Raffaele Calace, opera completa per mandolino e chitarra

Description

The long and productive period of activity of the Neapolitan musician Raffaele Calace, by virtue of its span (1863-1934), falls within an era of profound social and political transformations that had important repercussions, including on the cultural level. At the end of Bourbon rule, as the major Neapolitan theaters began to encounter difficulties, a radical cultural renewal took place, characterized mainly by a gradual renewed interest in instrumental music. Raffaele Calace, second son of the luthier Antonio, received his musical training at the Naples Conservatory, where he studied the violin; however, he obtained a composition diploma under the guidance of Paolo Serrao and Francesco Ancona. His musical activity was devoted above all to plucked string instruments, of which he became a virtuoso and a prolific composer. Calace – contrary to what one might expect, given the large number of pieces published for this combination of instruments – composed only a version for mandolin and guitar of the works presented here: they are still present and available, for this combination of instruments, in the current catalog of Éditions Calace.