Search - Jacques Ibert :: Complete Chamber Music 1

Mediocre to good music, variable performances and sound

G.D. | Norway | 12/10/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I acquired this as part of two extremely well-filled discs issued by Brilliant Classics, but since they're the same performances and Brilliant hardly did anything to the sound quality, views on that issue will immediately apply to this one as well. Both discs in the series are, despite some reservations, worth picking up. The works are presented in the order in which they were composed, and starts off with the substantial six pieces for harp, composed when Ibert was 25. They are nice and enjoyable works, but perhaps a little too much to take in one go - they last for a total of 28 minutes. The following pieces for wind are among the best works on the disc, in particular the three short pieces for wind quintet. Jeux, a two-movement sonatina for flute and piano is another little gem. I can, however, not imagine listening to the suite from the movie `The Gardener of Samos' again. The rest of the music are shorter and rather inconsequential pieces.



The trouble, however, is that the performances aren't uniformly top-drawer - the wind playing is generally accomplished, but usually no more - it lacks tonal nuances and the humor which is so essential to many of these pieces (the two movements for wind quintet and the five pieces for trio are generally good, though)



Even more problematic are the recordings, which are generally not very good. It is often flat (as in the six pieces), but even worse, very unbalanced - some works are decently done (the aforementioned works for winds), but in Jeux, the piano sounds hollow.



Thus, while this is sometimes interesting, and sometimes even quite delightful, music, I am not sure this recording can serve as much more than a stopgap. Besides, much of the music on this disc is not very memorable. I won't discourage people from acquiring this one (or the full set) - there are certainly delights to be had - but a slight warning should be provided."