Mignone: Doze Valsas

Mignone’s first original compositions for guitar date from 1953: “Modinha”, “Choro”, “Repinicando”, and “Minuetto-Fantasia”. They were dedicated to Monina Távora (Adolfina Raitzin de Távora, a former disciple of Domingo Prat and Andrés Segovia), who later became the mentor of two of the most prestigious duos in guitar history: Sérgio and Eduardo Abreu and Sérgio and Odair Assad.

[…] These are short pieces, with a more elementary approach if compared to his later production. While “Minuetto-Fantasia” displays a rather straightforward classical guitar writing, “Modinha”, “Choro”, and “Repinicando” denote a style more in line with the Brazilian guitar tradition of the first decades of the 20th century. […] There, he became closer to Barbosa Lima, whose recital and fine playing apparently left Mignone with the impression that the guitar was not tiring at all. On the contrary, after nearly two decades since his first attempt a spark was kindled, leading him to write profusely for the guitar as attested by two substantial series: the “12 Études” (dedicated to Barbosa Lima), composed between August and mid-September 1970, and, immediately after, the set of “12 Valsas Brasileiras em Forma de Estudos” (12 Brazilian Waltzes in Study Form, dedicated to Uruguayan guitarist, teacher and composer Isaías Savio), concluded in only six days.

From the liner notes by Luciano Lima