Andrew Gilbert ALCM (TD), DipLCM
Music Teacher and Computer Specialist

Mantovani project

A little while ago, I was asked a seemingly simple question—”How do I recreate the Mantovani ‘sound’?” By this, the questioner meant the cascading strings effect heard in Mantovani tracks such as Charmaine. I could have simply said “Overlap the notes and add sustain” but I thought I’d do things properly, as there’s much more to Mantovani than that one ‘sound’. The man was an absolute master of phrasing, dynamics and rubato, and that all has to be added in.


I’ve been a Mantovani fan since my Dad played me some of his old 78 RPM records when I was about 8 or 9, including Eddie Calvert, Frank Chacksfield and Mantovani. Charmaine later became the de rigueur demonstration piece for orchestral strings on organs, click here to listen to how the Roland AT900 does it.


I can transcribe music quite well, but there’s nothing to beat the sight of a full score, so I’m very grateful to Wes Stillwagon, webmaster of the Mantovani Fan Club website, for arranging to send me a copy of Mark N. Peterson’s excellent transcription, which emulates the original very well.  You can click here to hear how Sibelius 6 and Garritan Personal Orchestra 4 software reads and plays the score, exactly as written, with no intervention from me whatsoever!


With this score as a starting point, I started work on making my own transcription score and, with the help of Don Southwell from the Mantovani site and Sam Newgarth MBE, who conducted the ‘new’ Mantovani orchestra in concert in Poole earlier this year, the aim is to produce a ‘virtual’ version of Charmaine that’s as close to the original recording as is possible with my abilities and current technology.


I’m also arranging a couple of other tracks in the Mantovani style. It’s going to be quite a challenge but one that I’m really looking forward to. I’m already having to hone my listening skills (never a bad thing for anyone) to get my own score as close as I can possibly make it before I start playing anything into Cubase. I’m also having to think very carefully about building realistic-sounding ensembles using the virtual instruments at my disposal. It’s not as simple as I first thought but there’s no rush. I’m going to take my time and get things right!

 

Mantovani