Frederick Maggio
Les Productions D’Oz: 4 pages
Marylou is Frederick Maggio’s daughter and is obviously learning ballet, for here is a little set of three Valses describing her journey through this.
The opening one is Lointain Souvenir and is a one pager set in Bm, and is in mostly two voices, and occasionally three. It has a speed marking of Rubato and 40 dotted minims a minute, and begins with a rising melody and a pleasant set of harmonies until a couple of bass notes enter that really don’t fit, so I imagine this is the point in her dancing where something might not be quite right. Nevertheless the melody continues in more normal harmonies but again having the odd moment when a slightly unusual chord or harmony gives you the impression of the little girl learning from her mistakes! A brief coda leads to a surprising and unconventional close.
Un Jour….tu seras grande continues the story with a slightly faster beat, a Con tenerezza marking and a melody in the key of C Major. Again there is the odd ‘wrong’ note harmony in this two voiced piece, until a meno mosso section gives the tune over to artificial harmonics for 16 bars, heralding a repeat of the opening melody and speed, and a tentative coda closing on another harmonic.
The final piece is Valse for Marylou set in Am in 6/8 and requires slightly more care than the previous two as it moves around the fretboard a little more. After this the key suddenly changes to F#m, for a new idea which leads unexpectedly to the coda where the bass – note melody falls gradually down to close on another slightly unconventional closing chord, that deliberately leaves things a little in the air.
This set is melodic, quite pleasant, and not more than moderate in its difficulty and as a character piece is appealing in its simplicity and occasionally unusual make- up. I enjoyed it and I think that players able to cope with moderately difficult pieces will enjoy it too!
Chris Dumigan