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Abstract
Most classically trained musicians are poorly informed regarding the performance of South American art music. Although Francisco Mignone's works for bassoon have gained increasing attention in recent years, their methods of performance are largely unknown in North America—indeed, in most of the world. This study addresses central performance issues in Mignone's output, especially the Brazilian forms and rhythms that enable performers to get inside these varied and challenging works. Using sources ranging from personal interviews, musicological and ethno-musicological books and journals, and practical method books, I aim to address in broad terms all of Mignone's works that include bassoon and clarify their central place in twentieth-century Brazilian art music. Specifically, this dissertation informs performers how to extract performance styles from popular Brazilian song forms, such as the choro and modinha, in order to better interpret classical compositions inspired by these genres. Special contributions made by this project include a comprehensive list and discography of Mignone's works for bassoon, a pronunciation guide to many Brazilian musical terms and names, and a performance guide to his Concertino for Bassoon and IInd Wind Quintet. I have also made a performance edition of Mignone's previously unpublished, IInd Wind Quintet (1961) (a copy has been deposited in the UCLA music library).
