s “tune” because it features the remarkable Providence Mandolin Orchestra performing my arrangement of my simple tune “Off to Minnesota” (really just a variation on the classic tune “Off to California”), which I originally made up in 2007. It appeared here in its basic form, with guitar and mandolin, in June 2008. A little later I created the mandolin orchestra version and gave it to my good friends in the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra. The MMO has performed this piece many times in recent years and I have had the honor to join them on occasion. We performed the piece in Minneapolis during a concert at the annual Classical Mandolin Society of America convention last fall and Mark Davis, director of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, liked the piece enough to ask me for the music. This resulted in the performance I’m sharing today. The PMO is, by any standard, one of the premiere plectral ensembles in North America. They are especially well known for focusing on the performance of recently composed music for mandolin orchestra. In January 2013 the orchestra played a concert as part of the Music at Lily Pads series in Peace Dale, RI that featured a program of all original music for mandolin and guitars, including some recent award-winning pieces. I was extremely honored that Mark and the group chose to perform Off to Minnesota as their encore that afternoon.
John Goodin, So Many Tunes Blog (April 21, 2013)
“Duke Robillard is well known for his superlative guitar tone and dexterous playing. The Acoustic Blues & Roots of Duke Robillard shows yet another side to this stellar artist … The Providence Mandolin Orchestra and Novick’s clarinet gives Saint Louis Blues an old-timey feel and adds to the dramatic rhythm.”
Malcolm Kennedy, Victory Music (May 23, 2016)
A beautiful concert in the Rehoboth Village
October 10, 2024
Sometimes the best part of the GPS is when I take the wrong turn even under guidance. Then the GPS guru wants to reroute you and that is exactly what happened on Sunday. And it was good because it rerouted us through the beautiful countryside on a lovely fall day as we trekked to our destination. Sometimes the best time is when you make a wrong turn.
The trees were just beginning to cooperate, teasing us with fall colors, some early golds and oranges, not quite peaked but enough to enjoy. Fields of brown and green and horses in the meadows treated us as we drifted to our destination; a quaint pleasant building just a spit down the road… The Goff Memorial Hall in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.
As we exited our car we noted a distant aroma of wood. The air was cool. It was fall.
Our friends, Ed and Judith, introduced us to this gem a few years ago when they told us of the “Arts in the Village” concerts sponsored by the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society and held periodically throughout the year. We’ve been to a number of them and have not been disappointed.
The Goff Memorial Hall was erected out of brick in 1915 and houses Rehoboth’s Blanding Public Library in addition to the Goff Memorial Hall, an addition to the library that seamlessly matches the original architecture and details of the historic building. Holding I would guess up to one hundred, It is a wonderful venue for a concert with outstanding acoustics. On this day we were treated to a concert by The Providence Mandolin Orchestra with its director and soloist, Marc Davis. The musicians were tucked neatly on the small stage just above eye level. I had not heard the orchestra in years and was sorry I missed them for so long.
It was a treat. I loved the light, vibrant, crisp, rapid plucking technique, and the delicate, shimmering sound. I’m not a music critic, but the concert this day seemed to fit perfectly with the intimacy of Goff Hall.
Here is what I noted on The Orchestra’s site (my editing): “Our Goff Hall Arts in the Village concert on October 6 was a big success — full house and another standing O at the end! Hankus Netzky, the composer of “Chagall’s Mandolins” was in attendance with his wife and was thrilled with the performance of his piece. This was our ninth (!) performance in the “Arts in the Village” series (the first was in 2006).”
So look at the consistency of both Arts in the Village and The Providence Mandolin Orchestra. They’re doing something right.
Inaugurated in 2001, Arts in the Village is a classical concert series whose purpose is to enrich the community by presenting cultural events that enlighten and inspire.
The beauty of the landscape matched the beauty of the music in the perfect place. Which is all good.
Oh, and at day’s end, the society served up several homemade treats. There are more concerts for the season. Go to the website.
rehobothantiquarian.org/arts-in-the-village/
Look at the upcoming programs. You won’t be disappointed.
Ed Iannuccilli – RINEWStoday.com (October 10, 2024)