Banjo and mandolin duets?

[Steven Watson]

Does anyone here know of any from the classic era? I would have thought mandolin with banjo accompaniment would have been used, even if perhaps the balance might have been problematic. But I haven't yet come across any scores in BMG etc. (only guitar and mandolin). I'd be grateful for any help.

[Sam Harris]

I don't know of any duets, but there are plenty of folios and mandolin club/orchestra arrangements with parts for both mandolin and banjo. I've seen some advertised as "playable with any combination of two or more instruments."

[Steven Watson]

Thanks! That's a useful lead, I'll do some more digging.

Sam Harris said:

I don't know of any duets, but there are plenty of folios and mandolin club/orchestra arrangements with parts for both mandolin and banjo. I've seen some advertised as "playable with any combination of two or more instruments."

[TONY BRYAN]

Steven, you have hit on a bit of an anomaly of the classic era: in spite of BMG - banjo, mandolin and guitar - being a common combination of letters, the presence of musical trios of banjos, mandolins and guitars seems to be a rarity.  From my experience in trying to interest mandolinists and guitarists in forming a trio with me, the problem has been that we have nothing in common.  Although many well-known banjo solos were transcribed for mandolin as well, no mandolinist I know has ever shown any interest in playing the works of Morley, Grimshaw et al., and certainly not playing a second to a banjo.  As for guitarists, they are left to interpret the second banjo part, if there is one.  It's just possible to have a mandolin playing the first and the banjo playing the second, both as published.  Judging from what was commercially available, the most common trio playing classic banjo material would have been a first banjo, a second banjo and a piano. 

I inherited some BMG club parts, but they all lean heavily towards plectrum playing, which means the banjo and the mandolin (and mandolin-banjo, mandola, tenor banjo etc) all have a similar basic attack.  Finger-style parts only seem common when the piece being played is a classic banjo solo.  (At performances, the mandolinists all went to the bar when the FS banjoists were featured!)

One way out of the repertoire dilemma is to avoid the stereotypical music of all the instruments, and go for classical or jazz.  As an example of this approach I would cite "The BigTrio Reprise' of 2003, where Doug Back (bjo), Richard Walz (mdln) and Andrew Zohn (gtr) recreated the c.1912 performances of the original trio of Fred Bacon (bjo), Guiseppe Pettine (mdln) and William Foden (gtr).  It's all popular classics, though, and you're stuck with having to create your own arrangements. 

Anyway, I hope you manage to pull together some like-minded players and we all look forward to hearing and seeing the result.

Regards

Tony

[Steven Watson]

Very interesting, Tony! It's so odd that the three were rarely combined.

I'll have to look to see which 1st banjo parts might work on mandolin. Whether anyone I know will consent to play alongside banjo is another matter... Arrangements are certainly possible, but I confess I was hoping for an easier option! 

[Steven Watson]

Do you know if the album by 'The Big Trio Reprise' is available anywhere? It looks impossibly out of print, sadly. I'd be curious to hear it.

[Trapdoor2]

Doug Back (the banjoist on the album) is a member here (rarely says anything). You might try to PM him. Sometime artists get a stock of recordings to sell or give away. I've gotten old, out of print LPs from a couple of recording artists who had copies stashed away for years. I simply paid shipping as they were happy someone actually wanted them!

Steven Watson said:

Do you know if the album by 'The Big Trio Reprise' is available anywhere? It looks impossibly out of print, sadly. I'd be curious to hear it.