John Neschling - Francisco Mignone: Maracatu de Chico Rei; Festa das Igrejas; Sinfonia Tropical (2004)

Like many artists in search of a national musical identity, yet chained to classical European models, Brazilian composer Francisco Mignone had considerable difficulty finding his own voice. The raw material of folk songs and dances from São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro were available to Mignone, and he used them to impressive effect in his lavish ballet for choir and orchestra, Maracatu de Chico Rei (1933), his four-part tone poem Festa das igrejas (1940), and his dramatic, single-movement Sinfonia Tropical (1958). Even so, this music from his middle period sounds less Brazilian than Italian: the influences of Respighi on his orchestration and of Puccini on his highly melodic expression are pronounced, and Mignone recognized his indebtedness to those composers, as well as to his Italian father and several music teachers from Italy. Since this disc reflects only one aspect of Mignone's full output -- which at times flirted with Stravinskyian neo-Classicism and later extended into the "International school" of serialism and avant-garde experimentation -- listeners may find Mignone a bit too limited in scope and superficial in his nationalism. The São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, directed by John Neschling, are colorful and energetic in these 2003 performances, but the sound is occasionally distant and muted in the recording. -- Blair Sanderson