The liuto cantabile, also termed a liuto moderno, is an uncommon ten-stringed

mandocello The mandocello ( it, mandoloncello, Liuto cantabile, liuto moderno) is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paire ...

. This bass variant of the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

family was developed by the Neapolitan luthiers of the Vinaccia family in the late 19th century and perfected by

Raffaele Calace Raffaele Calace (1863 – 1934) was an Italian mandolin player, composer, and luthier. Calace was born in Naples, Italy, the son of Antonio Calace, a successful instrument maker. He initially trained to be a musician, discovered the mandolin, ...

. The scale of a modern Calace-manufactured liuto cantabile is 61 cm (24"). The instrument overlaps or is equivalent to the

mandolone A mandolone is a member of the mandolin family, created in the 18th century. It is a bass range version of the Neapolitan mandolin.Sterling Publishing Company, New York, ''Musical Instruments of the World'', page 188 Its range was not as good as ...

and

Tuning

The liuto cantabile is tuned CC-GG-dd-aa-e'e'.

Solo repertoire

A substantial catalog of solo liuto works have been composed, most notably by the

virtuoso, composer and luthier

, who championed the instrument.

Ensemble repertoire

The instrument is also the bass member of the classical

quartet, or plectrum quartet. This ensemble consists of mandolin I and II, mandola and liuto cantabile. The earliest known classical plectrum quartet with this configuration was the Florentine Quartet formed in 1890 in Florence, Italy. The regular members of this quartet were Luigi Bianchi (mandolin I), Guido Bizzari (mandolin II), Riccardo Matini (octave mandolin), and Carlo Munier (liuto cantabile, director).Paul Sparks, ''The Classical Mandolin'', Second Ed. (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2005), p. 33.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Embergher History
Mandolin family instruments