Welcome to vantichelen.name. This site is meant as a blog to share insights and finds about mandolin history.
Blog
Wranitzky and Lehmann, Variations on “Ich bin liederlich” for violin or mandolin and guitar (Vienna, 1809)
During my research of late 18th and early 19th-century Viennese mandolin history, I stumbled upon a previously unknown violin/mandolin and guitar variation sequence. In this blog post, we will first look at the publication which contains this set I discovered. Next, we will discuss a violin variation sequence which I have traced as its origin. …
The mandolin in public venues in Vienna in the 1780s and 1790s
The theme of this post is something close to my heart: the mandolin and its use in opera. I’ve been going to operas for years, and besides many live events, have also enjoyed the genre via streaming, video or audio media. I’ve of course also enjoyed it greatly when invited to play the mandolin part …
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Imported mandolin prints in Austria and Germany 1782-1836
Introduction This article is the first of three outtakes from an article I’m preparing, following my presentation at the Conservatorio di Musica “Giuseppe Verdi” di Milano. My contribution became too large, so some side topics are launched as blog articles instead. All of these will focus on Austrian mandolin history. In this instance, the subject …
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About
Pieter Van Tichelen first laid eyes on a mandolin at the age of 6 and never recovered. After graduating with high honours at the music academy of Brasschaat, he pursued studies in musicology at the Unversity of Leuven. In 2000 he graduated magna cum laude to a Master’s degree in Musicology on a theses about 17th century mandolin history. Afterwards he took some mandolin classes at the Tilburg Cathorlic Conservatory with professor Benny Ludemann.
Pieter has enjoyed playing the mandolin with several of Belgium’s symphonic and opera orchestras (Vlaamse Opera, De Munt, VRT-orkest etc.). He also recorded several CD’s as session musician, and for a few years played in a Dutch-Belgian folk ensemble (Aerdewerck). For about 15 years he formed a permanent mandolin-guitar duo with guitarist Johan Dias, which occasionally still performs. Pieter is also a member of the mandolin orchestra of Brasschaat (Brasschaats Mandoline-Orkest).
As specialist in musicology and mandolin history, Pieter has uncovered several manuscripts and prints with parts for mandolin who were either though lost or even completely unknown. He was honoured twice with a guest professorship at the Antwerp Music Conservatory to teach early mandolin history (to ca. 1850). To this day he’s also a permanent member of the International Symposium of Mandolin History.
Also check out mandolinhistory.org
Part of my time in investigating mandolin history is also spent on an ongoing effort to document the historical sources. It is a huge undertaking and I won’t always have enough time to continuously add new items. However, with a planned update of the site I will likely reduce maintenance and updates will become easier (and hopefully more frequent). Over the year, mandolinhistory.org should become a haven for any mandolin enthusiast who wants to know more.
