The presence of the mandolin in art music is sparse indeed, and one reason is the difficulty of balancing the little instrument with orchestral forces. One has to recognize the engineering work of the Outhere Music label on this recording by mandolinist Raffaele La Ragione. The sound brings the mandolin out clearly without harsh amplification of the sort heard on so many other mandolin recordings. This is true even with the punchy, high-energy sound of the historical performance ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro under director ...
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The presence of the mandolin in art music is sparse indeed, and one reason is the difficulty of balancing the little instrument with orchestral forces. One has to recognize the engineering work of the Outhere Music label on this recording by mandolinist Raffaele La Ragione. The sound brings the mandolin out clearly without harsh amplification of the sort heard on so many other mandolin recordings. This is true even with the punchy, high-energy sound of the historical performance ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro under director Francesco Corti; the idiomatic sound of the Villa San Fermo in Lonigo is a help. Another attraction here is that La Ragione offers historical instruments of his own, three period mandolins from different cities that bring a delightful diversity of sound. The program shows just how few mandolin concertos there are, greatest or otherwise. To fill out the program, La Ragione includes orchestral works with only the most tenuous connections to the theme at hand. He might have done better to...
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