"Sixteen Waltzes for Solo Bassoon" Francisco Mignone
John McDougall - Bassoon
Enter a world of Brazilian waltzes, love songs, improvised music on street corners and raw emotions. These sixteen pieces for solo bassoon written between 1979 and 1981, are a snapshot of Brazilian life through the lens of the popular national style of “valsas brazileiras”.
John McDougall, Principal Bassoon for both the BBC Concert Orchestra and the orchestra of English National Ballet, explores Francisco Mignone’s (1897-1986) vivid collection in his debut recording for Luminate Records.
Aquela Modinha que o Villa não escreveu 3:43
6a. Valsa Brasileira 4:50
Mistério 2:57
Valsa da outra esquina 4:09
Valsa em si bemol menor 5:58
Valsa Choro 3:47
Valsa Improvisada 2:28
Apanhei-te Meu Fagothino 1:52
+ 1 ¾ 2:54
Valsa declama 2:48
Pattapiada 1:53
A Boa Páscoa você, Devos! 3:06
Valsa quase modinheira 3:18
Valsa Ingênua 1:57
A Escrava que não era Isaura 4:07
Macunaíma 3:02
John McDougall was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and having been presented with a bassoon upon entering secondary school at the age of 12, has never looked back.
he went on to study full time at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), later moving to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Since then he has enjoyed a varied career in chamber ensembles, avant-garde contemporary music, orchestral freelancing and theatre work including 10 years with the original West End production of ‘Miss Saigon’ at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For over 20 years, John has been Principal Bassoon with the orchestra of English National Ballet, and since 2016 also Principal Bassoon with the BBC Concert Orchestra.
A career as a busy orchestral musician generally allows little time to embark on solo projects, but with the Covid-19 pandemic severely curtailing many aspects of life, including opportunities for musicians to work together, John saw the chance to explore some of the solo bassoon repertoire, and felt that this was the perfect time to finally record Francisco Mignone’s ’16 valse para fagote solo’, resulting in his debut release for Luminate Records.
Steve Magee
Principal Contrabassoon, BBC Symphony Orchestra (Verified Purchaser) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The challenges of lockdowns affected us all in many different ways but they also presented some of us with creative opportunities of which this this recording is a fine example. It’s the first full-length CD on the fledgling classical label Luminate Records: the brainchild of CBSO double bass Jeremy Watt and was itself set up over the initial lockdown period to “give the amazing musicians making up the UK’s orchestras a place to release their solo projects”, and what a fine result we have in this recording which was released on 3rd September to coincide with the composer’s birthday.
The CD booklet itself is well written and has all the information you’ll need but for those of you who aren’t familiar with the composer, Francisco Paulo Mignone (1897-1986) was a Brazilian composer; possibly the most significant since Villa-Lobos. The Sixteen Waltzes were written between 1979 & 1981, not as a set but individually. In this recording, they appear in the order that Noel Devos organised them for their first publication.
What a treat it was to hear them all together in the extremely capable hands of the most talented and versatile bassoonist: John McDougall. John is both Principal Bassoon of the BBC Concert Orchestra and the orchestra of English National Ballet. He enjoys a varied freelance career in chamber ensembles, avant-garde contemporary music, theatre work and is also one of the UK’s leading Heckelphone players!
When you listen to this recording, it’s so engaging that it’s easy to forget just how difficult these pieces really are! They require immense skill in every register of the instrument and a performance of this quality can only be achieved by a player right at the top of their game. I can only imagine that the lockdown gave John so much time to completely immerse himself in the music. There is so much attention to detail which is incredibly difficult to achieve as the music is constantly changing direction. John’s playing brings so much life to these pieces that could all too easily sound like a collection of studies in different hands! His sound and tone are soulful and pure throughout but notably amazingly sweet in the extreme upper register of the instrument where (as we all know) it can easily sound strained. The dynamic range is impressive throughout as is the excellent use of vibrato. John’s control is astonishing and the ends of phrases just disappear into nowhere leaving the listener in anticipation as to see where the next phrase will take you. Whether it’s the passion of the Aquela modinha que o Villa não escreveu, the sheer gusto of the Pattapiada or the countless acrobatics (and aerobatics) throughout the other movements, this recording is an absolute joy from beginning to end. There is indeed something for everyone right up to the final high echo of the Macuníma, leaving us hanging, wanting more. If only there were another sixteen……
The recording is engineered superbly with excellent placement of microphones for balance, a perfectly warm acoustic and not even a slight hint of key clatter. One can only hope there are more recordings to come from this super-talented bassoonist.
Before then, you can hear more of John’s superb playing in the numerous recordings and broadcasts by the fabulous BBC Concert Orchestra or have a listen to some of his many other lockdown projects on his YouTube channel.