Album guide
Mongrel
- Composer
- Chopin
- Released
- 2010
- Label
- ONC Produções Culturais
- Forces
- Piano, Trio
- Personnel
- Mário Laginha piano, Bernardo Moreira double bass, Alexandre Frazão drums
Lisbon’s São Luiz Municipal Theatre and the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa commissioned pianist Mário Laginha to revisit Chopin for the bicentenary of the composer’s birth. Laginha chose the title Mongrel to describe the music’s mixed parentage: Chopin’s themes and harmonies are combined with Laginha’s own rhythmic and harmonic language.
Laginha recorded the project with his regular trio, completed by Bernardo Moreira on double bass and Alexandre Frazão on drums. They work from eight Chopin pieces, altering metres, tempos, harmonies and sometimes the melodies themselves while leaving Chopin clearly audible. Laginha called the result a kind of heresy overflowing with respect, and the Portuguese Society of Authors named Mongrel its best record of 2010.
Hear both
The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.
The listening queues above follow the same order. The classical player omits tracks that are not based on a classical original.
Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.
Source works
The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.
- Nocturno Nº1 Op.15Nocturne in F major, Op. 15 No. 1
- Fantasia Op.49Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49
- Valsa Nº2 Op.34Waltz in A minor, Op. 34 No. 2
- Nocturno Nº1 Op.48Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1
- Estudo Nº6 Op.10Étude in E-flat minor, Op. 10 No. 6
- Scherzo Nº2 Op.31Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31
- Prelúdio Nº20 Op.28Prelude in C minor, Op. 28 No. 20
- Balada Nº1 Op.23Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23