A comptemporary of Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer Francisco Mignone (1897 – 1986) was often referred to as Rei da valsa or “King of the Waltz”. The valsas brasileiras share little by way of style with their Viennese counterparts aside from being written in “three beats to a bar”, and Mignone himself felt them to be the most genuinely Brazilian in character of all the country’s popular forms of music. This collection of sixteen valsas forms a major work for the solo bassoon, and John McDougall brings a fresh interpretation to them in his debut recording for Luminate Records.
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Steve Magee –
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.
Steve Magee
Principal Contrabassoon, BBC Symphony Orchestra