Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
          Solo Piano Music

 1.  Matin sur l'eau (Morning on the Water)
 2.  Scherzetto
 3.  Francaise
 4.  Toccata sur le nom d'Albert Roussel
 5.  L'espiegle du village de Lilliput (Mischief in the Village of Lilliput)
 6.  Valse
 7.  Felicie Nanteuil - waltz
 8.  Le vent dans les ruines (The Wind in the Ruins)
 9.  Noel en Picardie (Christmas in Picardy)
     Les rencontres (Meetings)
10.  Les bouquetieres (The Flower Girls)
11.  Les creoles (The Creoles)
12.  Les mignardes (The Precious Girls)
13.  Les bergeres (The Shepherdesses)
14.  Les bavardes (The Chatterboxes)
     Histoires (Stories)
15.  La meneuse de tortues d'or (The Girl Leading the Golden Tortoises)
16.  Le petit ane blanc (The Little White Donkey)
17.  Le vieux mendiant (The Old Beggar)
18.  A giddy girl
19.  Dans la maison triste (In the Sad House)
20.  Le palais abandonne (The Abandoned Palace)
21.  Bajo la mesa (Under the Table)
22.  La cage de cristal (The Glass Cage)
23.  La marchande d'eau fraiche (The Fresh Water Merchant)
24.  Le cortege de Balkis (The Procession of Balkis)

Denver Oldham, piano
Recording location and dates not provided
Altarus 9014 [74:53]

Comparison Recording: Hae-won Chang/Naxos 8.554720 (1991)

I've never given much thought to Jacques Ibert's music which has the
reputation for being light, fluffy, and perhaps not very consequential.
Now that I've intensively entered the world of his piano music, I need
to rethink my preconceptions.  The fact is that Ibert's piano music is
always delightful, exquisitely crafted, and sometimes even deep in
emotional flavor.  I find the basic ingredients of his piano works
to be:

1.  Charm - Ibert can charm the pants off you with his silky and idiomatic
phrasing for the piano.  His music flows so well and seamlessly, and
it's a pleasure to listen to any time of day or night.

2.  Playfulness - Ibert loves to play with his audience through his
enticing lines, and he always is ready to joke with us and insure that
everyone is having a good time.

3.  Sensuality - This is another primary Ibert trait.  His music is often
'from the loins', although in a quite wholesome and natural fashion.  He
flirts with and teases us consistently.

Reading biographical information about Ibert, it is clear that he lived
'the good life'.  His father was a well-to-do mercantile agent, and his
mother was the 2nd cousin to the composer Manuel de Falla.  Jacques
exhibited many precocious talents, and de Falla suggested that he audition
for the Paris Conservatoire.  The advice was taken, and Ibert was on his
way to musical stardom.  He studied harmony with Emile Pessard, counterpoint
with Andre Gedalge, and composition/orchestration with Paul Vidal; fellow
students included Darius Milhaud and Arthur Honegger.

Ibert began making a living from music through music lessons, playing
piano for silent movies, and composing popular songs and dance music.
Then in 1919, he won the Prix de Rome for a Cantata he wrote and
subsequently went on to compose music in most of the traditional
categories as well as a healthy dose of music for film.

We should not assume that all there is to Ibert is good cheer and
delightful music.  Life does have its dark days, and Ibert also experienced
a few of them.  He served at the front as an orderly and stretcher bearer
during the First World War, seeing death and destruction first-hand on
a daily basis.  Further, his music was banned by the puppet Vichy regime
during World War II.  The pieces Ibert wrote at these cloudy times
certainly delve incisively into the angst he felt.  Some the reviews I
have read of Ibert's music never mention the dark side his music, and
paint Ibert as being a somewhat one-dimensional composer.  Rest assured
that this is not the case.

Denver Oldham's performances are quite captivating.  He fully captures
the generally upbeat and playful nature of Ibert's music while also
conveying Ibert's negativity when necessary.  Oldham favors rounded
contours and smooth phrasing for the most part, but I don't hear any
damage done to the music as a result.  Sound quality is excellent with
ample richness and clarity.

To the best of my knowledge, the only other disc devoted to Ibert's solo
piano music comes from Naxos and Hae-won Chang.  As it happens, Oldham
and Hae-won Chang approach Ibert's music from opposite corners.  Where
Oldham is rounded and smooth, Hae-won Chang is usually sharp with greater
rhythmic bounce and vitality.  Since I'm having a hard time deciding
which pianist does the best job, I'll just call it an even situation.
Suffice it to say that both artists are very rewarding, and their
respective programs differ enough to warrant acquiring both recordings.
Altarus does offer the better liner notes; they bring up the impact that
the two World Wars had on Ibert, while Naxos has virtually nothing to
say on the subject.  Of course, Naxos has the price advantage, and those
on a limited budget should feel fine if they only purchase the Naxos
disc.

Since I'm feeling that this review is currently a little skimpy, here's
a few highlights of Ibert's piano music and the Denver Oldham performances:

"Morning on the Water" and Scherzetto were both originally composed for
solo harp, and Ibert eventually issued the two pieces for solo piano.
"Morning" is bitter-sweet music flowing in a silky manner, while the
Scherzetto is a rhythmically active toccata.  Oldham is a little too
sedate in the Scherzetto, particularly in comparison to Hae-won Chang's
sharper interpretation that also has much more rhythmic lift.

"Francaise" is a delightful and fun piece in perpetual motion as is the
Roussel Toccata.  I am very taken with this short one-minute toccata,
particularly when the lower voice enters and provides a bedrock of
optimism in addition to an enhanced dialogue of voices.  "Lilliput" is
another vivacious piece displaying Ibert's penchant for blending ardor
and charm.  Oldham is great in these three pieces and scores points over
Hae-won Chang in the Toccata; Oldham's lower voice is more enveloping.

"Le vent dans les ruines" is directly tied to Ibert's harrowing war
experiences in 1914 and quite different from his usual style in that it
is music of seething tension and desperation.  Ibert supplied his own
program notes for the piece, writing of the "awful echo of the dead".
That echo is certainly prevalent in the work, and all those who think
of Ibert as a pleasant composer will be stunned by this composition that
reminds me of Schumann's Florestan character at his most desperate
moments.  Oldham again surpasses Hae-won Chang, as his reading is
substantially darker and more menacing.

The one piece on the disc that I keep playing over and over is "The Girl
Leading the Golden Tortoises" from Ibert's set of ten character pieces
titled "Histoires".  To be accurate, it's the Hae-won Chang version that
I keep playing.  With Oldham's rather quick interpretation, the music
has a pristine and delicate nature.  Hae-won Chang retains this nature
but also adds the most subtle human urges through his compelling inflections
from the soprano voice and middle-voice chords that are nearly sobbing.
The result is a transcendent blend of lightness and depth that Oldham
doesn't even attempt to approach.

Don's Conclusions: Based on the excellent piano music on this Altarus
disc, I will definitely be listening to additional music by Ibert whose
charming sensuality and impressionist tendencies add up to a strongly
rewarding listening experience.  I highly recommend Denver Oldham's suave
readings as well as the more vibrant offerings from Hae-won Chang.  If
you only want one of these recordings, I'd go with the Naxos disc based
on cost considerations and the sublime performance of the first piece
of "Histoires".  For those whose music budgets are ample, get both
recordings and enjoy.

Don Satz
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