© Copyright by Katharina Jackson Dann December 2018
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© Copyright by Katharina Jackson Dann December 2018 WESTERN AND BRAZILIAN SOUND IN FRANCISCO MIGNONE’S VALSAS CHÔRO An Essay Presented to the Faculty of the Moores School of Music Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts University of Houston In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance By Katharina Jackson Dann December 2018 WESTERN AND BRAZILIAN SOUND IN FRANCISCO MIGNONE’S VALSAS CHÔRO ______________________ Katharina Jackson Dann APPROVED: _______________________ Barbara Rose Lange, Ph.D. Committee Chair _______________________ Aaminah Durrani, Ph.D. _______________________ Tali Morgulis, D.M.A. _______________________ Timothy Hester, M.M. _______________________ Andrew Davis, Ph.D. Dean, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts WESTERN AND BRAZILIAN SOUND IN FRANCISCO MIGNONE’S VALSAS CHÔRO An abstract of an Essay Presented to the Faculty of the Moores School of Music Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts University of Houston In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance By Katharina Jackson Dann December 2018 Abstract Composer Francisco Mignone’s contribution to Brazilian musical nationalism is illustrated by his Valsas Chôro, a set of twelve waltzes for solo piano. In this project, I argue that in the Valsas Chôro Mignone fused Western form and Brazilian popular music; this procedure in turn allowed him to create a Brazilian waltz style that advanced Heitor Villa-Lobos’s adaptations of popular street music. Stylistic descriptions of the Valsas Chôro reveal how Mignone incorporates both waltz and choro styles. I show that by adapting the traditional accompaniment of the European waltz, Mignone creates his own Brazilian waltz style within the dance’s triple meter. I demonstrate that Mignone transferred the characteristics of the choro ensemble and its improvisatory playing style to solo piano by using arpeggiated chords, eighth notes, and staccato. The result is a fusion of waltz rhythm and improvisatory choro style. The combination creates a blend that characterizes Mignone’s Valsas Chôro. v Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge those who have supported this research project. I would like to thank Dr. Barbara Rose Lange, the head of my research committee, and committee members Dr. Aaminah Durrani, Dr. Tali Morgulis, and Mr. Timothy Hester for their guidance and encouragement throughout this project. I would also like to thank my husband and my parents for their unwavering love and support. vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x List of Musical Examples .................................................................................................. xi Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Francisco Mignone: Biography ............................................................................... 6 Mignone’s Compositional Output ........................................................................... 7 Mignone’s Brazilian Waltz Style ........................................................................................ 9 Brazilian Popular Music in the Valsas Chôro ................................................................... 11 The Choro concept ................................................................................................ 12 Choro: Influential Instruments .............................................................................. 14 Choro: Harmonic and Rhythmic Influences ......................................................... 16 Evocation of Brazilian and European Music in the Valsas Chôro ................................... 17 Imitation of Chopin in the Valsas Chôro .............................................................. 18 Quotation of Ernesto Nazareth’s Music in the Valsas Chôro ............................... 23 Form, Rhythm, and Melody in the Valsas Chôro ............................................................. 24 Form and Harmony ............................................................................................... 24 Rhythm and Melody ............................................................................................. 33 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 36 vii Appendix ........................................................................................................................... 38 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 55 viii List of Tables 1. Mignone, Valsas Chôro, violão notation ...................................................................... 15 2. Mignone, Valsas Chôro, form and key ......................................................................... 25 ix List of Figures 1. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 4, timeline comparing A and A' ....................................... 22 2. Mignone, Valsas Chôro No, 1, No. 7, and No. 10, timelines ....................................... 26 x List of Examples 1. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 11, mm. 1-8 ...................................................................... 38 2. Nazareth, Apanhei-te, cavaquinho, form and key ......................................................... 38 3. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 10, mm. 59-62 .................................................................. 39 4. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 3, mm. 1-6 ........................................................................ 39 5. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 7, mm. 59-63 .................................................................... 39 6. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 1, mm. 1-8, melody in the bass line ................................. 40 7. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 6, mm. 41-44 .................................................................... 40 8. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 4, mm. 111-114 ................................................................ 40 9. Chopin, Waltz op. 18, no. 2, mm. 1-4 ........................................................................... 41 10. Chopin, Valse Brillante, op. 43, no. 1, mm. 33-40 ..................................................... 41 11. Chopin, Nocturne op. 9, no. 2, mm. 15-16 ................................................................. 41 12. Chopin, Nocturne op. 15, no. 1, mm. 1-7 ................................................................... 42 13. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 2, mm. 1-4 ...................................................................... 42 14. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 8, A section accompaniment styles ................................ 43 15. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 11, A and A' melody ...................................................... 44 16. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 2, mm. 1-8 ...................................................................... 44 17. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 8, mm. 26-28 .................................................................. 45 18. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 9, mm. 41-44 .................................................................. 45 19. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 9, mm. 1-6 ...................................................................... 45 20. Nazareth, Odeon, mm. 1-7 .......................................................................................... 46 21. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 10, mm. 1-7 .................................................................... 46 xi 22. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 1, mm. 13-17 .................................................................. 46 23. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 1, mm. 1-8 ...................................................................... 47 24. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 7, mm. 1-10 .................................................................... 47 25. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 7, mm. 12-16 .................................................................. 47 26. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 10, A section melody ...................................................... 48 27. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 9, mm. 23-24 .................................................................. 48 28. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 2, mm. 63-67 .................................................................. 48 29. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 1, mm. 41-45 .................................................................. 49 30. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 10, C section melody ...................................................... 49 31. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 10, mm. 73-77 ................................................................ 49 32. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 10, mm. 24-27 ................................................................ 50 33. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 7, mm. 25-29 .................................................................. 50 34. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 2, mm. 18-20 .................................................................. 50 35. Mignone, Valsa Chôro No. 10, mm. 65-66 ...............................................................