Italian Folk Music for Mandolin - Tapa blanda

Italian Folk Music for Mandolin is an enjoyable collection of pieces from various parts of northern, central and southern Italy.

For more than three decades, guitarist, mandolinist, and composer arranger, John T. La Barbera, has enchanted audiences throughout the United States, Europe and South America. He was awarded for the extraordinary role of the transmission and translation of Italian oral traditions from The Italian Oral History Institute in 2005 and recognized as one of the first transcribers of Southern Italian folk music in America. Immediately after graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in classical guitar from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, he was awarded a scholarship to continue graduate studies in Siena and Florence, Italy. It was in Florence during the 1970's where John launched his professional career. It was his selection as full time guitarist and arranger for the music and theater company Pupi e Fresedde, that honored his virtuosity and brought him acclaim in Italy and the rest of Europe. During these years, the group left an indelible mark and vast contribution to folk music in Italy. It was also when he started to transcribe a huge repertoire that had been passed down by oral tradition. Upon his return to the U.S., he brought back his experience and own transcriptions of this music to form I Giullari di Piazza, in New York City in 1979. As a composer, La Barbera has won several awards and commissions. From The Jerome Foundation he was commissioned to write a work for the ETHOS Percussion ensemble, The Marimba Suite for percussion, which premiered in 2001 and released on their CD Sol Tunnels; in 1996 by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Martin Gruss Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts in New York, to compose The Dance of the Ancient Spider, which premiered at Alice Tully Hall; Funding from the New York State Council on the Arts and meet the Composer; commissioned by the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City to compose Stabat Mater-