Raffaele Calace (1863-1934)
Danse Espagnole, op. 105
Serenata malinconica, op. 120
Polonaise, op. 36
Barcarolle, op. 20
Tarentelle, op. 18
Mazurka, op. 141
Saltarello, op. 79
Bolero, op. 26
Rondo, op. 127
Bolero, op. 161
L'ardimentosa, op. 57
Les Maries, op. 123
Album di ballabili,op. 13
Marcia Letizia, op. 184

Duo Zigiotti-Merlante

The long, productive period of activity of the Neapolitan musician Raffaele Calace, because of its timing (1863-1934), fell in an era of great social and political transformations that had important consequences also on a cultural level. At the end of the Bourbon domination, while the most important Neapolitan theatres were beginning to have problems, a radical cultural renewal took place, concentrating chiefly on a gradual increase of musical interest in instrumental production. Raffaele Calace, second son of the luthier Antonio, received his musical education at the Conservatory of Naples, where he studied violin; but he graduated in composition under the guidance of Paolo Serrao and Francesco Ancona. His musical activity was devoted above all to plucked string instruments, and he became a virtuoso performer on them and a composer of music for them. Calace – contrary to what one might expect, considering the great number of pieces that have been published for this combination of instruments – composed a version for mandolin and guitar only of the works presented here: they are still present and available, for this combination of instruments, in the present-day catalogue of the Calace Editions.