The Marionette Mandolin Orchestra from Japan has recently added 10 videos to its youtube channel. The titles of those interesting pieces are difficult to get because they are only given in Japanese language. But I think that all the pieces are original compositions by Yuasa Takashi und Yoshida Goshi.
Yuasa Takashi and Yoshida Goshi have been playing together as the duo Marionette for many years – with portuguese guitar and liuto or guitar. The have played especially the Fado music from Portgal. They have recorded many CDs and travelled around the world with success.
In 2006 Yoshida has founded the Marionette Mandolin Orchestra:
In 2006 Yoshida produced the Marionette Mandolin Orchestra, a group made up of 100 musicians performing on a variety of instruments, including the mandolin. The group experiments with new styles of mandolin music.
On the homepage of Marionette you can find information about the duo as well as information about the orchestra. You can also find a list of compositions that are available for purchase.
The music by the Marionette Mandolin Orchestras sounds very nice, with influence from folk music – I can hear Spanish and Portuguese influences – but also with influences from pop music. I think that those pieces are interesting for other mandolin orchestras, especially for young players.
The Marionette Mandolin Orchestra is located in the city of Takatsuki, Takatsuki is located just between Osaka and Kyoto.
Takatsuki (高槻市, Takatsuki-shi?) is a city located in Osaka, Japan.
As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 353,881 and the density of 3,360 persons per km². The total area is 105.31 km².
The city was founded on January 1, 1943 and is located almost directly between Kyoto and Osaka. Due to the convenience of being 13-15 minutes away from Kyoto and Osaka by train respectively, the city has developed exponentially during the last 20 years. It is a commuter town, with people commuting to both Kyoto and Osaka.
I had some problems to decide which pieces I should add as examples – I recommend to listen to all the 10 pieces if you have enough time!
Here are three examples:
小組曲｢ふな屋｣
Suite “Funabashi store”
東西巡礼～ザビエル幻視～
Nishi Azuma – Halluzinationen – Xavier Wallfahrt
マンドリン酒場の夜Version2010
Mandoline Bar Night
Marionette – Yuasa Takashi und Yoshida Goshi
Videos with the duo Marionette – portuguese guitar and liuto or guitar
Guitarra Portuguesa／Coimbra コインブラ／Marionette
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViIAy1fgKlY
Guitarra Portuguesa／Longe ao Zipangu 南蛮渡来／Marionette
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4BHEy_-xlc
Further Informationen
Youtube channel of the Marionette Mandolin Orchestra: http://www.youtube.com/user/Marionetteorchestra
Homepage Marionette (Yuasa Takashi and Yoshida Goshi): http://www.wix.com/marionette_japan/marionette
Japanese homepage of Marionette, google translation to English: http://translate.google.de/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asahi-net.or.jp%2F~QN7Y-UMI%2F