It is commonly said that the mandolin is an instrument of great tradition in Madeira. This affirmation is usually based on the current quite high number of mandolin orchestras existing in the region¹ and at the same time on a superficial notion that musical groups with mandolins have existed for “many years” in Madeira. No one seems to know for certain what is meant by “many years”, as opinions on when the mandolin was first introduced in Funchal vary much.

Thus, this CD-Rom intends to answer the question of the origin of the mandolin in Madeira, and therefore to answer other questions related to this context, as who the pioneer musicians were, which factors contributed to the acceptance of this instrument and what the musical repertoire played on mandolin was.

In an attempt to answer these questions, several sources were brought together such as periodicals of the 19th and 20th centuries, scores by Madeira’s mandolin groups, iconographic documentation compiled with assistance from Rui Camacho, president director of the Associação Musical Xarabanda (Xarabanda Musical Association), and a recently published brief synthesis of works concerning music in Madeira. Also, a sample of 326 scores was studied in order to get to know the repertoire executed.²

Coordinating Cabinet of Artistic Education
Research and Documentation Division
paulo.esteireiro@gmail.com

________________________

¹ The Associação de Bandolins da Madeira (Madeira Mandolin Association) relates on its website that there are «17 mandolin tunas or orchestras currently active in the Autonomous Region of Madeira». See http://www.bandolins-madeira.net/web/orquestras/ (accessed on March 26, 2010).

² The 326 scores sample is constituted of manuscript pieces for mandolin, which can be found in the Ângelo Álvares de Freitasand Noé Cró Collections, in the Library of the Coordinating Cabinet of Artistic Education.

________________________________________________