Piano Music of Francisco Mignone

by Martin Jones

Overview

Composer Francisco Mignone was a close successor to Villa-Lobos; his music is heard sometimes in Brazil but little elsewhere, and pianist Martin Jones does a real service by bringing some of his piano music to light. Like Villa-Lobos, Mignone mixes European traditions with native Brazilian elements, but the effect of his music is quite different from that of Villa-Lobos or Camargo Guarnieri. The pieces here, all from the 1930s and '40s, are light in spirit and often humorous. Some are based on Afro-Brazilian rhythms; sample the "Maxixando" from the Quatro pecas brasileiras, which picks up where the salon pieces of Ernesto Nazareth left off. Mignone's "Brazilian" and "European" pieces are more discrete than with the deep fusions of Villa-Lobos, but the spirit of his Brazilian work seems to invade the European ones even where the rhythms are not present (try the Serenada Humoristica). The most elegant fusions occur in the four Sonatinas of 1949, delightful works that approach Bartok in places, although it is not clear how much Mignone might have known the work of the Hungarian master. Jones specializes in the lighter composers of the 20th century, a period not noted for anything but heavy music, and he catches Mignone's spirit flawlessly, aided by excellent sound from the Wyastone Concert Hall. A real winner for Jones and the Nimbus label, now distributing Wyastone's in-house recordings. A joy for anybody. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	05/05/2023
Label:	Nimbus / Nimbus Records
UPC:	0710357811326
Rank:	180845

Tracks

1. Lenda sertaneja No. 8
2. Cucumbizinho (Brazilian Dance)
3. Valse élégante
4. Ia Sonatina~Andante moderato
5. Ia Sonatina~Allegro moderato
6. Lenda sertaneja No. 6
7. Serenada Humorística
8. Congada (Dança Afro-Brasileria from his opera O Contratador dos Diamantes)
9. IIa Sonatina~I. Muito simples - Andantino mosso
10. IIa Sonatina~II. Allegro ma non troppo
11. Lenda sertaneja No. 4
12. Tango
13. Quatro peças Brasileiras~I. Moroco
14. Quatro peças Brasileiras~II. Maxixando
15. Quatro peças Brasileiras~III. Nazareth
16. Quatro peças Brasileiras~IV. Toada
17. IIIa Sonatina~I. Andantino - Vivo
18. IIIa Sonatina~II. Allegretto - Allegro
19. Ia Valsa de esquina
20. Paulistana (People of São Paulo)
21. IVa Sonatina~I. Allegretto non troppo
22. IVa Sonatina~II. Allegro con umore
23. 12a Valsa de esquina

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Martin Jones   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Adrian Farmer   Producer,Liner Notes
Francisco Mignone   Composer
Jose Ferraz de Almeida Junior   Cover Image