Fans of Jascha Heifetz will have no trouble recognising Flausino Vale’s ‘Ao Pé da Fogueira’, the 15th of his Characteristic Preludes for solo violin, which Heifetz arranged for violin and piano and recorded for American Decca (now on DG). The principal difference is that Heifetz’s take concludes with a calypso-like coda, whereas the original sticks to the same tempo throughout. Vale’s music, which is invariably bright and tuneful, calls for well executed multiple-stops and left-hand pizzicatos, harmonics, glissandos and a keen sense of rhythm.

Born and raised in the Brazilian rural countryside, Vale (1894-1954) created a distinctive compositional style that combines the flavour of Brazil with a mixture of African, indigenous and European cultures. As well as being a composer he was also a lawyer, a professional violinist and a researcher into Brazilian folk music. The range of sounds conjured via these imaginative Preludes compares with Paganini, though they’re more likely to prioritise folkish rather than purely virtuoso values. All but four of the Preludes are in 2/4 time, and most are in a major key that corresponds to the violin’s open strings. All bear a dedication, including famous violinists, composers or the composer’s friends and family.

André Mehmari’s more formal Partita para violino solo was commissioned in 2020 by the violinist featured here, Mariama Alcântara; and while the sounds of Brazil remain at the heart of the piece, so does JS Bach, whose music waits in the wings – in ‘Árida na quarta corda’ for example, where Bach’s celebrated ‘Air’ was a prompting inspiration. Bartók is another obvious influence. Brazilian-born Alcântara, a 2019 recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Fellowship, copes well with the considerable demands that this music makes on her, the proof being that you’re hardly ever aware of any technical hurdles, just the nourishing fruits of Alcântara’s labours.