Histoires, L 14

Composed originally for piano partly while on travels in Sicily and Tunisia in 1921-22, Jacques Ibert's delightful suite of ten piano pieces is presented here in a most attractive new orchestration by Richard W. Sargeant Jr. While the set of pieces clearly pays homage to the two books of Preludes by his compatriot Claude Debussy, Ibert's style is very much his own, having more in common with the later generation of French composers like Poulenc and Milhaud. Sargeant's orchestration, for a Beethoven-sized ensemble characteristic of the post-war era rather than the large orchestras favored by Debussy and Ravel, captures the essence of Ibert's music perfectly while applying its own kaleidoscopic palette or orchestral timbre.