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 Jacques
Ibert (right) was born in Paris, and during his heyday, formed a
"Group of Three" with Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud,
his younger (and now comparatively more famous I believe) contemporaries,
to play music at his teacher's house. Ibert is more famous among
flutists, having written a plethora of scintillating works for the
instrument.
What
is most interesting about Ibert's compositional facilities is his
ability to write directly for orchestra without first testing the
waters on a piano. If this is how he wrote the opening piece on
this album, the raucous and rather Gershwinesque Bacchanale,
I would see it in the very innate sense for orchestral colour, particularly
the piquant combinations of tambourine, timpani, horns, strings
- all blistering forward in foot-tapping syncopated rhythm for this
exciting performance. In addition, the vibrant and confident piece
is scored for large orchestra with a feast of triple woodwind -
this is music to wake you up, as the title suggests; and for orchestras,
the kind of thing to play at open-air occasions.
The
main course in the disc is the Divertissement, completed
in 1928. It is essentially a suite based on material from incidental
music for Eugène Labiche's UnChapuea de paille d'Italie ("An
Italian Straw Hat"). Without any reference to the play, just
by listening to the music one can easily conclude it must have be
a comedy - before long there is already a cheeky quotation from
Mendelssohn's Wedding March, among other, um, musical subtleties
and mischievious grins. The plot "deals with the unexpected
events and misunderstandings experienced by a young man on his wedding-day,
as he tries to recover a straw hat."
The
six individual movements include a carefree Cortège,
a misty Nocturne with evocative parts for piano and tambourine,
an amusing Valse which begins in the pain of off-key-ness
and goes about dancing in a kind of half-dazed flutter. Last are
a mysterious little Parade followed by a concluding chase
through a police station (it seems; listen for the exasparated whistles)
in the Finale.
 The
Ouverture de fête is a noisy 16-minute piece
written in 1940 in Rome under a commission by the French government
as a gift to Japan to mark the 2600th anniversary of the foundation
of the Japanese empire. The score however, got lost and the work
had to be rewritten. I think it shows: the result seems less focussed,
with even a hint of frustration. The impression of the work does
not quite equal the suggestion of the title (festive overture) -
the performance on record here is just not as full of vitality as
the Bacchanale, for example.
You
may also find this album
in this cover format:
The
Symphonie marine ("sea symphony") comes
from the score for the short film S.O.S. Foch, by Jean Arroy.
The cinematic/dramatic element is very strong, giving rise to sensations
of rocking waves, tension, mystery and fog. though written in 1931,
the title was given only in 1964 upon the score's publication. Piano,
saxophone, percussion and lots of atmospheric orchestral colour
create a highly theatrical tone poem which fascinates from beginning
to end, depicting the difficult rescue of the cargo ship Foch.
Escales
is one of Ibert's most popular works. Written in 1921-22, the title
means "stopovers" or "ports of calls". The three
movements, totalling about 16 minutes, depict Rome-Palerme, Tunis-Nefta
and Valencia. The music is by turns atmospheric and langorous,
very Debussy-Ravelian, or vibrant and colourful. The "cultural
flavour" of the music is naturally Mediterranean - the 3-minute
Tunis is based entirely on a slowly unfolding Arabic theme,
while Valencia doesn't avoid castanets.
The
performances by the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux (founded in
1881 by Charles Lamoureux) under Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado
are altogether colourful, well-prepared, musical and sensitive.
They adequately showcase Ibert's remarkable orchestrational powers
and obviously relish the music's tints, hues, clashes and sweet
tunes whenever these surface. I believe there are even better, perhaps
more dynamic performances in the market, but for this price, explorers
need not hesitate.
Bibliography:
Laederich, Alexandra. CD notes (trans. Keith Anderson).
CHIA
HAN-LEON has a helpful French colleague in the office who helps
him with the translations.
832:
7.2.2001© Chia Han-Leon
All
original texts are copyrighted. Please seek permission from the
Classical Editor
if you wish to reproduce/quote Inkpot material.
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