Lara, Antonio

Born in Tertenia (Ogliastra area, prov. Nuoro), he moved to Villaputzu (Sarrabus area, prov. Cagliari), where he remained all his life; Taught, together with his brother Emanuele, how to play by their father, Giuseppe, he has been playing actively since around 1900, but also, as Weis Bentzon describes it, "worked his way up as an independent farmer, so that he had his land to fall back upon when times changed and he could no longer obtain bread for his family with the cane. Yet he has been playing at festivals and weddings up to the most recent times [i.e. the 1960s; ws] when an opportunity offered"; He played in a somewhat old-fashioned style, had a thorough knowledge of the musical repertoire of all kuntsertus, but (apparently according to Weis Bentzon) didn’t have the creative genius of Efisio Melis; Because of the quality of his instruments, he sold about 20-50 instruments a year to those players in the Sarrabus and Ogliastra areas who wanted a better Launeddas than they could make themselves; The prices varied, according to the purchasing power of the buyer and the quality of the instrument, from 200 to 3000 lire [today's rate?; ws]; Dore, who describes him as "considered, despite his venerable age, 87, the most skilled manufacturer and whimsical living player", but omits to refer to his father and brother; NB: ➺ Mario Cancedda, Luigi Melis, Felice Pili, Fedele Corda, Luigi Lai, and Aurelio Porcu.